Welcoming Misty Thomas as Red Cross KY Region Volunteer Services Director

We are happy to announce that Misty Thomas is our new Red Cross KY Region Volunteer Services Director, serving KY, southern IN and IL. Misty joined the region team in April 2021, serving as the executive director of the Red Cross Western Kentucky Chapter. Misty will help lead the region with our volunteer services group to recruit new volunteers and engage current volunteers with all lines of services for the Red Cross such as biomed services, disaster response and preparedness, Service to the Armed Forces, among others. Before Misty joined the Red Cross she worked in broadcast journalism, where she had a voice as a leader in the news conversations on K105 and 103.9’s “In the Know” and “Shop Local Leitchfield.”

Misty had only been with the Red Cross a little over six months when the devastating December 2021 tornado swept through much of her chapter area, impacting multiple counties and devastating hundreds of individuals and families. She tirelessly helped her communities by working alongside Red Cross disaster workers, working closely with county judge executives, mayors, and multiple organizations to help communities and families respond and recover from the tornadoes.

“My journey with the American Red Cross has allowed me to serve communities on their darkest days, offer survivors resources, and connect with community partners. However, the unexpected and most fulfilling part has been the opportunity to watch the best of humanity come alive as community members step into the heroic roles of serving their own neighbors. It’s been an honor to serve and guide them. Additionally, the American Red Cross has gifted me the most amazing friendships and opportunities to grow as a humanitarian,” said Misty.

In the three and a half years Misty has been with us, she has jumped in to help, not only in the KY Region, but has deployed to assist in other areas outside of western KY and across the country:

• 
  Worked in public affairs for the 2022 Eastern KY Floods
• Elected Official Liaison in fall 2022 for Hurricane Ian
• Housing Liaison for the 2023 Maui wildfires
• Responded to the 2024 Memorial Day weekend storms, which re-impacted many of the same areas devastated by the 2021 December tornado in western KY.
• Serves as a Kentucky State Relations Representative for the Red Cross

Misty leads with a servant’s heart and has been active in her community serving on many boards and nonprofit groups:

• She was honored as a Kentucky Colonel for her work in co-creating Saving Hope Charities, a transitional living facility for homeless women with children.
• Grayson County Chamber of Commerce President and Vice President
• President of the Twin Lakes Professional Women’s Organization
• Worked with Grayson County Poverty Coalition and Grayson County Women of Worth
• Served as Vice President of Silverleaf Sexual Trauma Recovery Services

Misty holds a BS in Organizational Leadership and Learning; MS in Human Resources and Organizational Development – both from the University of Louisville and is currently a doctoral candidate at Liberty University where she studies public administration and policy analysis. She has been married for 28 years and has three grown children in their mid-20s.