Bell Atlantic Bestows Heroism Award On 24-Year Veteran Robert Regolino

Bell Atlantic Bestows Heroism Award
On 24-Year Veteran Robert Regolino

June 26, 1998

BRAINTREE, Mass. -- Bell Atlantic engineer Robert S. Regolino today
will join a select cadre of telecommunications industry heroes when he
receives the prestigious Theodore N. Vail Medal for Public Service.

The Vail award, named in honor of the first president of the Bell System,
recognizes telecommunications employees who have demonstrated
heroism and unusual merit.

Regolino, a 24-year Bell Atlantic employee, is receiving the award for his
courageous efforts last June to rescue a Hull woman who was trapped in
her car in Hull Bay. His family, friends and colleagues will honor him
today in a ceremony at 11 am at the Sheraton Braintree
Hotel.

Among those who will be on hand at the ceremony today will be his
supervisor Carolyn Kennedy, Bell Atlantic Massachusetts area operations
manager. Kennedy said she was not surprised by Regolinos reaction to a
crisis. When you work with someone day in and day out, you get a good
feel for his character. Going all out to help someone in a desperate
situation is something that would come naturally to a person like
Bob Regolino.

On June 12, 1997, Regolino heard a cry for help. Without hesitation, he
ran across the street, down a steep, rocky slope and into the muddy waters
of Hull Bay. He then made a valiant, exhausting attempt to save a
neighbor who was trapped upside down in her car in six feet of water.
The car had crashed through a barrier and plummeted over a cliff into the
bay.

Diving repeatedly, Regolino struggled to reach Nancy Peppino, but was
unable to fully open the vehicles doors. Finally, he was joined by a Hull
firefighter. Together, they were able to extricate her and carry her to
shore.

Mrs. Peppino had been submerged for seven minutes. Medical personnel
induced a pulse briefly on the way to the hospital, but she did not survive.

Although he laments that he was unable to save Mrs. Peppino, Regolino
says he draws considerable solace from her husband Kenneth.

More than once he has told me how grateful he is and that we tried our
best and no one could ask for more, said Regolino. Coming from him that
has been most comforting to me.

Bell Atlantic -- formed through the merger of Bell Atlantic and NYNEX --
is at the forefront of the new communications and information industry.
With more than 41 million telephone access lines and 6.7 million wireless
customers worldwide, Bell Atlantic companies are premier providers of
advanced wireline voice and data services, market leaders in wireless
services and the worlds largest publishers of directory information. Bell
Atlantic companies are also among the worlds largest investors in high-
growth global communications markets, with operations and investments
in 23 countries.