National Volunteer Week – Kathleen Doughty

By Kevin Sandell, American Red Cross communications volunteer

As board chair, leading the efforts of an organization’s board of directors is not for the fainthearted. A lot is riding on the board’s ability to guide the organization to meeting its objectives. For the current Board Chair of the American Red Cross South Central Kentucky Chapter, serving with the chapter’s board is an opportunity for the chapter to reach new heights. 

“We have a big potential, but we’re just tapping that potential,” Kathleen Doughty, the chapter’s Board Chair, said.

Doughty, who has lived in Kentucky for nearly three decades, has served on the chapter’s board since July 2017. Her roles not only include facilitation of the board’s meetings, but also directing the efforts of the board to guide the local Red Cross chapter in serving its local communities.

Doughty said the board is comprised of 12 members from all walks of life. She previously worked in higher education and then a local home healthcare agency. After leaving the education and healthcare fields, she opened her own business, which specializes in laser-engraved, personalized gifts and holiday ornaments. 

Her father’s service as a firefighter paramedic in Massachusetts inspired her interest in emergency and disaster response at a young age. She served as an emergency dispatcher in South Carolina and Kentucky but wanted to be able to “see the action, instead of just hearing it on the phone and through the radio,” she said. At that time, women firefighters were not common in the fire service, so she decided to earn her paramedic certification, and eventually earned the rank of lieutenant in a paramedic department in Charleston, South Carolina. 

While working as an emergency dispatcher in Bowling Green, Kentucky, Doughty said a police officer in the department served on the local Red Cross board, which also intrigued her about board membership.

Serving in South Carolina, Doughty said the state endured several hurricanes, including Hurricane Hugo, a Category 4 hurricane. It was at that time where she saw the American Red Cross in action providing support to local affected communities. She said it is important for everyone to do something to mitigate the effects of disasters.

“Disasters don’t discriminate,” Doughty said. “People may be fine, and others lose everything. [Disasters] go where [they] want to go. Everybody needs to be doing something.”

Emphasizing the need for people to step up during disasters, she added, “There’s a lot of ways for people to volunteer. You can do as little as you want or as much as you want.”

Doughty, who is a “big blood donation supporter” said the South Central Kentucky Chapter wants to increase awareness and understanding of donating blood and the importance of working smoke alarms in homes and businesses. The Red Cross South Central Kentucky Chapter serves 22 counties in Kentucky, and serves as the Service to Armed Forces station at Fort Knox, the U.S. Army base south of Louisville.

Learn more about volunteering with the Red Cross at redcross.org/volunteertoday