Anita Murrell, Nominated by The American Red Cross
Anita is in her third year as a Red Cross volunteer. During that time, she has volunteered 10,000 documented hours, not counting her many Disaster Relief Operations Deployments. From September 2, 2016 through November 12, 2018, she averaged an astonishing 88 hours per week with the inclusion of her on-call hours and an amazing 42 hours per week of documented direct service hours!
Due to the heavy reliance upon volunteers within the Red Cross and especially within Disaster Cycle Services, she saw that the one Disaster Cycle Services staff member desperately needed a volunteer partner if services were going to be effectively delivered in Rutherford County and the 17 counties that make up the Heart of Tennessee Chapter. She accepted the role of Volunteer Partner – Disaster Program Manager, and has been irreplaceable in every area of service delivery, training, client services, recruitment, logistics, and all other areas that are critical for their mission to move forward. Each time a client receives a warm place to sleep, a meal, direct financial assistance, or any related services, Anita has been the power behind the passion. The list of her duties and responsibilities would simply be too long: suffice to say, she is the volunteer heartbeat behind all the good done in Rutherford County. She saw a need, filled it, and has since written the book on being the ultimate Volunteer Partner!
As if serving her local community and state were not enough, Anita has also served on 10 Disaster Relief Operations in Tennessee and throughout the nation. Most recently she oversaw direct client, mobile distribution during the tornado that struck November 6, 2018. She worked tirelessly until every client in need had received all available services. Of equal importance, she took this opportunity to recruit new volunteers and train them in critical roles. Because of her efforts, they now have additional, new volunteers serving our community. Anita does not just serve, she is continually duplicating herself in others; she knows that she must find innovative ways that allow us to grow their volunteer ranks. Whether during a tornado response or daily operations, she is continually coaching, mentoring and training. She was instrumental in identifying the need to train new volunteers on the many Red Cross computer platforms and developing “Technology Saturdays,” windows of opportunity in which volunteers struggling with technology can receive the help they need.
One would think that examples of her specific service must come to an end, but they are virtually endless. She has already begun her annual custom of driving the Red Cross Emergency Response Vehicle in numerous holiday parades throughout the Heart of Tennessee territory and beyond. She continues her work with our Services to the Armed Forces, ensuring that those serving our country have their needs met. She works daily with the Heart of Tennessee Executive Director, filling any role in which there is a need. She works at the local Chapter Level, the Regional – Tennessee State Level, and at the National Level in a variety of roles.
Anita will receive a certificate from Volunteer Rutherford and a $25 Amazon Gift Card courtesy of Guaranty Trust Company.
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