Red Cross prepares for 110th anniversary

Did you know that this June marks the 110th anniversary of the American Red Cross presence here in Northern Nevada?

Our chapter was officially chartered in 1917 but its roots began in 1898 when a group of volunteers in Carson City contacted Clara Barton to start a Red Cross Society.

One fun way to commemorate this event is the Ride for the Red Poker Run on June 7.

This year it is going to be 110 miles long to correspond to the number of years.

If you would like to ride in this fun event, you can sign up at www.nevada.redcross.org.

The first 175 entrants will receive a commemorative t-shirt and ride pin. KBUL 98.1 FM is a co-sponsor of the event and is giving away entries to listeners through contests.

You can visit their website (www.kbul.com) for an entry form and more information as well.

You want to help but don't ride motorcycles? You can also call the chapter at (775) 856-1000 to volunteer to help at the various stations along the route passing out water, etc., to the riders.

Donations are always welcome and the money received locally stays in the area for those affected by individual, as well as community, disasters.

Also in June, the Nevada National Guard (both Army and Air divisions) will host the Vigilant Guard 2008.

"The exercise will test the capabilities of the Nevada National Guard, the State of Nevada Division of Emergency Management, local and county first responders, and the Emergency Management Assistance Compact " the process by which governors reach out to other states for assistance," according to April Conway, state public affairs officer for the Nevada National Guard.

They will be conducting a large scale disaster readiness/simulation exercise in several counties to allow First Responders and the National Guard to test, train, and evaluate their life-saving skills and procedures which will include extraction and/or rescue from a disaster site, decontamination, and medical triage/treatment. While it will span eight days, they will be seeking volunteers to help out for the weekend of June 12-14.

IIF Data Solutions is looking for a diverse group of individuals (age, gender, ethnicity, and race) that will accurately represent the people in the area to play the parts of "victims" as well as "anxious citizens" and "hysterical onlookers" during this joint exercise between the Nevada National Guard and local, county and state emergency agencies.

If you are at least 18 years of age and have the ability to act, you can go to their Web site www.iifdata.com and follow the "Vigilant Guard Role Player" link for additional information and to complete the online application.

The "victims" will need to be available June 11-14 for training, orientation, and role-player support. They will be paid $9 per hour for a minimum of 8 hours and will have moulage (an artificial makeup that is applied to look like actual injuries) applied. If you have never seen moulage, it is quite realistic looking"so queasy ones need not apply.

As the Disaster Action Team Leader for Douglas County for the American Red Cross, I am also looking for volunteers to join our team. On June 14 we will be participating in the Vigilant Guard 2008 exercise here in Douglas County on a smaller scale.

We also provide assistance to families that have lost their homes to fires (there were three in the last month) as well as provide shelters in the case of a larger disaster.

If you would like to become a volunteer, please call me at 265-1947 for more information.

Have a ramblin good week!