Thank you for your warm welcome to the American Red Cross! My first day with Heart of Tennessee was Monday, July 31st and it’s truly been a pleasure already to learn so much about this organization and to connect with some of you. For those of you I haven’t met, I look forward to connecting with you.
My journey to the Executive Director (ED) position feels like it is life coming full circle. I actually worked part time for United Way of Rutherford and Cannon Counties when United Way rented space from the Red Cross. It was extraordinarily humbling to see the work of this group firsthand during the Good Friday tornado in 2009. Greg King was in the ED role at that time, and the response of his volunteer base and staff alike was remarkable. I was also serving as the President of the Junior League of Murfreesboro at the time; we voted to provide an emergency donation of $10,000 to support the relief efforts and Greg agreed to be the keynote speaker at our Annual Dinner just one month after the tornado. I can vividly remember thinking about the scope of services Red Cross provides in so many arenas I wasn’t aware of, and I remember thinking that this is an organization I could be passionate about serving.
The past 7 ½ years have been spent at Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital and Saint Thomas Regional Hospitals where I created, operationalized, and directed the Mobile Health Ministry. It’s been my privilege to serve this community in that capacity and I believe that work prepared me for this role. Through a chance conversation with Greg, I learned the ED position was open with the Heart of TN Red Cross and decided to apply. I’m incredibly excited that I’ve been entrusted with serving all of you. Together, we have much to look forward to. Please know you are appreciated and I look forward to being on this journey with you.
Kathy Ferrell
Executive Director
Heart of Tennessee Chapter
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