Every lunch period, Keith Patterson stands in the corner of the Lehighton Area Middle School cafeteria, just in case he can be of assistance to students or staff.

On Feb. 24, his assistance just may have saved a life.The school custodian performed the Heimlich maneuver on fifth-grader Joshua Glanz, who was choking on cheese from a slice of pizza.Patterson, who has worked for the district 15 years and been CPR certified for around 10 of them, was alerted to the incident by a lunch aide."I saw the student sitting there and reaching down his throat, trying to pull the cheese out," Patterson said. "I realized he was choking and I told him, 'I got you.' "Patterson, using his training for the first time, picked Glanz off the ground and pumped his chest twice to dislodge the cheese.Glanz said the pizza with a cheese-stuffed crust remains one of his favorite meals at the cafeteria."I'm very grateful for the help I received from the custodian," Glanz said.Patterson was honored for his actions at the March 21 Lehighton school board meeting."We serve around 140,000 meals a year and it's really amazing this kind of thing doesn't happen more often," middle school Principal Mark McGalla said."We're very thankful Keith sprung into action when he did" McGalla said."He really is our hero at the middle school."The save came natural to Patterson."You don't think twice about it, you just see someone in trouble and your instinct is to help," he said.