American Red Cross Presents
Community Awards
News Release: June 26, 2008
Contact: Janice Osborne, Director-Communications and Marketing; American Red Cross of the Greater Lehigh Valley (610) 865-4400, ext. 262; pager (610) 508-4378

At 91, today’s local American Red Cross is doing what it does best, only better and in different ways. Long recognized as a leader in disaster relief, blood collection and first aid training, the American Red Cross of 2008 would make Clara Barton blush with pride.

“Lives are changed and saved every day for thousands of senior adults in the greater Lehigh Valley thanks to our Lifeline and I’M OK programs,” said Executive Director John Hughes at the chapter’s Awards Celebration and Annual Meeting held this evening at the Banana Factory in Bethlehem.

“The lives of sudden cardiac arrest victims are saved because someone cared enough to take Red Cross AED (automated external defibrillator) training. Through our Babysitter’s Training classes, teens ages 11 to 15 are taught what to do if a sibling or child in their care needed immediate CPR or medical attention. Even pet owners are more educated thanks to the introduction of a new dog first aid program,” Hughes added.

Compassionate volunteers, dedicated employees and the support of the business community are the key ingredients to the success and growth of the chapter, Hughes told nearly 100 attendees.

Highlighting the Red Cross Service to the Armed Forces program, Specialist Brian Allen of the 213th Area Support Group at the Pennsylvania Army National Guard shared his experiences serving in Iraq and how he worked with the Red Cross in facilitating emergency communications messages to service men and women. These messages are delivered around-the-clock, every day and may include notification of a critical illness or death in a family, or the birth of a child.

The chapter presented a number of awards in recognition of the outstanding support of the community, volunteers and employees.

The Clara Barton Honor Award for Meritorious Volunteer Leadership, the highest award the national American Red Cross bestows on volunteers, was presented to Robert M. McGovern of Bethlehem.

A volunteer for more than 25 years, McGovern served on the board of the former Lehigh County Red Cross in Allentown and played a major role in the merger of the three area Red Cross chapters in 1989. He served as chapter chairman of the Greater Lehigh Valley Red Cross from 2005-2007 and is involved in numerous Red Cross board committees. He and his wife Brenda demonstrate a strong financial commitment to the chapter as charter members of the Clara Barton Society. McGovern is a member of the 2008 Clara Barton Society Campaign cabinet.

Marylee Zart of Orefield received the Special Citation for Exceptional Volunteer Service Award which honors a volunteer whose performance over a period of several years has substantially exceeded the volunteer’s original commitment to the American Red Cross.

Zart began her volunteer career in 2001 and is an assistant coordinator for the local disaster response team which provides emergency assistance to residents affected by fire or other disaster. She is trained and certified as a national disaster relief worker and spent two weeks in New Orleans during the Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. She is credited by her volunteer peers for her continued performance improvement efforts for local disaster response.

The Spirit of Excellence Award, in recognition of superior job performance demonstrated by an employee of the American Red Cross, was presented to facilities manager Bob Siebler of Danielsville. For the past 13 years Siebler has been responsible for the chapter’s three-story facility including building projects, security, tenant requests, safety, janitorial services and property maintenance. He is credited for saving the organization thousands of dollars by securing donated office furniture and goods and services, and personally completing complex building projects.

Other awards included: The Good Neighbor Award, given to local businesses, corporations and agencies that have provided significant, ongoing support to the Red Cross. This year’s recipients are: Blue Mountain Health Systems; Capital BlueCross, Crayola, and Lehigh Valley Honda/Vinart.

The Volunteer Center of the Lehigh Valley received the Exceptional Partnership Award for its longstanding work with the Red Cross.
The Bethlehem Township Community Center and Youth Services Agency in Jim Thorpe received the Workplace Recognition Award for their commitment to provide Red Cross training in lifesaving skills to their employees.

During the annual meeting portion of the event, Chairman George Hlavac recognized three outgoing board members for their contributions to the Red Cross: Peter Brown, vice president at Harleysville National Bank; Robert McGovern, community leader; and Robin Aguila, youth board representative from Allentown Central Catholic High School.

In other business, the following individuals were re-elected to a second, three-year term: Brad Greenawald, financial advisor at Smith Barney; Craig Poliner, Medescort International; and Evelyn Soto, customer relations specialist at PPL Electric Utilities. Emmaus High School senior Lizzy Stoner was re-elected to a third, one-year term as youth board representative.

In addition, the following individuals were elected to the board for their first, three-year term: Ken MacKenzie, associate vice president of investments for Stifel, Nicolaus and Company; Mike Mickey, president and CEO of Mahoning Valley Nursing and Rehabilitation Center; and Nila Patel, assistant vice president at Wachovia Bank. Christina Muthard, a junior at Parkland High School, was elected to her first, one-year term as youth board representative.

The election of officers will be held at the board’s July 23 meeting.

The American Red Cross of the Greater Lehigh Valley serves more than 690,000 residents of Carbon, Lehigh and Northampton counties. Last year the Red Cross provided health and safety education training; Lifeline, a personal response service for seniors; and emergency relief to more than 23,000 Greater Lehigh Valley residents. For more information about the American Red Cross of the Greater Lehigh Valley or volunteer opportunities, call (610) 865-4400 or visit www.redcrosslv.org.