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The 2007 "A Celebration of Life" luncheon and awards ceremony was held at the Edwin Hornberger Conference Center on Thursday, Feb. 15 to commemorate the achievements of gold-level donor groups who earned Path for Success awards in 2006.  The organizations recognized have embraced the Commit for Life Group Program and followed the Path for Success by hosting at least one drive every quarter, scheduling the donors and spreading the work by forming blood drive committees.  Their commitment clearly made a difference, as 2006 was Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center’s most life-saving year to date with more than 273,000 units collected – enough to help save more than 800,000 lives. 

Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center also presented special category awards honoring outstanding groups, events and chairpersons for their contributions.  The “Group of the Year” award winners for 2006 were:

Corporation of the Year – ExxonMobil
With an outstanding 132 blood drives a year spread over five locations, the 2006 Corporation of the Year has a blood drive program that is a well-oiled machine in the business of saving lives. ExxonMobil takes the Path for Success seriously and executes every step with precision, working at least 30 days out from each drive to ensure its success. Information on the company’s blood drives and Commit for Life is kept on their Intranet site, so employees can always learn more about saving lives, even between blood drives.

Church of the Year – Woodlands United Methodist Church
This 2006 Church of the Year award winner is a proven leader in saving lives. Previously honored at last year’s Celebration of Life, The Woodlands United Methodist Church has even increased their Commit for Life efforts since that time, by hosting five blood drives in 2006 and helping save as many as 2,424 lives last year alone. The chairpersons of this group take advantage of the tools The Blood Center provides to them to run successful, efficient drives – such as online donor scheduling.

Community Council of the Year – Katy Community Advocates
The Katy Community Advocates are three hardworking members who host a blood drive every quarter. They proudly represent the Katy Neighborhood Donor Center at community events, where they have a chance to raise awareness about the need for blood donations and the importance of Commit for Life. They always looks for new ways to spread the word, from having blood drive flyers placed on pizza delivery boxes to creating their very own cookbook for the holiday season.

Community Group of the Year – Brazosport Community Blood Drive at Brazos Mall
The winner of our Community Group of the Year for 2006, Brazos Mall, delivers consistently outstanding results by working with The Blood Center to schedule one or more blood drives every quarter, occasionally adding extra drives on short notice to give the regional blood supply an extra boost. Recognizing that their location is a major shopping hub of the community, this committed group welcomes the chance to offer its customers an opportunity to help save lives.

Hospital of the year – Clear Lake Regional Medical Center
Our Hospital of the Year winner for 2006 is leading the way for other hospitals in our area to follow the Path for Success and benefit more patients. Clear Lake Regional Medical Center does this by hosting quarterly blood drives and encouraging all employees to participate. With a fantastic chairperson at the helm, a special blood drive committee works diligently to ensure the success of every drive. In fact, their area sister hospitals in the HCA system are coming on board as Commit for Life partners.

Media Group of the Year – 93.7 The Arrow
“Exceptional commitment” cannot fully describe the level of support offered by the 2006 media group of the year. This year’s winner, 93.7 The Arrow is a radio station that holds blood drives spanning an impressive two and a half months in length during some of the most demanding times for blood donations – the summer months and the winter holidays. The station promotes The Blood Center and its blood drives for weeks before the drives begin, then promotes the drive locations live on-site with remote broadcasts.

School of the Year – The University of St. Thomas
The University of St. Thomas, our honoree for School of the Year in 2006, recognizes the unique needs of its students and tailors its blood drive program to make it more convenient for more donors to help save lives. This college is a commuter campus with students that come and go throughout the week, so each drive is held over two days so that students with alternating class schedules can attend. The school’s chairperson uses innovative ways to reach students, including sending invitations via an online networking site for students. They understand that the number one reason people do not donate blood is because they are not asked, and this school works hard to make sure that is not the case at their campus.

Small Business of the Year – GOE Harley-Davidson/Kawasaki
the small business of the year award to GOE Harley-Davidson/Kawasaki This winning business has a small staff, but brings in big numbers at its quarterly blood drives. This can be attributed to their hard work in promoting the drive to their large customer base and scheduling donors to ensure a success every time. Before each drive, the company publishes a full-page article on its web site encouraging the community to join them in committing for life. The response has been overwhelming, as they collected 398 units in 2006 – enough to help save nearly 1,200 lives. They focus on making their blood drives fun events, with food and customized t-shirts to get donors excited about saving lives.

Sports Team of the Year – Houston Aeros
Our Sports Team of the Year, the Houston Aeros make the most of their time in the spotlight by hosting four blood drives a year. Their drives are planned not only at malls and Neighborhood Donor Centers, but also at locations frequented by their most loyal fans. Each site coordinates its own promotional efforts, encouraging their staff members as well as the general public to participate. Along with their outstanding blood drive efforts, the team also gives us other opportunities to spread the word about saving lives, such as making information available at their home games and in gift bags at their annual golf tournament.

Event of the Year – Blue Bell Month, sponsored by Blue Bell Creameries
Our Event of the Year is something that blood donors know they can look forward to every year, and it’s a nice reminder to our donors of how sweet it is to help save lives. Every August, The Blood Center is able to present coupons for a free pint of ice cream to all individuals who donate or attempt to donate – as many as 27,000 coupons. This is a promotion that we can count on our chairpersons to always call and ask about; many choose to schedule their blood drives in August for this reason alone. This program gets promotion from the top down, as the company’s President and CEO is a great supporter of our efforts and is a blood donor himself.

Bill T. Teague Award – Gloria Henrichsen
This award is very special, in that it honors one person or a group who goes far above and beyond the call of duty to help save lives. Named in honor of The Blood Center’s founding President and CEO, this award recognizes a long-term commitment and significant impact on the patients in our region. This year’s honoree is the chairperson for Richmond State School, Gloria Henrichsen, who exemplifies that commitment by her constant involvement for the past several years. She works nonstop to raise awareness of the need for blood donations, from providing special gifts for blood donors to publicly thanking and recognizing those who give. She makes donors feel special by planning an annual Commit for Life luncheon exclusively for her group’s blood donors who Commit for Life and donate once a quarter. She publishes a regular blood drive newsletter for the donors in her group and even reminds those who miss her blood drives to continue their commitment by donating at the nearest Neighborhood Donor Center. She exhibits a true passion for saving lives that is fit to be honored with the Bill T. Teague Award.

In addition to a beautiful trophy, Gloria was recognized for her efforts with a gift from Continental Airlines, the official airline of Commit for Life – two tickets for travel anywhere in the contiguous United States, Alaska, Canada, Mexico, Central America or the Caribbean