October 23, 2026

By Lane Kimble

MADISON — As a picture-perfect autumn sunset lit the sky ablaze Thursday night over Madison, Tim Quick glanced at the horizon and savored it a bit before continuing his speech.

“Ordinary days don’t feel so ordinary anymore,” Quick said.

The professional plumber from south-central Wisconsin was participating in the Door County Triathlon last summer when he suddenly felt like passing out. Quick crashed to the ground off his bike and wasn’t breathing.

His heart stopped for six minutes.

Fellow triathlete and professional paramedic Ross Williams just happened to be competing right behind Quick.

“I stopped being a triathlete at that time and became a paramedic,” Williams said.

He started hands-only CPR and flagged down a sheriff’s deputy who brought an automated external defibrillator.

A zap from the AED and several more minutes of Williams doing chest compressions brought Tim back to life.

“You are my angel, buddy, I thank you for that,” Quick told Williams before giving him a hug. “I get to keep living my story because of you.”

Tim’s story was the showstopping moment during the American Heart Association’s annual “Hard Hats with Heart” fundraiser.

Several hundred people from across the civil and vertical construction industries packed an airplane hangar at the Dane County Regional Airport to enjoy refreshments, hear Tim’s message, and bid on auction items to support the non-profit’s mission.

Proceeds from “Hard Hats” go toward teaching construction workers and companies across Wisconsin how to do hands-only CPR and use AEDs, lead heart-healthy lifestyles, and save lives in a line of work where stress and unhealthy habits often lead to emergencies.

“Most people will never become a paramedic but every one of us can learn hands-only CPR, everyone can know where an AED is located,” Williams told the crowd. “Every one of us can step forward instead of standing back.”

JT Engineering serves as the presenting sponsor and other WTBA members, including M3 Insurance, support the event.

WTBA of Tomorrow member Brooklyn Hilton was this year’s co-chair.  WTBA’s Lane Kimble provided in-kind photography services.

The live auction, including a bidding battle for a signed Jacob Misiorowski jersey, raised more than $33,000 for the AHA, which doesn’t include the silent auction proceeds.  That’s a big boost for an organization–and an industry–Tim Quick certainly appreciates.

“People sometimes ask what lesson I took from all of this,” Quick said.  “For me, it’s simple.  We never know when we’re going to need each other.”