Back ST. LOUIS (Friday, November 15, 2002) – Seven St. Louis Area Chapter volunteers and community organizations were recognized by the American Red Cross Missouri State Service Council for their commitment to helping save lives through their involvement in Red Cross programs and services such as blood drives, disaster relief and CPR and First Aid training. The state awards honored some of the most committed Red Cross volunteers in Missouri and were presented at the Red Cross Missouri State Conference on November 10. A total of twenty-four awards were given at the conference. The awardees include: • Betty Eschelbach is a St. Louis city resident and 17 year volunteer for the Red Cross blood program. In addition to helping recruit blood drive volunteers, Betty works four blood drives a month and often fills in whenever needed. She has also served locally on the Red Cross Awards Nominating Committee to help recognize other volunteers for their dedication and commitment. In 2001, Betty, a member of the United Nations Committee, received the United Nations Award for her volunteer efforts throughout the community, including those at the Red Cross. • Bill Dales,* a Des Peres resident, is a Health and Safety Award recipient. Bill has been a Red Cross volunteer for eight years and is certified as a CPR/ First Aid/ AED Instructor. He also serves as an Instructor Trainer and trains health and safety instructors on new course material. In addition, Bill teaches three to four classes each month. In 2001, Bill gave 235 hours as a health and safety instructor. In addition to teaching classes, Bill also serves as a Lifeline installer, helping install a one-touch emergency response calling system into elderly people’s homes. • Judy Zurfluh,* a South County resident is a recipient of the Red Cross Nurse Award. Judy has been a Red Cross nurse for seven years, serving with national and local disaster relief efforts. In addition to the nursing function, Judy provides mental health services for affected families and volunteers. For example, when Red Cross volunteers responded to the September 11 attacks, Judy placed calls to their families to make sure that their emotional needs were met. Judy has also helped counsel disaster volunteers who respond to disasters with extreme circumstances such as a death. Judy currently chairs the Missouri State Nursing Committee. • Melat Mandefro of University City is the Youth Award recipient. Melat, a current YouthCorps member, is an advocate for youth involvement in the Red Cross. Melat is active in International Services, giving presentations on International Humanitarian Law and landmines. She has also represented the St. Louis Area Chapter for the United Way Allocations Review Committee. • AT&T Wireless Services is the recipient of this year’s Philanthropist of the Year Award, also known as the Philos Award. AT&T Wireless has given over $25,000 as a corporate sponsor of the St. Louis Area Chapter Lifesaver Program. The organization also provided the St. Louis Area Chapter with free phones and airtime during the September 11th terrorist attacks, and a reduced rate for the Chapter’s cellular phone plan throughout the year. Tom Ely, General Manger of Oklahoma and Missouri, serves on the St. Louis Area Chapter Board and on the Chapter’s financial development committee. AT&T Wireless Services is also a national Red Cross sponsor. • Brandy Pedersen* and Mike Thiemann* are the Partnership Award recipients. They joined together to establish a speaker’s bureau at the St. Charles County Service Center to help increase Community Disaster Education presentations in the community. Recently, the St. Charles City Fire Department requested them to train all 76 of their firefighters as Community Disaster Educators. Brandy and Mike are currently working to train other area emergency personnel as Community Disaster Educators. • John Bender Construction* is a Good Neighbor Award recipient. Through a cooperative agreement, John Bender Construction employees who are classified as light duty status due to a recent injury, volunteer their time at the St. Louis Area Chapter assisting with administrative duties including data entry, faxing, scheduling, and organizing files. The Bender employees help to lighten the load of administrative duties for the Chapter and many of the Bender employees have continued to volunteer long after returning to work. About the American Red Cross St. Louis Area Chapter Founded in 1917, the American Red Cross St. Louis Area Chapter provides emergency and preparedness assistance more than 354,000 times to St. Louis-area residents each year. The Red Cross depends on the efforts of 14,700 volunteers and 150 staff to provide a wide range of community support services, including disaster relief, first aid and CPR training, water safety, adult daytime professional care, services to military personnel, assistance to homeless families, and support for blood services. The Chapter provides programs and services to St. Louis City, St. Louis County, St. Charles County and Jefferson County in Missouri, as well as St. Clair and Monroe Counties and part of Madison County in Illinois. Media Note: Digital pictures available of awardees marked with an asterisk (*). Please contact Laura Treat at 314.239.1195 or ltreat@redcrossstl.org for more information.

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