Success With Purpose: Melissa Jones

Melissa Jones is an account manager on our biomedical team who has seen success building her territory and increasing blood collection to help patient need. She joined our team 7 years ago. “It’s the perfect fit. I get to be competitive and collect as much blood as I can and at the same time, you are directly helping people. Which is one of the things I love most about working with Red Cross,” Melissa said.

The account management team has strong bonds. “I don’t know where I would be without my coworkers,” said Melissa. “We share parenting tips. We share stories. It’s so good to have team members you can go to for anything… They are more than willing to step up and help you. They don’t want anything in return. Everyone does it from the good of their heart and they want to see you do well. We try to bring each other up all the time.”

Melissa’s career is personal, as she has had loved ones who needed blood transfusions to survive. Her dad passed away from leukemia in 1996. “I think he had received about 14 units of blood in treatment. Once I started with Red Cross, my mom went back and found the information,” she said. Melissa’s niece had open heart surgery in January. “Her blood was not pumping right. Her artery was in the wrong chamber of her heart; they had to move the artery into the correct chamber. You’re talking about a 6-hour long procedure. When she was recovering, they automatically gave her platelets. They wouldn’t have done the surgery without platelets being available on the shelves,” Melissa explained.

Her niece is a perfect example of why whole blood transfusions can be better than platelet transfusions during certain major surgeries. “About 5 hours post operation, her blood pressure dropped, and she got really pale. They were afraid she would need a [whole blood] transfusion… That probably wouldn’t have happened if she had a little bit more red blood cells. It would have saved the trauma of the situation. Those monitors start beeping, and everyone comes rushing in the room and you’re panicking,” Melissa explained. Her niece is doing remarkable and better than anyone expected.

One of her favorite blood drives to manage is with a Girl Scout troop in Georgetown, Indiana. “They call themselves the leukemia warriors. We do the drive every November,” she said. Two parents are battling leukemia, and the troop hosts the blood drive in their honor. “Obviously, that’s near and dear to my heart due to everything with my dad. The girls are great to work with,” said Melissa.

Melissa discussed seeing women in leadership and how it’s inspired her. Since she was a little girl, her idol has been Abby Wambach, USA soccer icon, Olympian, activist, and author. Melissa is awed by Abby’s ability to not take no for an answer. “Her consistency is key for so many women. Just because one door closes, it doesn’t mean it’s over. Look for other doors. She’s done that every time. She’s continued her success on her own. She’s looked for her own doors.”

Melissa is married to Zach, and they have two children, Max and Lucy. They enjoy spending time outside on their family homestead. They raise chickens, ducks, and turkeys. The kids love tending to their garden and playing with the animals. 

Clair's Red Cross Story

Clair Brendel’s Red Cross journey started in January 2015, when she was a senior in college. “I needed an internship, and I wanted something that allowed me to work with individuals and communities, and the Red Cross proved to be my perfect match. After finishing my degree, I moved on to serving as a program manager in West Virginia for 3 years before coming to Kentucky where I first served as the program manager for the Louisville Area Chapter before taking on my current role as the Planning and Preparedness manager for the region.”

“I initially chose the Red Cross because I wanted to be able to travel and help others, and Red Cross enabled both of those things,” said Clair. “I stay because being a part of the Red Cross means being a member of the greatest humanitarian family and mission.”

As Planning and Preparedness Manager, Clair works with communities and volunteers across the region to implement preparedness and resiliency programs. “Personally, the most rewarding part of my job is seeing our volunteers grow in their capacity to help others and serve as leaders,” said Clair. “However, I also have the honor of investigating our “Lives Saved” leads for the region- seeing where the free smoke alarms we install help people to escape fires that happen in their homes.”

Home fires are this country’s deadliest and most frequent type of disaster. Seven people in this country lose their lives to a fire in their home every day. Because of these tragic statistics, the American Red Cross launched its Home Fire Campaign to reduce home fire-related deaths and injuries. Since its start in 2014, the campaign is credited with helping save more than 2,000 lives across the country.

For Clair, working for a nonprofit that benefits the community the way the Red Cross does is a continuation of the proverb “it takes a village to raise a child.”

“Some people may be entirely self-sufficient,” said Clair, “But most go through hard times in their lives where they need help. Being a part of a helping agency allows you to be a part of those villages, whether you’re making someone more prepared or standing with them on one of their worst days.”

