Awards Ceremony Honors Red Cross Volunteers, Community Supporters
News Release: June 26, 2009
Contact: Janice Osborne, Director-Communications and Marketing; American Red Cross of the Greater Lehigh Valley (610) 865-4400, ext. 262; pager (610) 830-9771

The American Red Cross of the Greater Lehigh Valley held its Awards Celebration and Annual Meeting last evening (6/25) at the America on Wheels Museum in Allentown. About 90 people attended the event at which awards were presented to local residents, companies and agencies.

The Clara Barton Honor Award for Meritorious Volunteer Leadership, an award the American Red Cross bestows on volunteers, was presented to Joseph Stockunas of Bethlehem.

Stockunas, general manager-electronics equipment at Air Products, joined the board in 1998 and served as board chairman from 2003-2005. He was recognized for his intense commitment to the Red Cross as a leadership volunteer, donor, fundraiser and advocate in the workplace and community. He and his wife Susanne are charter members of the Clara Barton Society and served as members of the 2008 Clara Barton Society Campaign cabinet.

Stockunas helped establish the chapter’s first Red Cross Club at Parkland High School in 2004. Today the Club is one of five very successful high school youth clubs in the chapter’s three-county service area. Nationally, Stockunas was selected to serve on the National Committee of Resolutions in 2006.

Ed and Isabel Lenny of Allentown received the Special Citation for Exceptional Volunteer Service Award which honors volunteers whose performance over a period of several years has substantially exceeded the volunteer’s original commitment to the American Red Cross. The couple have been disaster services volunteers since Oct. 2001, assisting families displaced by fire or other disaster, as well as providing a wide variety of data entry support and disaster client follow-up. They are Clara Barton Society members and regularly volunteer their time for fund-raising events and community outreach programs.

The Spirit of Excellence Award, in recognition of superior job performance demonstrated by an employee of the American Red Cross, was presented to Rhonda Xiques of Emmaus and Robert Duld of Whitehall. Xiques is an emergency services specialist and has been with the chapter for 10 years; Duld serves as chief operating officer and has been with the Red Cross for nine years.

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: Highmark Blue Shield, Jim Thorpe Market, The Express-Times, The Morning Call and Viamedia.

The Certificate of Extraordinary Personal Action, awarded to an individual or individuals who save or sustain a life by action that exemplifies the aims of the American Red Cross, was presented to the Alburtis Police Department, Alburtis Fire Company #1 and the Macungie Ambulance Corps. They are credited for helping save the life of Alburtis resident Dallas Bauer who suffered a cardiac arrest last year.

During the business meeting, Chairman George Hlavac reflected on the successes and challenges of the local Red Cross and thanked attendees for their support during his two-year term as board chair. Hlavac will be succeeded by board member Joe Lennert, president of Caruso Benefits Group, Inc.

In other business, the following individuals were re-elected to the board: George Hlavac, Tallman Hudders & Sorrentino; Thomas Brown, The Morning Call; Dawn Washington, Family Answers, Inc.; Dona Fisher, Crayola; Desty Bonstein, Embassy Bank; Jim Dunleavy, Northampton Community College; Vaughn Gower, Lehigh Valley Hospital; Anne Speck, Muhlenberg College; and Christina Muthard, senior at Parkland High School, as youth board representative.

In addition, the following individuals were elected to the board for their first, three-year term: Donna Goss, co-director, Leadership Development Institute; Nancy Kruzik, director of nursing and healthcare science, Lehigh Carbon Community College; and Brian Bobeck, senior consultant and chief operating officer at Molewski Financial Partners. Peter Brown, vice president-branch coordinator at First Savings Bank of Perkasie, was elected to fill a one-year board vacancy.

Soham Roy, junior at Freedom High School, was elected to a one-year term as youth board representative.

The election of board officers will be held July 22, 2009.

The American Red Cross of the Greater Lehigh Valley serves nearly 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 24,000 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.