My husband Jim and I are volunteers with the St. Louis Area Chapter. We were activated for Red Cross disaster relief assignment on Saturday. We were assigned to Florida and arrived in Orlando late Saturday night ready to help with any and all Red Cross sheltering. But, thank goodness, Tropical Storm Josephine veered away and our help has not been needed as anticipated so we’re on stand by to shift east or west depending on what route Hurricane Ike takes in the next few days. We’re on assignment for three weeks and we’re ready to go wherever we’re needed. Wherever they send us, that would be fine. I understand there’s about 400 Red Cross volunteers and 30 Emergency Response Vehicles here in Orlando now—we’re all waiting for word from Red Cross National Headquarters regarding how and when to shift direction. In the meantime, we’re spending time with our teams and resting up for the heavy work of disaster sheltering which can extend to 18 hour day shifts. Last night we had a real treat--the hotel where we stayed gave us an appreciation dinner for the Red Cross volunteers—it was very, very nice. This is the third assignment that Jim and I have deployed for this calendar year. More to come…