One of Clair’s favorite memories of working with the Red Cross is of coming across an unreported wildfire with a new volunteer she was onboarding: “She and I were driving through a rural county to inventory a trailer when we saw a large cloud of smoke. As we drove by the house closest to the smoke, we couldn’t see anyone was watching the fire, so we turned around and checked. It turns out we had stumbled across an unreported wildfire in the area. Because we stopped, we were able to get the fire department on scene in time to save several homes in the area and keep the families safe.”

Being able to complete her Masters of Social Work from the University of Illinois while still accepting numerous deployments to support disasters in Kentucky is one of Clair’s proudest achievements. “I spent almost 12 weeks supporting two different floods and the 2021 tornados. Being able to accomplish such a big personal goal while still being there for my community is something I’ll aways be proud of.”

Clair and team during her
deployment to Maui

A goal Clair has for this year is crossing off another new state on her list: “I’m on a mission to visit all 50 states, and I have 12 to go. My last new state was Hawaii when responding to the Maui wildfires. I’d like my next state to be one I go to for fun, not work.”

One fun fact about Clair is that she was once an award-winning jazz tenor saxophone player and painter. She has a cat named Blair who likes to introduce herself to people on Teams calls, and is a voracious reader, yoga enthusiast, and leisure hiker. Her favorite place to hike is Kentucky Lake, with the Grand Tetons being a close second.

We are excited to share that Clair will soon begin a new role as part of our National Red Cross team! Congratulations, Clair, and our best wishes for this newest chapter in your story!

Volunteer Appreciation Week: Carol and Randy Griggs

 “People need to step back from the busyness of life. The busyness is not essential, and they get caught up.” Carol Griggs explained why it is important for people to volunteer. “This is a way to help someone who needs blood. We speak to families who have needed blood and they truly appreciate it.”

Carol and Randy Griggs are a husband-and-wife blood donor ambassador team for the American Red Cross Kentucky Region. Starting in 2019, they continued their volunteer efforts through the COVID-19 pandemic. “It’s a benefit to us because we are out conversing with people and enjoying meeting with them,” said Randy.

Carol and Randy will be married for 54 years this October. The Red Cross Kentucky Region has given them a place to volunteer and give back. “We enjoy the [Red Cross] workers. They are friendly and so appreciative,” said Carol.

In their free time, Carol and Randy enjoy going to church at Southeast Christian. Randy explained that the couple is living in their dream house and loves their family. They have a son and daughter and 5 grandsons.

When asked about why she enjoys volunteering, Carol said “The end result is that blood is going to someone who desperately needs it… This is one way we can repay.”

Thank you to Carol and Randy for your time and effort as blood donor ambassadors! This #VolunteerAppreciationMonth, we will be highlighting some of our amazing volunteers. To find more information about volunteering, visit RedCross.org

My Story Monday: Sally Higgins – Disaster Cycle Services

Our volunteers are always ready to respond, whether by offering support when disaster strikes, helping with lifesaving blood collection or working behind the scenes to support our vital mission. This week, we’re spotlighting Sally Higgins, a Bluegrass Area Chapter disaster volunteer who has been with the American Red Cross since 2001.

Sally Higgins

Sally began her Red Cross journey as a first aid instructor, but became interested in disaster response after volunteering to bring water to firefighters responding to a wildfire in Colorado, where she was living. After her retirement in the fall of 2018, she deployed to Florida during the Hurricane Michael disaster response and was called upon to manage a shelter team as a shelter supervisor. Shelter supervisors guide and support the day-to-day activities within a shelter, including assisting shelter residents and supervising other volunteers working at the shelter.

She came back from the experience enthusiastic about disaster response and ready to hit the ground running, taking disaster training and sharing many ideas of how she could assist with preparing Kentucky Region chapters locally. Sally has since deployed to seven disaster responses across the country and in the Kentucky Region.

Always willing to help where she is needed, Sally has also taken on multiple on-call shifts outside of the Bluegrass Area Chapter, and in the Louisville Area Chapter she has been a champion of the disaster action team (DAT). DAT volunteers respond to local, personal emergencies like home fires, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

“One of the most important things about being a disaster volunteer is understanding the people we help and where they’re coming from,” said Sally.

Sally has taken her experiences as a DAT member and turned them into a willingness to onboard, mentor, and engage other volunteers. She works to increase our volunteers’ opportunities to grow as DAT responders, and takes new volunteers under her wing.

