Dear Editor.
What is a hero? Like art, heroism is in the eye of the beholder. As law enforcement officers and firefighters, we are fortunate to work with the American Red Cross and meet heroes every day.
Law enforcement officers and firefighters from Barton County have teamed up with the Red Cross to raise awareness about the ongoing need for blood through the Battle of the Badges blood drive competition. The firemen have proved they are heroes and won the Battle of the Badges contest.
We are honoring our hometown heroes as part of our annual Battle of the Badges blood drive. Whether you are a blood donor, a financial contributor, a volunteer or one of the many local organizations with which we partner, we thank you all for your donations.
Please make donating blood a routine part of your life and donate on behalf of your friends and family.
Thank you to everyone who participated in the American Red Cross Blood Drive July 26. There were 178 people who came in to share their life-giving blood. Our goal was 162 so you went above and beyond. We can feel proud we did our civic duty and helped to ensure lifesaving blood is available for patients in hospitals throughout our area.
As a blood donor or volunteer, each of you has helped the Red Cross fulfill their mission of a safe and ample blood supply. Hospital patients rely on us and we delivered! I want to thank each of you for being a part of this lifesaving experience.
Receiving one-gallon pins were Beverly Schmeidler, Keith Heeke and Larry Parsons. Dan Stafford and Kari Haberman received two-gallon pins and receiving an eight-gallon pin was Larry Mcintosh. Donnie Lang received his 10-gallon pin and receiving an 11-gallon pin was David Thompson. Rhonda Penka received a 12-gallon pin. Merita Rice received her 20-gallon pin. That’s 160 pints for her! Wow, this is great Merita! Great job everyone. Thank you to all of you for giving blood for all of these years. It is well appreciated by many. We had three first-time donors. We hope the first-time donors will be back in September for the next drive.
We look forward to saving more lives at our next drive, Sept. 20. Please keep in mind our blood donations are collected at St Rose Parish. If you would like to help, please call at 792-2580.
Corry Lokovsek,
Blood Drive chair,
Great Bend