When storms, floods, fires and other disasters strike, it's good to know there are people like Roy Gillespie - experienced, knowledgeable volunteers - who are ready to lend a hand.

 

A 30-year Teamster from St. Louis, Roy has long understood the importance of helping others in the community. As a member of the union's Human Rights Commission, he received a personal request from Mr. Jim Hoffa, president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, to assist with rescue and recovery efforts in the immediate wake of Hurricane Katrina. Assigned to the American National Red Cross Disaster Relief Headquarters in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Roy spent 30 consecutive weeks supervising a team of 32 Red Cross volunteers and 20 refrigerated trailers that were sent to the Gulf Coast from across the country. With decades of experience in transportation and logistics, he quickly became a trusted leader in the Red Cross disaster relief effort.

 

"I had 27 trucks, two vans and 30 cars to collect and transport supplies," he explained. "My teams were out in the field at 7:00 a.m. every morning gathering Red Cross cots, blankets and logistical supplies from across the disaster area."

 

It was during Roy's Katrina relief service that he met St. Louis Area Chapter CEO Joe White. Joe introduced himself after noticing Roy's St. Louis Cardinals cap. This chance meeting was the start of a long-term relationship between Roy and the St. Louis Area Chapter.

 

Less than a year later, on July 19, 2006, an afternoon windstorm knocked out power to nearly 750,000 St. Louis homes during a heat wave with triple-digit temperatures. The morning after the storm, Roy called Joe to ask, "How can I help?"

 

Recognizing that Roy's experiences and knowledge would be invaluable during the power outages, Joe asked Roy to serve as a Red Cross liaison at the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) in downtown St. Louis. Roy worked with several key emergency response leaders, including Mayor Francis Slay, Bill Seidhoff, the St. Louis director of Health and Human Services, Gary Christman, director of Emergency Management for the City of St. Louis, and Jeff Rainford, Mayor Slay's chief of staff. The St. Louis Area Chapter operated cooling centers and provided food, cots, blankets and comfort kits (containing hygiene items) to thousands of displaced people in facilites managed by local municipalities.

 

According to Nancy Bates, executive officer of Emergency Services, "Roy immediately gained the respect of city and municipality leaders as well as Red Cross staff and volunteers. He's a professional and he knows how to work with people to get the job done. We're grateful for his service." On day four of Roy's EOC assignment, he was appointed by the Chapter to host a televised press conference for the Red Cross and city and state leaders.

 

Funding from local organizations and donors enables the Red Cross to recruit, train, deploy and retain experienced volunteers like Roy Gillespie. Today, as a member of the St. Louis Area Chapter Emergency Services Committee, he is helping recruit other dedicated and diverse volunteers and build relationships with local emergency responders and civic leaders. At the national level, he is a manager with Partner Services, where he says, "I provide support whenever and wherever needed."

 

His role has taken him to California in fall 2007, where the Red Cross was providing relief to victims of wildfires. As a Red Cross Labor Relations Manager, Roy served as the main liaison between the carpenters and Red Cross. His team assisted more than 2,500 people each night. Roy's leadership in California and St. Louis are only two examples of how partnerships among community service organizations created during disasters continue to benefit the community long afterwards.