FIRE LIGHT

FIRELANDS CHAPTER

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Janice Alexander

Patrick Burns

Paul Dalferro

Marsha Danhoff

Jon Ditz, chair

John Flickinger

Steve Frankfather

Nora Gallagher

Eilene Guy

Jenny Hipp

Roland Holt

Jeremy Jones

Emily Kasper

Barry Kaufman

Rita Khosla

Judy Kinzel, Secretary

Joe Lindenberger

Kula Lynch

Ed McClendon

Leslie Mesenburg

Don Miears

Michael Palmer

Tom Patterson, Vice Chair

Lynne Phillips

Chris Raftery

Deb Reed

Laura Rice

Tom Sharpnack

HONORARY

BOARD MEMBERS

Mary Aaron

David Brink, Treasurer

Kelly Bleile Dete

Terry Durham

Kathy Muldoon

EMERITUS TRUSTEES

V. Ned Bixler

Kenneth Conway

Dr. Robert Kromer

Richard T. Long

Evelyn McLoney

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Ronald Rude

Summer 2013 American Red Cross, Firelands Chapter

Water Safety Programs Expanding

Thanks to Generous Donations Water safety is

always important,

but in our

Firelands

communities it’s

especially

important in the

summer months.

This year,

increased funding

for the summer

aquatics program

will enable the

Firelands Chapter

of the American

Red Cross to offer

water safety

classes to more

children and teens

at area pools.

Thanks to generous donations from the

Sandusky-Erie County Community Foundation,

The Fund for Huron County, Grace Episcopal

Church, Zion Lutheran Church Foundation,

Newcomers and Friends, Wightman/Wieber

Foundation and other area foundations, the

Firelands Chapter has nearly $20,000 to fund

aquatic programs, including Learn-to-Swim

scholarships, lifeguard training scholarships and

additional program locations.

Expanding from two sites to six will provide

more opportunities for area children to benefit

from Learn-to-Swim classes. In past years,

Learn- to-Swim has been offered in Sandusky at

Jackson Junior High School and in Willard at Willard

Parks and Recreation. This year, the program will

expand to include Sandusky High School, Bellevue

Parks and Recreation, Sandusky YMCA,

Ernsthausen Aquatic Center in Norwalk and

Kalahari Water Park.

Scholarships are

available to

qualifying

participants.

“Hopefully, being

able to provide

scholarships will

expand

participation,”

explains Niki

Cross, Recreation

Director at

Norwalk Parks

and Recreation.

“This is so

important, with

our area lakes,

waterparks and

the reservoir here

in Norwalk. We

really need to make the program available and get

the word out.”

Water safety programs require qualified

instructors, so funds have also been earmarked for

water safety instructor scholarships and lifeguard

scholarships. This training can help create a skilled

work force that is vital during summer months.

Learn-to-Swim classes for children will be

scheduled from mid-June through July and if

necessary, into August. Schedules will vary by pool.

Information will be distributed to area schools

before the end of the school year.

Denise Robinson, aquatics instructor, teaches swim lessons at

the Jackson Junior High pool in Sandusky.

For more information:

Sandusky High and YMCA — call 419-621-9622

Willard and Ernsthausen — call 419-663-6775

Bellevue — call 419-483-7747

Kalahari — call 419-433-7200

Chairman’s Note Page 2 FIRE LIGHT

Everyone knows the hallmark of

the American Red Cross is to be

prepared for anything. We are

there at the huge, horrific events

and stand ready, willing and

able to be of support. So it is with

severe storms, hurricanes ,

tornadoes , fires and flooding that

may cover parts of whole states.

Our response to these natural

disasters, as well as tragedies such

as the explosions in Boston and in

West, Texas, is coordinated through chapters,

regions and our nation l headquarters.

Our Firelands Chapter, like other local

chapters, also focuses on individual

preparedness , helping our neighbors

avoid problems. The “stay safe” approach

works with kids learning to swim and

with helping the elderly avoid stove top

fires in apartments. Babysitting

instruction and first aid training helps

everyone better understand and respond

to the unexpected. Helping our

returning military personnel quickly

and fully rejoin their families and

communities is on our agenda, too. And

of course we support Red Cross blood

collection activities in our two-county area. We

are part of your family — the Firelands

Chapter of the American Red Cross.

