Nashville Area Volunteer Spotlight, Mike Chandler - May 2017

After spending his childhood growing up in Illinois and Florida, Mike Chandler joined the Army at 18 in order to learn how to fly.  Now retired from the military (and military consulting), he spends his time with his wife of 39 years, his two sons, and grandchildren as well as golfing and enjoying photography.

Luckily for the Red Cross, Mike also spends his time as a Disaster Action Team (DAT) Trainee: Montgomery County, Disaster Responder, and Disaster Workforce Engagement Lead: Nashville.  His interest in volunteering with the Red Cross blossomed when he met a volunteer traveling to a disaster response operation.  Mike said he knew the Red Cross through the blood services and Service to the Armed Forces, but did not know about disaster response.  After hearing the volunteer share his experiences, Mike decided he wanted to do that one day.  He admitted that volunteering began to fill a need for him, but now he knows that when clients see the red vest it means hope.  While Mike was “thrown in the deep end” his first month as a volunteer, he said he really loved deploying to a disaster response and distributing meals.  When there is no opportunity to deploy to a disaster, he also volunteers in Disaster Services as an engagement volunteer.  He is heading up a new team of volunteers to assist in the transitioning of new volunteers to trained disaster volunteers.  We are very glad to have Mike on our team!