The Southeastern Chapter of the American Red Cross proudly honored 14 of its outstanding volunteers at a brunch at The Pinery at the Hill on Saturday, May 18, 2019. Here are their stories.
Kathy Sharkey – Clara Barton Award
Throughout her 13 years of service with the Southeastern Colorado chapter, Kathy has been a guiding light and an inspiration to literally countless volunteers and clients. When it comes at empowering others, she is a pro. The Casework and Disaster Action Teams she leads have a record of excellence that are the envy of many chapters and this is directly due to the Kathy’s guiding hand and high-quality leadership. As the casework lead, she is invariably kind, yet not blind to human errors and responds to our clients and the volunteers she leads with a firm, but gentle hand. She nudges, encourages, inspires, coaches and mentors.
Many of the volunteers who have served under Kathy have gone on to become excellent supervisors in their own right, a testament to her refined skills as a leader. She often interacts with our community partners to ensure the best combination of services are provided to our clients. Her extensive knowledge and demeanor make her an excellent spokesperson for the Red Cross. Kathy is dedicated to the Red Cross and most importantly to fellow volunteers and to those impacted by disasters. Thank you!
The Clara Barton Award is the highest and only National Award given at the chapter level.
Clara Harlowe Barton is one of the most honored women in American history. Barton risked her life to bring supplies and support to soldiers in the field during the Civil War. She founded the American Red Cross in 1881, at age 59. Clara’s passion to provide comfort to people in distress guided her throughout her life. By the force of her own personal example, she set the stage for what would become the powerful organization that is today’s American Red Cross.
Hugh Wilson – Debbie McSwain Passion for Service
Hugh is a man with a ceaseless passion for service. We think of him as “kindness in action”. He serves as the lead volunteer of the Spiritual Care Team. You don’t have to go to church to be comforted by Hugh’s message. He shares his message of hope with people of all faiths. He reminds all of us that during the dark and difficult days following a disaster, there is hope that somehow, a brighter future awaits. He bestows on all of us, client and volunteer alike, the gift of feeling listened to; feeling heard. He listens sincerely, patiently, attentively, compassionately, calmly, and sympathetically. He listens to a young couple that is still in shock after escaping a quickly approaching wildfire. He listens to a frightened child tell of the night he floated out of his own front door in his father’s fishing boat. He hears a distraught volunteer share their feelings of helplessness after a day trying to help relieve the widespread suffering of hurricane victims. And then he reminds us all that there is hope. Hugh Wilson is a man committed to the Red Cross, having served many years here in Colorado and in Nevada and never failed in offering comfort and care to those in need. Thank you!
Barbara Ziegler – Volunteer of the Year, Air Force
Due to her professionalism, Barbara is considered a critical team member at a very high out-put pharmacy. She has served 3 years and over 310 hours each year as a Medication Dispensing Technician at the Air Force Academy, Community Center Pharmacy. She knows the medical protocol and that medication must be dispensed correctly 100% of the time. She inspires other volunteers to provide excellent service and follow medical policies. Equally important are her superb pharmacy facilitator skills. Her expansive knowledge and cadre of life skills allow her to encourage patients to keep calm under frustrating circumstances. Barbara maintains high standards and is respected and admired by all she works with, staff and patients. Thank you!
Tran Nguyen – Volunteer of the Year, Army
Tran volunteers as a phlebotomist. Professional volunteers such as doctors, nurses and phlebotomists must be certified and meet command regulations in their area of expertise before becoming a Red Cross volunteer in any military medical facility. She met the requirements and used her professional skills in the main laboratory at the Evans Army Community Hospital. She was responsible for identifying correct tubes for blood samples, verifying patient information, labeling tubes and obtaining blood by way of venipuncture. She put patient’s needs first and consistently provided exceptional phlebotomy services during a time of critical staff shortages. Among her peers Tran is a well-respected team member who willingly steps in to help wherever needed. Thank you!
Kate Walters – Volunteer of the Year, Disaster Cycle Services
It takes the special ability of a journalist to bring a story to life. Kate collects stories and pictures of every Red Cross moment she can get her hands on, making sure that Southeastern Colorado has heard “the Red Cross story”. Her stories bring us to feel the powerful emotion of a frightened disaster victim or the fatigue of a volunteer after a long day of hard work bringing relief to those affected by disasters large and small. She reminds us to keep stocked up on emergency supplies, up-to-date on our CPR training, and to change the betteries in our smoke alarms. She shines a light on the important activities of our Service to Armed Forces volunteers. She answers the call to be the face of the Red Cross to local media. If there’s a baby or a puppy in sight, she’s there. Her work has been published at the national level and she has deployed on 4 different occasions in the few years she has been a volunteer. Kate also serves as a night DAT supervisor. Thank you!
Roland Vandenburg – Exceptional Volunteer, Air Force
Roland understands the tremendous need to help fill the personnel void by volunteering at the Air Force Academy Community Center on the Pharmacy Team. Pharmacy patients tend to be anxious concerning their medications. He uses superb personal skills with empathy to help calm upset patients. He pays attention to the details and medical protocols ensuring perfect accuracy on dispensing medications. Roland is known for being vigilant and not cutting corners. He has dedicated 300 hours per year to for the past 6 years. That comes to a grand total of 1800 of his own hours given to serving his military community, active duty, veterans and families. Thank you!
Jaqueline Attiogbe – Exceptional Volunteer, Army
Jaqueline’s passion is to support and encourage others in the process of experiencing the fulfillment that comes from serving as a Red Cross volunteer. Soon after becoming a Red Cross volunteer she accepted the responsibility for leading the Summer Youth Program at Evans Army Hospital, known as one of the best programs within military medical facilities. Under her leadership, she ensured the oversight of 30 teenagers, logged all of their hours, and kept the program running smoothly. She is very skilled at planning and directing from behind the scenes, allowing the youth to receive the recognition. At the close of summer, she supervised the youth recognition event so all of the teens felt appreciated. Jacqueline helped plan and organize the Red Cross Dental Assistant Training Graduation and she continues to support the in-processing of new volunteers. Thank you!