Jon Ditz

Red Cross Prepares Local Residents for Emergencies Does a “tornado watch” mean conditions are right for a

tornado in your area?

What is the most common cause of fires in the home?*

Hundreds of area residents and families took a few minutes

to test themselves on these and other basic emergency

questions as part of an American Red Cross “Preparedness Day.”

Nearly two dozen Firelands Chapter volunteers donated their

time on April 13 to help be sure the public is “Red Cross Ready”

to prevent and respond to emergencies — from home fires to

natural disasters such as floods and tornadoes.

Shoppers at the Walmart stores in Sandusky and Norwalk

were invited to test their safety/preparedness knowledge and

get an immediate score — and the right answers.

Participants received a safety backpack containing such

supplies as an emergency blanket, glow stick, first aid kit,

emergency drinking water, face mask, gloves and information

useful in case of an emergency.

Preparedness Day supplies and safety backpacks were made

possible through grants from the Wightman/Wieber Foundation

and The Fund for Huron County.

“This was a win-win situation,” said Chapter Disaster Chairman

Pat Burns, who helped organize the activity. “We had Walmart,

the foundations and Red Cross volunteers all working together to

make the Firelands a safer place to live.”

*It’s TRUE that “tornado watch” means conditions are right for

a tornado to develop in your area. And the most common cause

of home fires and related injuries is COOKING.

For more disaster preparedness information, please visit

www.redcross.org/firelands.

Customers at the Norwalk Walmart took time to test

their disaster knowledge. Helping were volunteers

Jan Smith, Deb Barnes, Cathy Slyker and Zack Baker.

Red Cross volunteers at Sandusky Walmart were (back row)

Sid Jordan, Sandy Jordan, Bob Mischler, Tom Learmonth,

John Mueller and Tony Rivera. Middle row: JoeAnn Bonner.

Front row: Pat Prast, Anne Stock and Laurie Fogg.

Page 3 Firelands Chapter

Red Cross/Cedar Point Golf Challenge Has a New Date

You may have noticed that there have been no announcements about the

Red Cross/Cedar Point Golf Challenge that has taken place on the

Wednesday before Cedar Point opens every year for the past 21 years.

For 2013, this event has been moved to Friday, Sept. 13. This change

should benefit Cedar Point and the Red Cross as well. For Cedar Point, it

moves the event from a very busy week preceding the park’s opening day.

For Red Cross, we look forward to more stable weather in September as

well as the fun we will have linking the golf challenge to the opening of the

popular Hallo-Weekends. Stand by for more details to come your way this

summer, and keep your fun golf skills sharp!

Ellett is pleased with his decision to support the Red Cross.

Planned Giving Pays Off for the Donor and the Chapter NORWALK — Clarence Ellett has respected the American Red

Cross ever since he saw it in action while he was serving in the

U.S. Army during World War II.

“One time I had an unexpected furlough and I didn’t have the

money to get home,” he recalled. “So I went to the Red Cross

and asked for a loan. Before I needed it, the Red Cross called

and said, ‘come and get it.’ I didn’t end up needing the loan

because the money from my wife arrived, but I saw that the

Red Cross was there when we needed it.”

A couple of decades later, well into his career as Deputy Health

Commissioner with the Huron County Health Department, Ellett

began donating blood when the Red Cross started bloodmobile

visits in Norwalk. He never needed a blood transfusion himself,

although his wife did, but he trusted the organization to do its

part to keep the nation’s blood supply safe and available.

Finally, about four years ago, Ellett learned there was

something the Red Cross could do for him: It could help him

stretch his retirement savings.

“I put $50,000 into a charitable gift annuity,” he said. “You buy

it and it pays you back a fixed percentage for as long as you live.

