Event Celebrates American Red Cross Month By Mike Shands Sonny Sweet wants to have the High Country seeing red this month. Sonny Sweet is the executive director of the Watauga County Chapter of the American Red Cross. Photo by Mike Shands. A Legacy Of Hope In the aftermath of Hurricanes Ivan and Frances last fall, Red Cross volunteer Karl Manzer led his disaster team into action along the banks of the Watauga River in Foscoe. As they approached a trailer park on the south side of the village it was obvious that great damage had been inflicted by the floods resulting from the tropical storms. As the team searched the area for residents in need of assistance it became clear that the destruction caused by these raging waters ranked with the infamous flood – “The Flood” – of 1940. As night descended on the trailer park the previous evening, April Brown and her two small children gathered in their small home along the roaring Watauga River to ride out the storm. As the fury of Ivan pounded on her home, her concern increased, yet she did not leave. Throughout the night the trailer rocked severely and major damage was inflicted on the structure. Still, the family members remained inside their home because they had nowhere else to go. In the morning Karl stood outside the young family’s home. Surely, he thought, no one could possibly be inside because it was obvious that the trailer was not livable. As he pushed open the door to the trailer he could not believe what he saw: a young woman with two children sitting in the mud and water. They were in tears, afraid to leave the remains of their once safe home. Karl immediately radioed his headquarters for assistance from a disaster mental health team. Geri Miller and her husband, Ron Hood, sped to Foscoe. These specialists had responded to terrorist attacks of the World Trade Center during 9/11. They had counseled victims of that tragedy during the three weeks for their duty in New York. Here at home, they had answered the calls for help on numerous occasions; still their hearts were broken as they witnessed the destruction of the hopes and dreams brought by Hurricane Ivan to the family of April Brown. With great care and love the couple administered their expertise in service to victims. When April arrived at the chapter headquarters in the following days for follow-up support she told members of the family service center that until the Red Cross found her and her children, she had no hope. They restored her future, and as so many volunteers before in the long history of the chapter, had accomplished their mission: “To restore hope when hope has been temporarily lost.” Later, a note from April arrived at the chapter office in Boone. She lovingly addressed her rescuers with these words: “I can’t thank you enough for showing us there was a light at the end of the tunnel. The Watauga Chapter has a great bunch of angels that appeared just when we needed them. We appreciated everything you did.” For 87 years the volunteers of the Watauga Chapter of the Red Cross have faithfully served their community and will continue until the fury of Mother Nature has been harnessed, until young soldiers at war no longer need a connection to their families back home, until scientists invent a substitute for human blood and until fires no longer destroy home and lives. Only when that day comes will the volunteers of the chapter no longer be needed. This legacy of service is what American Red Cross month is still about. This is the month when celebration and thanksgiving is held for the angels who watch over the Aprils of our lives. The executive director of the Watauga County Chapter of the American Red Cross, Sweet hopes Watauga and Avery County residents will join the rest of the nation and celebrate March as American Red Cross Month. The month’s local festivities will culminate Friday, March 31 with the Paint the Town Red celebration at Wildflower restaurant in Boone from 7 to 11 p.m. “We’re having a celebration for everybody to come out,” Sweet said. “It’s a little fund-raiser, but it’s also a celebration of volunteers and meet the public.” Guests can dance to the music of popular High Country band Laditude, dine on heavy hors d’oeuvres, bid on the silent auction or just visit. There will also be a cash bar. Tickets are $50 per person and can be reserved by calling the Red Cross office. Those reserving tickets can pay for them in advance at the office with cash or check or at the door of the event March 31 with credit card, cash or check. Happy Birthday Sweet said that this year’s Red Cross month commemoration is special because it marks the 125th birthday of the American Red Cross, which was formed in 1881 by Clara Barton. The Watauga County Chapter was formed in 1917. “During that era the American Red Cross expanded from some 200 chapters to something like 3,000 chapters,” Sweet said. “Not all have survived because we’re now back down to less than 900 chapters nationwide, but this chapter has been alive and well for all of those years.” How well? Sweet recently received the chapter’s annual report card from the national organization. “There’s about 47 requirements that each chapter must meet each year to maintain its charter,” Sweet said. “We came out pretty good. We really did. We got good acknowledgment of our capabilities here in the High Country.” The Watauga County chapter, which also serves Avery County, ranked in the top 20 percent of the Mid-Atlantic area’s 187 chapters. “The emphasis behind that is to increase the ability of the national (Red Cross) president in his or her accountability to congress to be able to document and prove what the Red Cross is doing,” Sweet said. Katrina Update One of the things that the Watauga County chapter has been doing for the past six months is helping survivors of Hurricane Katrina who have found their way to the High Country. Sweet said that the chapter has assisted about 180 people from the Gulf Coast region affected by the hurricane. The three primary ways it has done so are by providing financial assistance, housing assistance and referrals to other agencies. “The amazing thing was how many people gave up their home, rent-free, for extended periods of time to do that,” Sweet said. “At one point I had 30-some families in various donated housing here in the High Country.” Six people (three families) are still living in locally donated housing. The chapter also sent numerous volunteers to the affected Gulf Coast areas. “We picked up 112 new volunteers during that process,” Sweet said. “We doubled our disaster volunteer base as a result of that.” More recently the chapter provided more than $4,000 to help Appalachian State University Students from the Appalachian and the Community Together (ACT) office travel to the GulfCoast and provide assistance to hurricane survivors. Local Level Assisting Katrina survivors has required considerable resources and organization so the Watauga chapter has been fortunate that this fiscal year has been more uneventful than usual for disasters on the local level, Sweet said. Local Red Cross Statistics During the fiscal year of July 2004 to June 2005 the Watauga County Chapter of the American Red Cross: * Responded to 30 disasters * Provided aid to 30 families in need * Conducted 70 blood drives * Collected 3,100 pints of blood * Trained 3,793 residents in CPR/First Aid * Trained 86 baby-sitters * Provided 60 instances of service to members of the military and their families “This year we’ve had less than 10 families burned out, where the average is 21,” he said. “We’ll average 40-some armed forces emergency communication cases a year, and we’ve had perhaps 10 this year. “It’s just been ironic that so far this has been a slow year for us in terms of local disaster response at a time when our energy had to go a national response.” That’s not all the Watauga chapter does, though. It also operates The Jeremy Fund and The Russell Fund. The Jeremy Fund is designed to give Watauga County victims relief from fires and other disasters as well as provide resources for fire prevention, assistance and education. It also provides funds for firefighter and disaster service scholarships. The Russell Fund provides immediate assistance for Avery County disaster victims and resources for disaster prevention and preparedness. Other local services include blood drives and courses in first aid, CPR, safety and baby-sitting. Contact Information Phone: (828) 264-8226 E-mail: watarc@goboone.net