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Partners: Honoring a "Community" Within the Community Every day throughout the year, dedicated blood donors and volunteers join Puget Sound Blood Center in a partnership to help save the lives of thousands of area patients. Such dedication is demonstrated when caring citizens literally give of themselves by donating blood, platelets, plasma, bone marrow or cord blood. Others organize and assist at blood drives, or volunteer at a donor center. All of them share their time and compassion with people they mostly know only as fellow citizens. And that’s what is so special about Blood Center donors and volunteers. They truly are people worthy of praise and recognition. That’s why the Blood Center annually honors them with luncheons in their name: Partners in Life. In Seattle Maria Elena Geyer, vice president of the Blood Center’s Donor Services Group, welcomed nearly 1,000 donors and volunteers. “You represent a community,” she told them. Those attending were, “…a community of people who have a common purpose…a community of people who are dedicated to making life better for all of us…a community of people who know that we’re only successful when we all work together for the greater good. And it’s only through this kind of community that we can achieve our fundamental purpose: to help patients.” Dr. Richard B. Counts, Blood Center president and CEO, followed Geyer with a message of gratitude to those gathered and to the Blood Center’s Community Campaign Council. He then gave a historical perspective of transfusion medicine and noted the organization’s 2005 highlights. Dr. Counts was followed at the podium by the chair of the Blood Center’s Community Campaign Council, John V. Rindlaub. “It is a pleasure to play a small part in assisting the Blood Center in its mission of providing research, medicine, blood and tissue services,” said Rindlaub, CEO, Pacific Northwest Region, Wells Fargo. He then spoke of the council’s work and the extraordinary range of Blood Center services, before introducing the awards.
Chuck Armstrong, president of the Seattle Mariners, accepted a Community Service Award for the club’s support in 2005: a Mariner’s Care Foundation’s donation, the “Doubles for Research” promotion, and for first baseman Richie Sexson’s role as Blood Center spokesperson. A Community Service Award also went to Medtronic Emergency Response Systems. Blood drive coordinator Murray Lorance accepted for the company that has held 84 blood drives since 1983, with 5,141 donor registrations. Sharing a Volunteer Achievement Award were R.V. Miller and Kathy Cunningham of the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, also known as NOAA/Seattle. They have coordinated drives over 12 years for 72 blood drives and 3,224 blood donors. For his donor award, Bellevue’s Chuck Colby donated 283 units of platelets, six units of matched platelets and 43 units of whole blood. Everett High School earned the High School Partnership Campaign Award for increasing its annual donor registrations by 79 percent, including 44 first-time donors during the 2004-2005 school year. Teacher Marci Jensen accepted for the school. Speakers included two teens from Port Angeles who know what adversity – and the kindness of blood donors – can mean to someone’s life. Both received numerous blood transfusions after serious trauma. Hailey Fox fell from a rope swing in 2003 (see “Hailey’s Story”) and Alex Ralston was paralyzed after falling from a fishing vessel (see “Alex’s Story”). Injured during their high school junior years, both returned to school, graduated with their classes and entered college the following year. And both thanked the Blood Center and its donors and volunteers for helping them make it through critical days. Though the biggest Partners celebration was held in Seattle, others followed.
In Bellevue This Partners in Life celebrated the numerous ways that volunteers support patients in the community: greeting and registering donors, monitoring donors for reactions, and transporting blood and samples. Each volunteer has a positive effect on local patients. Volunteer Achievement Awards went to Emerson Elder of Redmond. He has driven donors to donation centers, transported blood around Seattle and escorted blood across Puget Sound on the ferries, and now volunteers at the Bellevue Center canteen. At 87, he still enjoys the work. Natalie Humphries of Marysville has been volunteering for the Blood Center in Island and Snohomish Counties for nearly 20 years, logging 300 to 400 hours each year. Her jovial demeanor comforts all who enter the Everett Donor Center, and she’s a six-gallon donor, too. Shirley Carney makes donation a pleasure at the Seattle Center canteen and mobiles. She volunteers 1,000 hours each year, and in her 84 years, she’s donated five gallons of whole blood and 22 units of platelets. Betty Lehman of Freeland, Whidbey Island, has been volunteering for the Blood Center since 1960. She’s coordinator for the South Whidbey Island mobile blood drive, organizes volunteers at mobile drives and monitors donors. She has played a significant roll in registering over 5,000 donors since 1994. Over the past year, 35 volunteer pilots with Angel Flight West have supported patients by flying their own planes to Southwest Washington, the San Juan Islands, the Olympic Peninsula and Whatcom County to transport blood to the labs, saving the Blood Center thousands in transportation costs. Featured speaker John Filicetti is a recent Volunteer Achievement Award winner for blood donation who feels fortunate living in a community with so many donors dedicated to keeping the community blood supply stable, especially since his son has hemophilia. Also speaking was Thomas Price, M.D., Blood Center EVP and medical director, who detailed the medical services offered by the Blood Center.
In Skagit Laurie Russell of Bellingham increased participation of the drive she coordinates five times a year for the West Horton Business Group. She’s registered 497 donors since 2002, and her efforts earned a Community Service Award. Also honored was the Orcas Island Lions Club, for coordination of Orcas Island Community Blood Drives, a 25-year commitment that registered 5,000 donors. Coordinator Mary Ann Slabaugh accepted the award. Val Shay of La Conner, a 28-year volunteer, is the epitome of reliability, flexibility and dedication and meets challenges with good cheer, grace and enthusiasm — qualities that earned a Volunteer Achievement Award. Frank Sweeney of Lynden is a regular at the Bellingham Center – he’s donated whole blood 247 times. Sweeney waxes poetic: “What greater love than to give your life blood to another?” Featured guest was Bellingham’s Wendy Scherrer, executive director of Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association, who spoke of her “journey of a lifetime,” recovery from lymphoma. Receiving awards were: canteen star Adele Johnston of Ridgefield; Meri Martin, longtime inspirational blood drive coordinator for Columbia River High School; Sharon Leichner, who is a dedicated canteen volunteer; and Memorial Lutheran Church, which has been holding successful drives with the help of Kathy and Walt Leitner, who accepted the award. Unfortunately, in June Walt lost his struggle with cancer. Speaker Marilyn Johnson, R.N., M.S., current parish nurse for Trinity Lutheran Church, recently retired as head nurse in the Cancer Center at Southwest Washington Medical Center. She spoke of working with cancer patients, and thanked donors for their role. In Kitsap County, the top donor group was the Naval Undersea Warfare Center; the LaFerriere Family, coordinators: David Walker, donor; and Barbara Claeys, volunteer. Kathy Connelly spoke about 10-year-old son Danny’s successful fight against leukemia. In Olympia, honored were donor group Dept. of Ecology, coordinator Cathy English of the Washington State Dept. of Transportation, donors Kim and Carol Hartwell, and volunteers John & Patt Clark. Speaker Shannon Wright described her father’s accident recovery. Carol Dolliver, who also spoke, is the lab supervisor responsible for Providence St. Peter Hospital’s blood bank, supplied by the Blood Center. On the Olympic Peninsula, Alex Ralston told his story after awards went to Independent Bible Church for donor group, Scooter Chapman of KONP for coordinator, Ivan Hoyt for donor, Cindy Sofie for volunteer and Crescent High School for high school partnership. In Federal Way, State Farm Operations Center was awarded donor group honors; Brian Hoffman of UPS, coordinator; John Filicetti, donor; Gladys Beem, volunteer; and Auburn High School, high school partners. Speaker Andrea Tyrone told of her recovery from a motorcycle accident.
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