“Really, it was selfish on my part. I was using my savings to live

here,” he said of his comfortable apartment at the Carriage

House in Norwalk. “The gift annuity is really like insurance. It’s

paying me an annual amount, guaranteed, so I’m not whittling

away my savings.” And he has the satisfaction of knowing that

upon his death, the remaining principal will benefit the Red

Cross.

Ellett has reason to be pleased with his decision: Looking

forward to celebrating his 100th birthday in July, he continues to

live independently and enjoys hearing about the activities of his

four children, nine grandchildren and one great-granddaughter.

“Charitable gift annuities are popular among retirees who want

to support charitable organizations while retaining fixed lifetime

payments,” said Ron Rude, Executive Director of the Firelands

Chapter, who helped Ellett make his gift.

A Red Cross charitable gift annuity can be funded with cash or

with securities and can be set up to pay out for the lifetime of up

to two individuals. The annual payout percentage rate is based on

the age(s) of the annuitant(s); rates begin at 4.7% at age 65,

rising to 5.1 at age 70 and in increments up to 9% for those mak-

ing a gift after the age of 90.

The person who establishes a charitable gift annuity, like Ellett,

receives an income tax deduction based on the remainder value

of the gift, and part of the fixed payout payments are tax-free

return of principal.

To learn more about how charitable giving can fit with your

estate planning, contact Ron Rude at the Firelands Chapter, 419-

626-1641 or 1-800-589-2286.

Help the Red Cross Save Money!

Let us electronically mail you the next Fire Light.

This will make good use of the donated dollars

entrusted to us to carry out humanitarian work

in your neighborhood, across the nation and

around the world, and it will reduce the burden

on your mailbox.

To do this, we need your email address. You can

call us at 419-626-1641 or email it to

Bonita.Smith@redcross.org. NOTE: The Red

Cross will NOT share your email address.

Page 4 FIRE LIGHT

Thanks to our donors The Firelands Chapter is very grateful to all of our financial donors, whose generosity makes it possible for the Red Cross to serve our

area communities as well as those affected by disasters across the nation and around the world. These individuals and groups have made contributions of $100 or

more from Oct. 16, 2012 through April 15, 2013. Every donation, large or small, is vital to the work of disaster relief, community, workplace and family safety

education, armed forces emergency service and blood services.

General & Disaster Contributions

Barb Agrawal

Alpha Ames

Linda Armstrong

Mr. & Mrs. Warren Armstrong

Suzanne Bacon

Norbert Barman

Mr. & Mrs. Robert Barnes

Larry Bartow

Mr. & Mrs. Gary Bauer

Mr. & Mrs. John Bauer

Robert Beachy

Sharon Beck

Bellevue City Schools

James Bertsch

Mr. & Mrs. Laurence Bettcher

David Beverly

Robert Bickely

Mr. & Mrs. V. Ned Bixler

Mr. & Mrs. Brice Blackman

Margaret Bockrath

David Brown

Paul Brown

Mr. & Mrs. David Brink

Mr. & Mrs. Arthur Bruggeman

Mrs. Homer Bungard

Mr. & Mrs. Patrick Burns

Susan Carpenter

Sue Cloak

Virginia Clouse

Mr. & Mrs. John Coffman

Mr. & Mrs. Richard Collingwood

George Collins

William Cornell

CSX Corporate Citizenship

Mr. & Mrs. Ronald Cull

Teresa Cupp

Mr. & Mrs. Jeffrey Danhoff

Susan Daniel

Kelly Dete

Mr. & Mrs. Jon Ditz

Mr. & Mrs. Don Druckenmiller

Edison Schools

Clarence Ellett

Mr. & Mrs. Ronald Ellison

Dr. Harold Erlenbach

Mr. & Mrs. Ralph Fegley

Mr. & Mrs. Gerald Ferguson

Donald Fey

Firelands Regional Medical Center

First Energy Foundation

First National Bank

Fisher-Titus Medical Center

Mr. & Mrs. John Flickinger

Mr. & Mrs. James Franks

Mr. & Mrs. Raymond Fries

Lois Gagnon

Nora Gallagher

Wade Garner

Mr. & Mrs. Donald Geib

Mr. & Mrs. Michael Gubesch

Mr. & Mrs. Roger Gundlach

Mr. & Mrs. Donald Guy Jr.

