The American Red Cross is recognized by many as one of the greatest humanitarian organizations in the country and in the world. The organization has been around for more than 100 years, and they do much more than just holding blood drives, which is what most college students know them for.

Some of the many things the Red Cross provides for the community are emergency assistance, disaster relief, community services for the needy, emergency communications services and educational programs on safety and health.

The Red Cross has over 700 chapters nationwide with more than a million volunteers and 30,000 employees. They are also the largest supplier of blood and blood products in the country.

Our very own Red Cross chapter in Lee County is working hard not only in our community, but across the country to help out those in need.

Marty Nelson, is the Emergency Services Coordinator at the Lee County Red Cross, a job which
he has held for the past three years.

As Emergency Services Coordinator, Nelson is responsible for ensuring that plans and materials are in place and people are trained so that he can direct a response if there is a disaster.

Nelson is currently working on a major reconstruction of the Red Cross’s communications equipment. Soon they will have radio equipment that will allow them to reach across the county and into other counties to communicate with people if cell phones are inaccessible.

Through his job, Nelson has had the opportunity to respond to many disasters all over the country, including Hurricanes Katrina and Gustav and the California wildfires in 2007. He served as the government liaison for the Red Cross during the wildfires catastrophe.

Nelson says because of the amount of unforeseen disasters and events that occur all over the country, there is no “off month” for people who work at the Red Cross.

He says he must be ready at a moment’s notice to respond to a disaster, which could take you to any part of the country.

“Hurricane season will end at the end of this month, but then we’ll go straight into tornado season,” said Nelson. While he says it is challenging, it is also extremely rewarding to be able to see first-hand the difference you can make in someone’s life.

There is no shortage of local disasters either, as Nelson says they have already had to respond to four fires in the Opelika area this week.

He says his favorite part about his job is “being able to make a difference when there is a disaster, knowing that at the end of the day, you’ve done something good.”

For more information on the Lee County Chapter of the American Red Cross, or if you are interested in volunteering, visit their Web site at www.leeredcross.org.


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