Marcy Syms, President of the Sy Syms Foundation and a 2015 co-chair of the American Heart Association “Go Red for Women” New York campaign was among the VIPs who participated in the onstage Guinness World Record Attempt of Most People in a CPR Relay on Thursday, June 4 in Times Square at the TKTS Pedestrian Pavillion from 7:00 am -7:00 pm.

Marcy Syms received the Heart Saver Award, given to individuals who have shown outstanding dedication to saving lives through their work with the American Heart Association for which she has been a volunteer since 2002.

Heart disease is a very personal subject to Ms. Syms, former CEO of Syms Corp and one of the youngest women to be named president of a publicly traded NYSE company.

Marcy Syms lost a sister, 37, and a brother, 45, to heart attacks, while two of her other brothers are heart attack survivors. The Sy Syms Foundation has been a longtime supporter of the American Heart Association’s initiatives. She believes that the fates of her siblings might have been different if there had been someone capable of doing CPR when they were in crisis.

In celebration of National CPR & AED Awarenes Week, there was a stand-by option for attendees at this AHA sponsored event to jump in there and try their hands at CPR. At this first time event, the American Heart Association offered free Hands-Only TM free CPR training for the public. Individuals were given 15 minute training sessions to help them learn how to save the life of someone they love.