ARROW Communications Association

One of ARROW's newest members—Michelle Roderick, KD8GWX—was recently awarded the Dan Kivel Blackbird Award, by the Washtenaw Red Cross. Below, is the text of the article that appeared in Thursday's AA News. It was accompanied by a nice picture of Michelle.

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Heroes get their due today Red Cross honors life-saving efforts

The dust from the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks hadn't settled before Michelle Roderick was moved to act.

She called a friend that day who worked for the American Red Cross, because she couldn't get through by phone to offer to donate blood.

In 2005, the water was still rising in New Orleans when Roderick started training volunteers to deploy there. She created one of only a few condensed training courses in the country, so she could get people down there faster.

And fires in Washtenaw County are still burning when Roderick and her Disaster Action Team show up with emergency supplies.

That's why she and 11 others will be honored today as new members of the American Red Cross Washtenaw County chapter's Community of Heroes.

Roderick is the second recipient of the Dan Kivel Blackbird Award, which recognizes the mission of the Red Cross and its ability to change a person's life. The award is named after a former Washtenaw County Red Cross worker who died last year when he was caught in a riptide while wading along the Gulf Coast.

Roderick, 44, of Pittsfield Township, is a credentialing specialist at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital. She spends 120 hours a month on call for the Red Cross, and 30 to 40 hours a month on the job there.

Roderick trains disaster responders. She cleared out the vehicle bays at the chapter to hold additional classes there when the regular classrooms filled with volunteers during Hurricane Katrina. As a single parent of a 15-year-old daughter, she couldn't go herself, but she made it possible for many others to deploy.

"We've been so blessed in our lives, my daughter and I, and this was how we can give back. As a single parent, I do not have the resources to help all these people but, through the Red Cross, we can get them a new beginning,'' Roderick said. "We can make a difference this way.''

Her reward, she explained, is "like one of those credit card commercials: Shelter for three nights on Client Assistance Card: $187; food for two on CAC card: $75; clothing for two on CAC card: $220. Seeing hope restored: Priceless.''

Others being honored are:

James Spencer, who has saved a potential 306 lives by donating 102 pints of blood - and counting.

Bridget and Mike Kelley, Jason Anderson and Bill Rock. The Kelleys stopped at a Tecumseh area pond for a distraught woman whose elderly husband was drowning. Bridget, an emergency room nurse, dove in and pulled the man out while her husband spoke to dispatchers. The Kelleys performed CPR until Lenawee Ambulance paramedics Anderson and Rock arrived. Despite their efforts, Richard Reel died.

Jen Chung, Stephanie Liederbach and Mark McClure - members of the Ypsilanti High School Key Club who ran an intensive AIDS awareness campaign, concentrating on its devastating toll on children.

Nena Hines, a waitress in Saline who performed abdominal thrusts and rescue breathing on a customer who was choking.

Zachary Lazanja, a 7-year-old Canton Township boy who saw 7-year-old Aiden Hurley turning blue at the bottom of a pool. Zachary calmly dove down and pulled him out so Aiden's mother could perform CPR. Aiden fully recovered.

Steve Luedders, a Red Cross disaster services volunteer who performed CPR on an elderly man at a hockey arena until rescue workers arrived. The man died several hours later.

Susan Oppat can be reached at soppat@annarbornews.com or 734-482-1166.