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Stars of the Month Archive
Above: Mary Ray earned the "Star of the Month" honor in October '08 for her support, commitment and help covering volunteer shifts.
A look back at 2009 Stars of the Month....
Stars of the Month Archives....over the years!
This month, one volunteer in particular stands out above the rest! His name is Joey Shanks. Joey not only dedicated many afternoons in the office assisting with our scanning project but he refreshed our staff with his enthusiasm to help. He was always eager to assist and worked tirelessly to complete the project. He gave 16 hours to ensure the scanning project was finished accurately and as quickly as possible.
Joey joined the volunteer team just last month and already is a positive addition. His connection to our mission is very real and very personal. He recently lost a loved one who was waiting to receive a lung transplant.
We are in awe of Joey’s spirit, energy and strength. We are happy to have him as part of our dynamic team and thank him for making a difference in the world of donation.
February 2009:
To celebrate the month of love we’d like to send some love to our volunteers from Community Tissue Services: Malia DeVilliers, Michael Morrow, Rebecca Smith and Emily Wittekindt. These individuals are our February Stars of the Month for oh so many reasons!
Malia, Michael, Rebecca and Emily consistently volunteer as Health Care Professional Speakers for the Discover OHSU! program, filling shifts during every month of the school year. Whenever we have a need for a last minute speaker, we can count on them to step up to the plate and make sure the shifts are covered. This dynamic team also goes above and beyond by volunteering for other events like blood drives and in-class presentations.
We are lucky to have Community Tissue Services as our partner in this life-saving mission and appreciate all of the many ways they support Donate Life Northwest! Thank you, CTS Stars!
Sandy Metheany is Donate Life Northwest’s March “Star of the Month.” Sandy has been a dedicated and enthusiastic volunteer for the past 4 years. She brings countless assets to our dynamic volunteer team but her recent success volunteering at a High School blood drive earns her the “Star of the Month” honor.
Sandy recently served as a canteen volunteer at Molalla High School’s blood drive. Sandy volunteered her time to thank students for their blood donation, share her personal donation story and encourage organ, tissue and eye registrations. Through her positive and informative interaction with the blood donors Sandy was able to collect 42 completed paper registration forms, just under 50% of the attending students. In just one volunteer shift Sandy was able to generate 42 potential donors! Thank you Sandy encouraging students to take action and save lives!
In honor of Sandy’s success, Donate Life Northwest challenges all volunteers to register 10-15% of individuals at their future volunteer shifts.
Jan, Ann and Alberta, you are our quilting queens! It is exciting and heart-warming to know the great care, respect and enthusiasm you bring to constructing the Threads of Life quilt. Each square is considered when you select the pattern and color for the quilt fabric, and each story is honored in your work. The families who made the squares will treasure “their” quilt for many years to come, and its stories will be shared though out the Pacific Northwest. Thank you for another beautiful project.
This month’s Star of the Month is Scott Nance. Scott has presented to over 21 student audiences this spring and has inspired donor registrations through his powerful story. He brings a high level of energy to his presentations and always engages his audience. The students love him and love hearing his personal story. As a Donor Dad, Scott does a fabulous job of balancing his family’s donation story with his personal philosophy on life and the importance of life choices.
We would like to thank Scott for all his time, energy and support however this student puts it better than us, “I am sure you have heard it 100 times by now, but you truly are an amazing man with the gift of giving. You gave me the most memorable speech because the message you had was extremely powerful. That very day I went home and had the conversation with my mom. I will now be a donor!” - -Lakeridge High School student
June 2009:
Our Star of the Month, Wyatt Messenger, recently watched the
movie Seven Pounds and became inspired by its message of saving lives
through organ, eye and tissue donation. A pre-med senior at Oregon
State University, Wyatt decided he would fit one more thing into his last
semester of college and host a Donor Drive.
While most students are battling the serious disease we call “senioritis,”
Wyatt was busy registering 247 OSU students! He recruited the help of
his pre-med club, roommates and friends, and they staffed tables across
campus for a full week. Several students also gave presentations in their
classes. One volunteer was able to coordinate the donation of burrito
vouchers donated by Chipotle so every volunteer had a delicious incentive
to work a shift! Wyatt and his group of helpers were organized, efficient
and enthusiastic in reaching their goal. Congratulations on a job well
done!
July 2009:
Donate Life Northwest is honoring Jim Resk and Hayley Resk as
July’s Stars of the Month. Jim and Hayley proved their commitment to
promoting organ, eye and tissue donation this month by going above and
beyond the call of duty. This Father-Daughter volunteer team recently
drove over 40 minutes each way to present their story and inspire organ,
eye and tissue donation to young leaders at Camp Menucha. They did an
excellent job of representing Donate Life Northwest and conveying our
important message!
