Tag: Spirit of the Pacific

Volunteer Darren Courtney Honored with Spirit of the Pacific Award

California Gold Country Region volunteer Darren Courtney has been honored with the Spirit of the Pacific Award for the month of December.

Courtney, whose regional volunteer roles include Sheltering Coordinator, Yuba/Sutter territory Disaster Action Team Lead, and Communications team photographer, has been a Red Cross volunteer for more than 25 years.

“He has consistently answered the call to deploy more than any other volunteer that is in my territory,” noted Community Disaster Program Manager Daryl White, who nominated Courtney for the award.

“Darren embraces all of our core values and delivers our mission with the upmost compassion and respect for our clients, those who have been displaced by a disaster and are probably at one of the lowest times in their lives. Several years ago, Darren saved a life in the shelter he was working in by giving a client Narcan, he recognized the need and stepped in.”

All Red Cross team members are encouraged to work together and personify a set of cultural values and behaviors that exemplify these Pacific Division ideals. The Spirit of the Pacific Award is specifically designed to acknowledge and reward these outstanding efforts on the part of employees and volunteers.

Northwest Region Community Disaster Program Manager Kelsey Smith deployed has alongside Courtney. In his nomination she said, “Darren has truly been one of the most impactful relationships that I have made on any deployment and probably throughout my entire time in the organization I think I can speak for many others, as well. When I think of my ideal version of a Red Crosser, Darren is the first person who comes to mind.”

In a note to the California Gold Country Region, Courtney said, “I am deeply honored to have received the Spirit of the Pacific Award from you and our amazing organization. This recognition is a testament to the shared efforts, unwavering dedication, and tireless spirit of the American Red Cross. I couldn’t do it without the support of leadership, staff, and fellow volunteers.”

Congratulations to Spirit of the Pacific Award Winner Liz Ford

Liz Ford Congratulations to Gold Country Regional Deployment Program Lead Liz Ford for winning the Spirit of the Pacific Award!

Liz was nominated by Disaster Workforce Engagement Program Manager Christine Yoo who recognized her for acting with a sense of purpose, having a passion for service and a willingness to go above and beyond.

All Red Cross team members are encouraged to work together and personify a set of cultural values and behaviors that exemplify these Pacific Division ideals. The Spirit of the Pacific Award is specifically designed to acknowledge and reward these
outstanding efforts on the part of employees and volunteers.

The award was created in 2016. This is the second time a Gold Country Region volunteer has won!

Take a look at Liz’s nomination:

As the Regional Deployment Program Lead, Liz has played an integral role in the successful development of our regional deployment team and has been actively engaged in recruiting and training every member from the very beginning!

Her vision and commitment to develop a volunteer-led and sustained program has greatly enhanced our region’s ability to provide our volunteers with more opportunities for deployment to disasters all across the country by ensuring that a dedicated volunteer member of our team is on duty each day to monitor the open positions as they are requested by the relief operations (7 days a week, 365 days a year).

She will often take on extra days if no other team members are available and even offers to do this while she is away on vacation or traveling across country! Not only that, she also enthusiastically took on the challenge for the deployment team to conduct debrief calls with each and every disaster responder that deployed during fall 2018 (and there were several hundred!).

From when it was first brought up, she was already on the same page with feeling that this is something we needed to start doing and promptly proceeded to devise a plan, communicate with the team to get everyone on board with the plan, and executed the daunting task – a true reflection of her dedication and passion for our volunteers’ experiences on deployments to be a positive one.

Liz has also continued to step up time and again when those disasters have occurred in our very own backyard, taking on leadership roles in Staff Services in the chaos of the initial phases of standing up an operation to support our workers as they serve our impacted communities and she often stays on for weeks until the job is done. Not only during disasters but throughout the year, she is committed to building our regional cadre of trained Staff Services volunteers and gladly makes herself available to instruct the Staff Services Fundamentals course all over our region!

Liz is someone that we count on to step in when the unforeseeable happens, as with last July’s institute, when both the volunteer and paid staff lead for the event were unexpectedly taken out of commission days before the event. She graciously stepped in to pick up the reigns and provide coordination on site at the event, along with the other members of the planning team, to ensure that the event proceeded as planned.

Having the privilege of getting to work with Liz in all these roles has truly been a joy and honor – I couldn’t imagine where we’d be or what I’d do without her!

Congratulations, Liz! Thank you for all you do for the American Red Cross.