On June 20, the American Red Cross in Southeastern Wisconsin held its 91st annual membership meeting at the Wisconsin Women’s Club in Milwaukee honoring Gwen T. Jackson’s 50 years of volunteer leadership.

The Annual Meeting was all about recognition, as Board member Bill Murgas and Chief Operations Officer Jeff Seider also received awards for their years of service. Murgas was the first annual recipient of the Gwen T. Jackson Volunteer Leadership Award. He was commended for 50 years of Red Cross volunteer service in both direct service and leadership roles. Seider received the American Red Cross Award for Employee Excellence, a national award given for superior job performance and management.

This year there were four individuals recognized as retiring board members:
• Stephanie Bloomingdale
• Sheriff David Clarke
• Don Daugherty
• Sandy Rotar

Eight individuals were elected new members:
• Laura Bouslough   
• Pat Skonieczny, RN
• Natalie Glumm   
• Barbara Soto-Ryan
• Ann Marie Lubert   
• Kevin Stoll
• Mark Petrarca  
• Charles Young
These new board members will donate their time and talents serving terms beginning on July 1, 2007 and ending June 30, 2010.

National Chairman of Volunteers, Kate Forbes, was on hand for the annual meeting and served as guest speaker for the night’s festivities. All in all, the annual meeting was an excellent opportunity to acknowledge the efforts of several key Red Cross staff members.