This was the first time Jim and Hayley presented together and the first
time Hayley heard her Dad share their family story in public. While Jim
did the talking, Hayley was an invaluable presence of someone whose life
had been saved by an organ transplant. Hayley received a liver transplant
from a very special living donor, her mom, in 2007!
Thank you Jim and Hayley for your time, energy and support!
Donate Life Northwest is pleased to announce Dave and Darcey Bone
as the August Stars of the Month. As a board member and past employee of
Donate Life Northwest, respectively, Dave and Darcey support Donate Life
Northwest in many ways. Not only was their business, Hillside Chapel , the
presenting sponsor of the 2009 golf tournament, Dave and Darcey volunteered
their time to help Donate Life Northwest secure four new golf tournament
sponsors, bringing in more than \$13,000 in golf sponsorship revenue!
We wish to acknowledge Dave and Darcey for their efforts which directly
support Donate Life Northwest’s lifesaving educational programs that register
organ, eye and tissue donors and saves lives. Dave and Darcey’s kindness is
inspiring and we are so grateful for their commitment to our mission!
September’s Star of the Month is Dennis Tichenor. Dennis is no stranger to Donate Life Northwest and has been involved with the organization for over 10 years. In fact, Dennis served on the Board of Directors for 6 years. In the month of September alone Dennis facilitated two successful events. He welcomed back past board members at the Board Reunion and sparked new excitement and offered creative and helpful presentation tools to Speakers Bureau members at the Speakers Bureau Workshop.
Development Director, Sara Patinkin, puts it best, “with his enthusiasm and passion for our mission Dennis inspires energy, passion and action.”
Thank you Dennis for being such a strong leader and valuable member of our Donate Life Northwest family!
October 2009
October: Donate Life Northwest is
pleased to announce Rob Ayers as the
October Star of the Month. Not only is
Rob a Donate Life Northwest board
member and a liver recipient, he is also
an extremely tech-savvy volunteer. This
October, Rob Ayers generously
volunteered more than 35 hours of time
to create and edit a poignant video for
Donate Life Northwest’s 2009 Lifesavers
Breakfast.
We wish to acknowledge Rob for his efforts which helped Donate Life
Northwest raise \$113,000 to directly support programs that register organ,
eye and tissue donors and saves lives. Thank you, Rob, for your dedication
and commitment to Donate Life Northwest’s mission. We are so fortunate to
have you on our team.
This November we are thankful and grateful for ALL of our volunteers across the state of Oregon and in SW Washington. It is thanks to your time, energy and support that Donate Life Northwest is strong and successful. Volunteers are the greatest asset in promoting organ, eye and tissue donation to the 300,000 individuals reached each year in Oregon and SW Washington. As they say “it takes a village…!” Thank you for all you do, in your own way, for Donate Life Northwest!
We are pleased to announce that December’s Star of the Month is Brenda Niblock. She began volunteering in 2007, just a few months after receiving her liver transplant. Brenda’s enthusiasm, passion and professionalism allow her to excel in every volunteer role she takes on. She has quickly become a go-to volunteer who is eager to help in any way she can. She has accurately and efficiently preformed data entry for us in the office, she frequently shares her story to students as a member of the Speaker’s Bureau team, she has passionately staffed information tables and she has successfully recruited new volunteers. Whatever volunteer role Brenda is in she gives it 110%.
Recently Brenda went above and beyond our traditional volunteer roles by joining our Directors for a grant proposal presentation at Genentech. Brenda was able to add her unique perspective as a liver recipient and an active volunteer to the presentation. With Brenda’s help and inspiration Genentech approved the grant and gave Donate Life Northwest \$12,000 to be put towards Student Outreach - more than Development had asked for! Thanks for your help Brenda!
January 2010
Every Thursday morning the Donate Life Northwest office is graced with the presence of two amazing women, Ruth Prier and Loyce Martinazzi. Their positive energy and warm presence is infectious in the office, even on the busiest and most hectic of days. They are irreplaceable and priceless members of our team. We cherish them and all their hard work! Each week they settle in with a hot cup of coffee, good conversation and organize and pack materials that need to be mailed for upcoming program events. Over the years they have packed thousands of paper registration forms, green pens, brochures and top ten myths. They have seen us through many exciting milestones including the transformation from Oregon Donor Program to Donate Life Northwest, the launch of the on-line donor registry and the recent success of the Go Recycle Yourself campaign. Through it all their presence has been steady and reliable. They keep staff on their toes and areconstantly surprising everyone on how fast they complete projects. To say they are “speedy” is an understatement! We thank them today for their time, energy and huge hearts!
One individual who stands out is Katy McCue, a Hospital Services Coordinator at Pacific Northwest Transplant Bank. Katy has been a positive and supportive partner to work with. She was instrumental in the first Season of Gratitude event that took place at Southwest Washington Medical Center. With Katy’s help the program has been so successful it is being implemented in other local hospitals. We thank Katy for her collaboration and for always promoting organ, eye and tissue donation!