Since Sally’s retirement, she has branched out into new roles and excelled in leadership, setting examples for other team members. She has earned the position of Emergency Management Agency Team Member because of her efforts working with Emergency Management Agencies. She is also a Clara Barton Award recipient, an award that honors a volunteer for service in Red Cross leadership positions over many years.

Thank you, Sally, for your commitment to the Red Cross mission and for the time, care and integrity you extend to your fellow volunteers!

You can learn more about becoming a Red Cross volunteer by visiting redcross.org/volunteertoday.

My Story Monday: Jamie Taylor

Jamie has volunteered with our Red Cross Eastern Kentucky Chapter for 5 years and donates his time as a Disaster Action Team volunteer and blood donor ambassador. He dove into volunteering in 2015 when floods struck his Martin County, KY community and helped serve as a guide for Red Cross volunteers while they worked on assessing flood damage.

“There were some people who weren’t familiar with Martin County like I was,” said Jamie. “The next thing I know, I’m signed up.”

While Jamie’s early deployments kept him close to home, where he supported flooding and other local disaster responses in the Kentucky Region, he has since deployed 25 times to help support disasters across the country. Many of his deployments have been to hurricanes in the southern states, the first being Hurricane Matthew in 2016. The farthest Jamie has ever deployed was to California, where he assisted with the response to the Oroville Dam crisis.

Jamie typically works as a shelter supervisor on deployments. Shelter supervisors guide and support the day-to-day activities within a shelter, including providing information to shelter residents, coordinating meals and making sure the needs of the shelter residents are being met.

His most memorable deployment experience happened during Hurricane Florence in North Carolina. Due to severe flooding, Jamie and several others were airlifted to the local school where they were going to work as shelter volunteers.

“It was the first time I ever got to ride in a Black Hawk helicopter,” said Jamie. “It was the only way I could’ve gotten to the job site. When we got to the shelter, we landed on a tennis court or football field and walked into the school."

Jamie also worked as shelter manager on his two most recent deployments this fall, where he spent several weeks in September and October supporting Baton Rouge and New Orleans residents after Hurricanes Laura and Marco. His role involved keeping track of local conditions, making sure COVID-19 safety protocols were being followed, and making sure residents’ needs were being met in the hotel they were using as a non-congregate shelter.

Even after a busy hurricane season, Jamie is still always prepared to answer the call when disaster strikes.

“It’s an opportunity to go to different states that I’ve never gotten to visit, [and] that same desire to help people. I’m always up and ready.”

You can learn more about becoming a Red Cross volunteer by visiting redcross.org/volunteertoday.

Kentucky Region Welcomes New Senior Disaster Program Manager

The Kentucky Region Red Cross is excited to welcome Zach Stokes to our team! Zach joins us from the Tennessee Region and will become our new Senior Disaster Program Manager serving Kentucky, Southern Indiana and Southern Illinois.  

Zach Stokes is from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He graduated from Norwich University in Vermont with a Bachelor of Arts in Studies in War and Peace and a Master of Arts in Military History. While finishing a Master of Science in Justice Studies in 2016, he started volunteering with the Central Southwest Chapter of the Oklahoma Red Cross and was soon deployed to Louisiana for the Baton Rouge Floods, then to western Oklahoma for a tornado. He joined AmeriCorps, a network of national service programs that work to improve lives and foster civic engagement, in 2017, and served with the West Michigan Chapter of the Michigan Region Red Cross. There he supported chapter activities and responses, as well as helped plan and coordinate the Home Fire Campaign and Sound the Alarm.  

In 2018, Zach became the Disaster Program Specialist for the Nashville Area Chapter of the Tennessee Region Red Cross.  He helped increase both the Disaster Action Team and Preparedness Education programs. He participated in several major disaster responses, including 90- and 40-unit apartment fires, flash flooding, and windstorms. During the 2020 Middle Tennessee Tornado response, he led Community Engagement and Partnerships, and increased partnerships with the NAACP, Islamic Center of Nashville, Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, National Baptist Convention, African Methodist Episcopal Church, and Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship International.  

Outside of work, Zach loves to watch football, read military history books, try new restaurants and food, kayaking, and hanging out with his 9-month puppy, Trey. He looks forward to exploring Kentucky and meeting the staff and volunteers of the Kentucky Region.