Tina Harrison – Exceptional Volunteer, Disaster Cycle Services
Since becoming a Red Cross volunteer just a few years ago, Tina has taken on an ever-increasing number of roles and responsibilities, completing an astronomical number of training courses and attaining an amazing array of titles. She serves as the DCS Client Casework Supervisor, Community Engagement and Partnerships Service Associate, a member of the Regional Deployment Team, and a representative in Government Operations. Tina loves to travel to and often finds herself heading off to less than exotic and luxurious destinations. She deployed twice to Texas after Hurricane Harvey, to Florida after Hurricane Michael, and assisted clients after two separate wildfires here in Colorado. Her travels also took her to the “Red Cross Boot Camp” at National Headquarters for high level training. She worked quietly from home as a virtually deployed casework supervisor, connecting those affected by floods in Mississippi with local community resources. Tina is an energetic team player. Thank you!
Kirk Brown – Rookie of the Year, Air Force
Kirk has already demonstrated outstanding dedication and commitment through exceptional service to the Red Cross mission and this is just his first year. His role is to dispense medication to patients at the Community Center Pharmacy, United States Air Force Academy. He is known for his quiet ability to diffuse tense situations with pharmacy customers. He has a calm demeanor and is a team player. The Community Pharmacy alone dispenses over 3000 medications per day, and Kirk plays a major role as part of the forces that are responsible for dispensing over 850,000 medications per year with exceptional accuracy! Thank you!
Manny Pedraza – Rookie of the Year, Army
Manny recently joined the Service to Armed Forces (SAF) Team, but he is not a rookie to other Red Cross programs. From 1970 to 1980 he volunteered while serving as a Navy Corpsman and in other capacities with our chapter since 2005. Last year he joined the SAF team, completed training and qualified as a SAF Family Contact Card Caseworker and Critical Community Services Caseworker. He also serves on the Ft. Carson Briefing Team. His military background is helpful in understanding and explaining Red Cross services to our military community. His experience and knowledge are coupled with his great compassion for those in need. Manny is the founding member and past Chapter President and past Colorado State President of the Vietnam Veterans of American, Chapter 1075. Thank you!
Lori Peppard – Rookie of the Year, Disaster Cycle Services
Lori came on the scene in March of 2018. She is certainly not a rookie when it comes to her field of expertise. In the world of Health Services, she is an expert. As Disaster Health services co-leader, she helps oversee a team of 30+ health services volunteers. She ensures new nurses are on-boarded and welcomed and she tracks their training. She hosts nurse’s meetings and creates the Disaster Health Services calendar in support of the Disaster Action Teams. She responds to requests from DAT members for client support, assists on disaster responses at the local level and has already deployed twice to national disasters. Because of her leadership, knowledge and willingness to serve, she has achieved supervisor status in a short period of time. She is committed to constantly improving the service provided by the Disaster Health Services team. Lori is a ball of energy and she spreads that energy to everyone she comes in contact with, clients and volunteers alike. Thank you!
Mila Chong – Unsung Hero, Military
Mila Chong works hard behind the scenes. Because she keeps a low profile, she is often not noticed but her dedication and performance is simply outstanding. This volunteer gave an amazing 500 hours in support of the Internal Medicine Clinic in 2018 and has contributed over 1300 hours over the past 3 years since she began at the Evans Army Community Hospital. She volunteers as a front desk receptionist in one of the busiest and most understaffed clinics at Evans. She stays focused on her job of getting patients checked in quickly in order to see their medical provider as soon possible. She took extra computer classes on her own to hone her skills. She keeps precise notes of patient visits to ensure that the clinic has an accurate record of the care patients with multiple issues have received. More than once, she has stepped in to cover for a week at a time when the clinic was critically short staffed. Mila is recognized by all as a dedicated and caring volunteer. Thank you!
Ann Richards – Unsung Hero, Disaster Cycle Services
Ann Richards is a quiet and caring yet capable volunteer. She never draws attention to herself yet provides a critical and valuable service to our chapter. She has been referred to as “the quiet angel”. She started volunteering a few years ago with both the Home Fire Campaign and the Volunteer Intake Processing Center. She took on the responsibility of onboarding new volunteers and is now a member of The Volunteer Screening Team and the lead for the Volunteer Intake and Onboarding Team. Responsible for the first communications new and prospective Southeastern Colorado volunteers, she makes sure they receive encouragement and correct information. Ann is dedicated to her work and quick to understand new changes needed to manage the various demands of her position. Thank you!
Abigail Attiogbe – Military Youth Volunteer of the Year
Instead of spending her high school summer break relaxing with friends, Abbigail chose to contribute more than 200 volunteer hours of her personal time to service at the Iron Horse Family Medicine Clinic at Evans Army Hospital. She provided many patients with wheelchair transport throughout the hospital, at the same time, sharing kindness and comfortable conversation to help them feel at ease during their time at the clinic. She assisted with numerous other tasks such as running labs, cleaning equipment, and providing support to the Mother Baby Unit. She brightened the days of in-patients while delivering their meals. She is also a great planner and was the only youth volunteer who assisted with plans and preparation for the Annual Red Cross Youth Volunteer Recognition. The event was a great success and recognized 25 youth volunteers at the hospital. Abigail is well known for being a kind, well-mannered, and a hardworking team player. Thank you!
If you are interested in learning more about becoming a Red Cross volunteer, visit RedCross.org/Volunteer.