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Real Heroes |
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Spirit of Red Cross Hero – Tom Beattie
Tom Beattie of
Olympia is the most dedicated and passionate volunteers for the American
Red Cross Mount Rainier Chapter.
He serves as the Material Support and Service Lead and responsible for
all emergency supplies such as cots, blankets, comfort kits, and other
items. He regularly inventories supplies and relocates items when
necessary to be accessible when and where they are needed.
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Quick Links
Local Red Cross Disaster Relief
Local Red Cross Response
Shop @ the Red Cross On-Line Store
Volunteer Opportunities
Home
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Tom serves a Lead for the Disaster Action Team
in Thurston County. In this role, he is on-call on
a regular basis to respond to fire and other local disasters to provide
immediate emergency assistance – food, clothing, and shelter to victims
of disasters.
During the December 2007 flooding, tom and his wife Sandy were
instrumental to the success of
our local Red Cross disaster response. Braving logging roads, muddy
streets, and rising waters, Tom delivered cots, blankets, waters, and
other emergency supplies to Thurston, Mason, and Lewis Counties.
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One story especially highlights Tom’s efforts to help others. When
an elderly gentleman with some health conditions needed to find a
place to sleep upright during the flooding, Tom resourcefully
located a recliner rocker for the man to sleep in. He even camped
out in his recreational vehicle near the operations headquarters so
he would not have to waste time be driving back and forth to his
home at the end of the day.
Tom goes far
above and beyond to help the local Red Cross chapter to be good
stewards of the donated dollar and save money. From helping to do
general maintenance at the office to saving the local office over
$10,000 by pouring a cement pad to place a generator, Tom has saved
the Red Cross literally thousands of dollars.
Tom is
responsible for our Red Cross vehicles in Thurston County. He keeps
them running
and does regular maintenance. Additionally, when we had one of our
emergency Response Vehicles (ERV) vandalized and the parts stolen,
Tom took it upon himself to investigate.
He was distraught that someone would be as low to steal from a
charity that tries to help families devastated by disasters.
Tom read the newspaper daily looking for “parts for sale” that fit
the description of items from the ERV. Tom found a promising lead at
a wrecking yard and went to look if it was a match. There he found
our seats and bumper. Tom promptly contacted the police who helped
reclaim the stolen property and arrest the individuals involved.
Following his retirement, he has made the Red Cross and helping his
community his second career. Always going the extra mile, Tom truly
exemplifies the Spirit of the Red Cross.
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For more information, contact the American
Red Cross Mount Rainier Chapter:
(253) 474-0400 Pierce County / (360)
352-8575 Thurston-Mason Counties
(360) 748-4607 Lewis County / (360)
241-2341 Grays Harbor Counties
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