Mr. & Mrs. John Harkelroad

Mr. & Mrs. V. Roland Hart

Victoria Hayes

Marie Heath

Susan Henry

Jorja Higgins

Mr. & Mrs. Charles Hipp

Gerard Hipp

Mr. & Mrs. Jeffrey Hipp

Jennie Hipp

Dale Hohler

Mr. & Mrs. Richard Hohler

Mr. & Mrs. Angelo Hoty

Mr. & Mrs. John Hufnagle

Mr. & Mrs. Delmar Jenkins

Mr. & Mrs. Jerry Jones

Dr. & Mrs. Narinder Khosla

Mr. & Mrs. Richard Kinzel

Mr. & Mrs. Randall Koch

James Krogstie

Dr. Robert Kromer

Kenneth LaMarca

Leora Land

John Lendrum

Mr. & Mrs. Charles Lindecamp

William Lorcher

Mr. & Mrs. Brad Lynch

Janis MacMurray

Gerald Mahl

Maple City Ice

Mr. & Mrs. Ed McClendon

Suzanne McFee

Mr. & Mrs. Donald McGee

Mr. & Mrs. Earl McGimpsey

Mrs. Evelyn McLoney

Mr. & Mrs. Paitsel Meadows

Mr. & Mrs. Gary Meikle

MetLife Foundation

Mr. & Mrs. Richard Metz

Mary Meyer

Mr. & Mrs. Eugene Miller

Mills Elementary School

Mr. & Mrs. Phillip Mohr

David Moon

Mr. & Mrs. Paul Mueller

Mr. & Mrs. Kevin Muldoon

Mr. & Mrs. John Murray

Mr. & Mrs. William Muthig

George Mylander

Mr. & Mrs. Richard Nord

Charles Norton

Rev. & Mrs. Elmer Novak

Mr. & Mrs. Christopher Opper

Mr. & Mrs. Michael Palmer

Ruth Parker

Mr. & Mrs. Doug Phares

Matthew Pickworth

Lloyd Pitsenbarger

PNC Bank

Mr. & Mrs. James Powers

Mr. & Mrs. Eric Prack

Mr. & Mrs. Michael Raftery

Mr. & Mrs. Jeffrey Reed

Mr. & Mrs. Gerald Reichert

Mr. & Mrs. David Rengel

Sandusky Register

C.M. Schaffer

Mr. & Mrs. Raymond Schaffer

Mr. & Mrs. Theodore Schaffer

Mr. & Mrs. John Schlessman

Mr. & Mrs. Larry Schlessman

Mr. & Mrs. O. Dale Schnetzer

Dr. William Semans

Tom Sharpnack

Mr. & Mrs. Dan Shepherd

Betty Shepherd

Mr. & Mrs. Joseph Sherman

Linda Slider

Karson Slisher

Mr. & Mrs. Ray Smith

Susan Soboslai

Kenneth Spaar

Mr. & Mrs. Donald Sparks

Mr. & Mrs. Alvin Spicer

Mr. & Mrs. Harlow Stahl

Dr. & Mrs. Harry Stenzel

Carol Steuk

Rosalind Stevenson

Anne Stock

The Chef’s Garden, Inc.

The Nord Family Foundation

Mr. & Mrs. Jeffrey Wagner

Mr. & Mrs. William Waldock

Ron Wallace

Mr. & Mrs. Gerard Wensink

Faith Wiers

Willard Mercy Hospital

Mr. & Mrs. Mark Winkler

Carole Wolfe

Robert Wolfe

Mr. & Mrs. Richard Wollenbert

Barbara Wurzel

Mr. & Mrs. Louis Young

Dr. & Mrs. William Zucker

The need is constant. The gratification is instant.

To schedule a blood donation, call 1-800-

REDCROSS or go to www.redcross.org/blood.

