County banks plan annual blood collection competition
By Becky Barclay
Published in News on December 12, 2005 1:50 PM
Wayne County banks compete every day for business -- now they will battle for blood for the Red Cross.
The second annual Bank Blood Challenge will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Red Cross offices at 600 N. George St. Prizes will be given away and the bank that gets credit for the most blood collected will take home a traveling trophy.
The challenge is the brainchild of Red Cross board member Walter Krentz, bank administrator for KS Bank, which took home the trophy last year. The event gives the banking community a chance to contribute to a worthy cause, he said.
"It was a challenge for us to get family members and customers involved. We put posters up in the branch and talked to our customers to get them to make an appointment for the blood drive," Krentz said.
The event comes at a crucial time for blood supplies. The need for blood remains high while collections normally slow during the holidays.
"Historically, December is tough on us to collect blood," said Chuck Waller, the executive director of the Wayne County Chapter of the American Red Cross. "That has to do with a number of things, people are busy shopping and traveling during that time, sometimes there's bad weather."
The goal of last year's bank challenge was 50 units, which Waller said was high for a first-time blood drive. But the goal was met.
Krentz said KS Bank employees are extremely proud of the trophy and intend to keep it. The trophy is on prominent display at the bank's new Wayne Memorial Drive location.