CEO UPDATE - AUGUST 25, 2009

Happy Tuesday (evening) to all!

Record Turnout at Volunteer Recognition Event at the Dell Diamond
I’m still smiling after Sunday’s Volunteer Recognition event at the Dell Diamond. We had a GREAT crowd there – about 171 people. It sounds like everyone really enjoyed the food and the camaraderie! We conducted our Annual Meeting, handed out pins for years of service (including a 30-year pin to staff member Denise Blok and a 65-year pin to volunteer Betty Hendrix!). We also had a chance to say thank you to several of our volunteers and staff for their incredible service during the past fiscal year, and I’m including the list of volunteer award winners below. I’ll include the staff winners next week. And,  I’m sure we’ll have a photo or two up on the Web this week.

Volunteer Awards
Volunteer of the Year: Bill Dorman
Clara Barton Honor Award: Elaine Thompson
Virginia Horton True Blue Volunteer: Homer Johnson
Walter Shuler Disaster Services Award: Carol Leandra
Education & Training Award: Julia Lennous
Social Services Volunteer of the Year: Wray Hooper
Firecracker Award: Jay Clements
Mental Health Professional of the Year: Pat Grajkowski
Tex Kassen Health and Safety Award: Craig Henderson
Youth Leadership Award: Day Son
Martha Townsley Leadership Award: Kevin McCoy

Introducing Instructor Lis Wise
I’m not sure I’ve introduced you to our newest staff instructor, Lis Wise. Lis was an on-call instructor before joining our team full time.  She did a stint in the Peace Corps, is fluent in Swahili, and is also a licensed massage therapist.  As it turns out, much to Denise’s delight, she also is great at assisting with small facility projects!

Congrats to Board Member Joyce Batcheller
We’re just now catching up on some of our reading and noticed that Joyce Batcheller was mentioned in the August 6 Austin Business Journal, which featured Profiles in Power winners. Congrats again, Joyce!

New Funding from Applied Materials  
Another Debbie success story: we received a $10,000 check today from a grant proposal to Applied Materials. Go Debbie! We have been receiving only $5,000 from Applied Materials over the past two years, so this is a 100% increase. Fabulous!

We Need Your Red Cross Stories!
We have GOT to make some headway in pulling together a “library” of sorts showcasing some of our best Red Cross stories. PLEASE send me one or two (or more!) of your favorite stories. (“I remember the time when…” )  You can send me an email, or give me a call and I’ll type while you talk. I want to capture stories from staff, board members, volunteers, and clients that will help our donors understand what a tremendous difference we make in this community and why their gifts matter.

As always, I know you know of more good things going on with our Chapter, so please send me a note and I’ll include them next week! And, please feel free to forward this email to the volunteers who work with your department!

Have a great week!

View our new chapter video by clicking on the image!

CEO UPDATE

From Elaine Acker, CEO

Happy Monday to all,
I hope you all have a short holiday week ahead. Here’s what’s going on here at the Chapter:

Bastrop Fire Response this past weekend
On a sad note, there was house fire this past weekend in Bastrop. Some family members made it out safely, but two elderly people died. Volunteer Elaine Thompson continues to be our rock in Bastrop County, and along with her team, she will be coordinating with the family and emergency services to provide any needed assistance.

Volunteer Recognition and Annual Meeting Set for August 23
Save the Date! We’re confirmed for our Red Cross chapter annual meeting and Volunteer Recognition event. It’s Sunday, August 23 at the Dell Diamond. We’ll conduct a little business, celebrate the amazing volunteers without whom we would not be able to deliver services to this community, and enjoy an All-American outing. This event will be big fun for the whole family, so I hope everyone – staff, board, and volunteers - can join us. We’ll be sending a “Save the Date” note to volunteers this week.

New Employee Announced in Emergency Services
Lane Pearson, who has been working in Emergency Services as a contractor, is now a permanent employee. Lane has accepted the Emergency Services Response role effective immediately, and we value his tremendous dedication to the Red Cross mission, and the broad knowledge he brings to the role. Please join me in welcoming Lane (permanently!) to the team.

America’s Charities Workplace Giving Campaigns
I’d like to thank our board members who came out to the America’s Charities reception on Tuesday evening: Michael, Calvin, Felicia, Stacy Armijo, and Judge Shepperd came and spent time with Marty and me learning more about opportunities with workplace giving. Several staff members attended the America’s Charities annual meeting and speaker’s training the following day and I think we’re all looking forward to the fall campaigns.

Watch FOX News on Wednesday, July 1
Marty McKellips is scheduled to do a morning interview on FOX on Wednesday to talk about Fourth of July safety. There’s BBQ involved. Sounds good – even at 7 a.m.

Luling Watermelon Thump
Volunteer Dave Crittenden braved the heat to represent the Chapter at the annual Luling Watermelon Thump (pictured below). Dave has worked hard to raise visibility and volunteers for the Red Cross in Caldwell County, and we appreciate everything he does for this Chapter. We have plans to increase outreach through community events in other counties, so if you have suggestions about especially high-profile events, please let us know.

Holiday
The Chapter will celebrate the Fourth of July by closing the offices on Friday, July 3.

I wish everyone a SAFE and fun weekend!

One World Camp Slideshow
Click on the image to view the slideshow.

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GREETINGS AND HAPPY MONDAY - CEO UPDATE

From Elaine Acker, CEO

A World Apart, a Moment Together
Saturday was one of the most amazing experiences of my professional life. After months of working with our partners at One World Theater and LifeSize Communications, Saturday was the big day. Because of our Chapter, 12 military children were able to participate in One World’s summer theater camp. Because of LifeSize, most of those children were able to share their experience with their deployed family members. Can you say “goosebumps?”

The technology was incredible – the deployed parents watched the performance live. We could see them on the screen as part of the audience, looking proudly at their kids. There are no words to describe how rewarding this was. I walked in, saw the military parents’ faces on the screen, and felt the tears bubbling up. It worked. It really worked. I have to say an extra special THANK YOU to Michael Chaison without whom it would never have come together. Check out just a few of the photos below. Stay tuned for a slide show…

In the meantime, here’s the link to one of the News mentions:
http://www.kxan.com/dpp/news/local/A_world_apart_a_moment_together

The Education and Training Team reports that they have just inventoried all the products currently in stock, and it sounds like there’s a big SALE in the works! Keep an eye out for that announcement and you’ll have a chance to stock up on Red Cross goodies.

Also, the new course schedules are now posted online. Take a look and stay current on your training. And with Hurricane season officially here, be sure to take a look at any disaster classes that could help you learn even more about preparedness and response.

Outreach Efforts
Marty is off and running in her new role as Development & Communications Manager, Williamson County, and she and Melissa G. had a great visit with Sun City residents last Thursday. They talked about preparedness for the entire Sun City community, and the presentation was broadcast on Sun City’s community television network.

Volunteer Jim Dixon took the ERV to one of the Wal-Mart locations in Williamson County and had a chance to visit with area residents and help tell the community more about how to prepare for disasters. This kind of visibility will make a huge difference!

Debbie, Marty, and I have all done recent presentations to the City of Austin’s Public Works Department. By the time we’re done with the eight scheduled presentations, we will have reached more than 500 Public Works employees, reminding them about preparedness (especially since so many of them have a disaster response role as well), and also reminding them about the upcoming workplace giving campaigns in the fall.

Annual Meeting
Don’t forget to save the date, AUGUST 1, for our annual meeting and volunteer recognition celebration! We don’t have all the details yet, but it will be late afternoon – early evening. More info to come.

Questions? Comments? News? Send me a note! Thanks!