By Dorothy Evans
Weiser, in partnership with the American Red Cross, held its quarterly blood drive in the Vendome on March 10. Despite the pandemic, or maybe because of it, 91 people showed up to donate, becoming the largest March turnout by far in many years.
After the unfortunate log jam at the December drive, the Red Cross came better prepared to handle our large number of donors. Increased staff and equipment made the process run smoothly, waylaying long wait times and frazzled nerves. The flow of people was steady all day but there was never a backup.
Since May of 2014, I have unofficially kept track of the number of donors that came to each drive. It is interesting to see the spike for the last two drives. It is also interesting to note that the pandemic throughout 2020 has had no effect on the numbers.
March May Aug/Sep Dec
2014 58 46 61
2015 45 55 63 65
2016 54 58 66 59
2017 63 57 73 58
2018 60 71 74 68
2019 64 56 70 54
2020 65 65 70 98
2021 91
Each quarter, several first-timers donate blood and it is always a pleasure to see them return time and again. This drive we had a first-timer couple, long time Weiser residents Kevin and Tanja Colby. They have been wanting to donate and after seeing the advertisement, they decided there was no better time than the present. Both agreed giving blood was important and very easy to do. In fact, Tanja boasted that it took her only 4 minutes and 53 seconds to fill the vial!
We appreciate all our donors. Those who gave their permission to print their name are:
Jason Bair, Marg Chipman, Daniel Seiser, Rick Haynes, Larry Lee, Carole Kunz, Fred Haun, Jeff Kahler, Amy Farrens, Trisha Thomson, Chris McCord, Brent Forward, Ron Handel, Cynthia Haynes, Sabrina Young, Tim Erhard, Ralph Graham, Kyla Dickerson, Cynthia Duncan, Bret Karnes, James Chandler, Jo Huskey, Rejeana Goolsby, Cully Neill, Wendy Martell, Gary Jansen, Colin McComish, Natasha McDaniel, Taylor Downing, Mari Bionaz, Owen Edwards, Colleen Edwards, Pat Sullivan, Kaitlyn Kyro, Patti Hartnett, Michael Hartnett, Dan Floyd, Suzanna Hubele, Chris Linder, Sheila Sorensen, Derry Bresee, Randy Hibberd, Bob Barber, Barbara Barber, Barbara Huck, Matt Erickson, Linda McLaughlin, Brian Drake, Lupita Rodriguez, Sherry Moore, April Luna, Alonna Freeland, Melissa Freeland, Boden Meyer, Torrina Logan, Steve Spencer, Austen Thomason, Jessii Moser, Phil Condon, Kaelyn Messersmith, Patrick Johnson, Molly Jensen, Laurel Handel, Larra Roth, Angela Glemser, Steve Nakamura, Tim Avery, Sharon Robinson, Ellie Ibarra, Brian Johnson, Kami Terry, Sherri Breaux, Gary Hill, Jim Wolter, Melisse Hiner, Becky Anderson and Dennis Cooper.
The blood drive could not happen without the help of the volunteers. Blood drive coordinator, Alex Chavarria, pulled it all together by lining up and calling donors. Dorothy Evans worked the registration table during the drive and enters future appointments into the database. Janet Forward helped at the registration table while Laurel and Ron Handel took everyone’s temperature.
Special thanks go to Lynnette Buller and the staff of the Metropole for donating sandwiches and cookies for the donors as well as a delicious meal for the volunteers and workers. We are also grateful to MTE Communications for their contribution that pays for supplies and WIFI.
Weiser’s next quarterly blood drive will be held in the Vendome on Wednesday, May 5, from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Let’s keep this success rolling. Please call Alex Chavarria at 208-602-7138 or Dorothy Evans at 208-549-5589 to schedule an appointment or go on the American Red Cross website to reserve your time slot. Your blood could save a life. There’s no better way to spend an hour of your time.
