Don Best honored by Red Cross
By Becky Barclay
Published in News on October 1, 2006 2:02 AM
Don Best was named the Red Cross Volunteer of the Year at an awards luncheon Friday at Herman Park Center.
This is the fifth year that the Wayne County Chapter of the American Red Cross has presented the award to an outstanding volunteer.
Best's nomination form stated that "he sets the gold standard of what a volunteer can and should be. He is an extraordinary asset to the chapter and this community." He has worked in all of the services areas at the chapter and is the retired blood services director.
During the awards luncheon, the Margaret M. Moore trophy was presented to Chevrolet Cadillac of Goldsboro. The award goes to a business with 100 or less employees that collects the most blood.
The company with more than 100 employees that collects the most blood receives the Arnold B. Edgerton trophy. It went to Wayne Memorial Hospital this year.
A traveling high school award for the school with the highest percentage of students giving blood went to Charles B. Aycock. The school collected 260 units of blood last year.
Awards for holding four to six blood drives a year were presented to Berkeley Mall, Goldsboro Milling Co., Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, Wayne Memorial Hospital, Wayne Community College, Carolina Turkeys, Georgia Pacific and Lowe's.
Business that donate money and supplies to the blood drives also received awards. They were Adam's Auto Wash, Krispy Kreme, WalMart, Franklin Baking Co., Texas Steakhouse, Andy's Cheesesteaks, Mount Olive Chiropractic and Union Grove Free Will Baptist Church.
During the luncheon, Red Cross Director Chuck Waller praised the volunteers saying the chapter couldn't function without them. He listed integrity, attitude and faith as the driving forces behind the volunteers.
Concluding the awards recognition, Donna Edmundson turned the gavel over to the new chairman of the board, Chuck Moore.