Letter from East Tennessee Executive Director, Sharon Hudson - October 2017

Sharon Hudson

Time, Talent, and Treasure!

I continue to be amazed at the quality of volunteers we have in East Tennessee.  Each volunteer brings a fascinating skill set to the table.  We are veterans, engineers, builders, inspectors, managers, officers, nurses, doctors, professors, curators, and yet, we all share one common thread…compassion. We have compassion for what we do and how we make an impact.  Our work behind the scenes for aesthetic improvements and organizing our surroundings has kept us busy.  It has been the calm before the storms.  

Since late August, the American Red Cross has launched a wide-ranging relief effort to help people devastated by three historic, back-to-back hurricanes.  In East Tennessee, we have deployed over fifty volunteers and staff to Florida, Georgia, Texas, Louisiana, Puerto Rico and Las Vegas.  We have responded as true volunteers to the relentless devastation.

Jacqueline Bridgeman

Locally, our Red Cross volunteers volunteered for The Wall that Heals, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Replica & Mobile Education Center.  We assisted with the Assembly of the Wall, guarded the wall during the evening, and served coffee and cake for the Opening Ceremony.  Jacqueline Bridgeman, a volunteer and veteran, presented the American Red Cross wreath at the Opening Ceremony.  It was a moving and emotional experience to be present with so many that served our country.

Thank you to everyone who has come together and participated in our telethon, prepared meals, deployed, improved our surroundings, provided training, maintained our fleet, and shared your time.  We are united as one in this mission that is larger than all of us.  I am truly honored to be working among each of you and appreciate all you do to fulfill our mission.

Sharon Hudson