91st Annual Meeting Recognized Volunteers & Rescuers
This past week, the officers and directors of the Dayton Area Chapter of the American Red Cross celebrated their 91st Annual Meeting with avolunteer salute luncheon. National City generously served as title sponsor for the event, recognizing the central role volunteers play in accomplishing the organization’s mission: providing relief to victims of disasters and helping people prevent, prepare for, and respond to emergencies.
Additional Sponsors included:
Kent Anderson
Carleen Suttman
ServPro
Production Tube Cutting Battelle & Battelle
Dayton Power & Light
Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce
Dayton Masonic Foundation
Messer Construction
Dr. Benjamin Schuster
Reliable Audio/Video & Electronics
Reliable Electric
Berry Network, Inc.
James Capital Alliance, Inc.
Flagel, Huber, Flagel & Co.
Awards for volunteers of the year were distributed to the following individuals by their respective departments: (Individual descriptions and photos are available upon request)
- CAROLYN BURNS, EMERGENCY SERVICES
- MARLENE ELLIOT, GREENE COUNTY EMERGENCY HOUSING PROGRAM
- CHARLES HESTER, MONTGOMERY COUNTY EMERGENCY HOUSING PROGRAM
- LORETTA V. JOHANSON, WPAFB MEDICALCENTER
- KEVIN JOHNSTON, PREBLE COUNTY SERVICE CENTER
- GERALD “TOM” MOWERY, GREENE COUNTY SERVICE CENTER
- LOUIS “RANDY” REYNOLDS, VOLUNTEER/HUMAN RESOURCES
- JOETTA SHAFFER, ACCOUNTING DEPARTMENT
- HELEN STAAB, FINANCIAL DEVELOPMENT
- BRUCE WOOLEY, HEALTH & SAFETY
- REBECCA HOLTKAMP, YOUTH VOLUNTEER OF THEYEAR
- MATT THOMAS, ROOKIE VOLUNTEER OF THEYEAR
- ANITA RANKIN, CARL B. ESCHBACH AWARD
- PHYSICIANS’ CHARITABLE FOUNDATION OF THE MIAMI VALLEY, GOOD NEIGHBOR AWARD
- GERALD “TOM” MOWERY, UNSUNG HERO AWARD
- SHAWNA & TODD COLLINS, VOLUNTEER FAMILY OF THE YEAR
- ASSOCIATE BOARD MEMBER OF THE YEAR, THE FY07 ASSOCIATE BOARD(Suzanne Beck, Chair, LeVon Terry, Vice Chair, Annette Tyra, BoardLiaison, Melissa Blevins, Christopher Brown, Sarah Carter, Chris Cassano, Shannon Costello, Rob Dennis, Lisa Heathman, Lesley Howell, Jeff Jackson, Kyle Judy, Robert Eli Kiefaber, Prakash Maggan, Geoffrey Merl, Diptesh Patel, Heidi Picinich, Cindy Place, Andrew Reitz, Roy Serruto, Jr., Mark Stevens, Paul Thomas, Melissa Watts, David Wenig, Keith Wiederhold)
CHAPTER VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR: Carolyn Burns
BOARD MEMBER OF THE YEAR: Carleen Suttman
Approximately 240 people attended the event at the Mandalay Banquet Center including Red Cross volunteers and staff, as well as corporate/business, non-profit, and community & political leaders from Montgomery, Preble and Greene Counties.Jeff Jordan, Montgomery County Emergency Management Agency Director was the keynote speaker for the event congratulating the chapter and its volunteers for ninety-one years of dedicated response to thousands of disasters - large and small, local and global.
A strong alliance between the Dayton Area Chapter of the American Red Cross and the Montgomery County Emergency Management Agency was forged in response to the relocation of 700 Hurricane Katrina and Rita evacuees to the region in 2006. Led by the partnering agencies, the Disaster Assistance Network was created as a network of government, private and non-profit sector organizations working together to provide emergency housing, medical care, employment counseling, access to education, transportation services and mental health support to the evacuees. The partnership has continued with public education and disaster preparedness campaigns and a number of strategic planning, training and exercise initiatives.
Attendees also heard "Voices of the American RedCross"- stories from volunteers and rescuers who utilized their RedCross training to save lives.
“Our volunteers are indispensable in leading Red Cross humanitarian efforts,”states Dayton Area Chapter CEO Tom Fodor. “Our entire organization depends upon the kindness of strangers, most of whom help people they will never really know.The recognition bestowed upon our volunteers at the Annual Meeting is a small gesture of the appreciation we have for their countless hours of dedication.”
During 2007 alone, volunteers responded to nearly 200 residential home and apartment fires and local disasters in Montgomery, Preble and Greene Counties. In addition, Red Cross volunteers fill chapter leadership roles and serve on advisory committees and boards of directors. They donate their professional experience in accounting, fund raising, public relations, administration, human resources, and information technology.
"National City has a long history of providing support to the American RedCross," said James Hoehn,President & CEO of National City Bank Southwest Ohio. "We believe we all share the responsibility for making our community a better place to live, work and raise a family. We are again extremely proud to be the presenting sponsor of the American Red Cross 91st Annual Meeting and Volunteer Recognition Luncheon and hope you enjoy the day."
All local Red Cross disaster assistance is free, made possible by voluntary donations of time and money from the American people. You can help the victims of area disasters by making a financial gift to the Dayton Area Chapter, which enables the Red Cross to provide shelter, food, counseling and other assistance to those in need. Contributions may be sent to the Dayton Area Chapter, P.O. Box 517, Dayton, Ohio. Internet users can make secure online credit card donations by visiting www.dac.redcross.org.
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