Helping Our Military Families On March 16, the Firelands Chapter presented a Reconnection

Workshop on ‘Communicating Clearly’ at The Chapel in Sandusky. Red

Cross Reconnection Workshops, developed with a grant from the

Walmart Foundation, focus on reuniting, reconnecting and rebuilding

our military families. Following deployment, some members of the

Armed Forces find it difficult to readjust or transition back to family life,

their jobs and their communities. Red Cross offers five, two-hour work-

shops to help with this transition: Communicating Clearly, Exploring

Stress and Trauma, Identifying Depression, Relating to Children, and

Working through Anger. Contact the Firelands Chapter at 419-626-

1641 for more information about our Service to the Armed Forces.

It’s not too early to nominate your hero for the 2014 Firelands Hero

Awards. Has someone you know done something you consider above

and beyond the call of duty? Call 419-626-1641 for a nomination form.

Firelands Chapter

Page 5

Events Help Fund Firelands Chapter Activities

The Festival of Lights silent auction took place at

Sawmill Creek Lodge on Nov. 23. Firelands volunteer

Denise Thompson was proud to show off the five-foot

lighted Santa donated by Ditz Designs. The Festival of

Lights event, including raffle ticket sales, Candy Cane

House donations and silent auction receipts, raised

$4,500 for the Firelands Chapter.

The 9th annual Firelands Heroes Awards event recognized 29

individuals from Erie and Huron counties for acts of lifesaving,

leadership and service. The event on March 23 at Kalahari resort

raised $12,000 for chapter programs thanks to many generous

sponsors. Our Military Hero, Rev. William Hlavin of Sandusky,

baptizes a Marine in the Pacific Ocean prior to their deployment to

Afghanistan.

Firelands Chapter hosted its annual gourmet dinner with

wine pairings at Chez Francois on March 9. The event raised

just over $12,000 for chapter programs. Marsha Danhoff

(left), Jeffrey Danhoff, Mike Buurma and Sheila Buurma were

among the guests.

Congratulations to Firelands Chapter volunteer Pat Pell, who was

recognized as a 2013 Woman of Excellence.

On March 1, the Sandusky Concert Association presented a concert

by the renowned musical group, Apollo’s Fire. A freewill offering

raised approximately $1,500 which was donated to Care & Share

and the Red Cross. Laura Stellhorn, representing the Concert

Association, presented checks of $752 each to Dan Ward (left) of

Care & Share and Ron Rude of the Firelands Chapter.

Firelands Chapter

300 Central Avenue

Sandusky, OH 44870

Phone: 419-626-1641

Toll Free: 1-800-589-2286

Fax: 419-626-9244

Change a life, beginning

with your own!

AMERICAN RED CROSS

Upcoming Events

The United Way and United Funds of our two-county

area provide vital support to the American Red Cross and

its partners in community service. Please support these

campaigns as generously as you can.

Old Fashioned July 4th activities, Sandusky

Volunteer Recognition — TBA

Festival of Lights — Nov. 29

Chez Francois dinner — March 2014

Firelands Heroes Awards — March 2014

For more information about any of these events, Red

Cross classes or services, contact your Firelands Chapter

at 419-626-1641 or toll-free at 1-800-589-2286.

The mission of the American Red Cross is

to prevent and alleviate human suffering in

the face of emergencies by mobilizing the

power of volunteers and the generosity of

donors.

Each agency involved in the annual Festival of Lights in Huron

is responsible for manning the Candy Cane House, where

visitors to the seasonal display can make a donation. The

father and son team of Mark (left) and Isaac Rapp

volunteered to greet guests on behalf of the Firelands

Chapter on Dec. 15. “Elf” Isaac had so much fun he’s eager to

volunteer again this year!

Help the Red Cross save money! Let us electronically

mail you the next Fire Light. To do this, we need your

email address.

You can call us at 419-626-1641 or email it to

Bonita.Smith@redcross.org. Thanks!

NOTE: The American Red Cross respects your privacy.

We will NOT share your email address.