INDIANA – Friday the 13th turned out to be a very lucky day for Zach Isenberg of Homer City, as representatives of the Greater Alleghenies Region, American Red Cross Blood Services, presented him the top prize in the 100-county region’s Keep Your Motor Runnin’ summer donor recruitment campaign.
The Red Cross Prize Patrol, led by CEO Jim Starr, awarded Isenberg the 2006 Harley Davidson Fat Boy, title, key and motorcycle helmet during a press conference held Friday at the Indiana County Chapter of the Red Cross in Indiana.
Isenberg, an 18-year-old who has donated blood three times, received his winning entry card June 8 when he presented to give blood at the Homer City American Legion. He gave blood for the first time while a student at Homer Center High School and recently donated at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, where he is a freshman.
Present to congratulate Isenberg were Dr. Joseph Marcoline, superintendent of Homer Center High School, and Bea Harris, head of ladies’ auxiliary of the Homer City American Legion.
Isenberg was introduced by Indiana County resident Lee Barbus, for whom a Red Cross “In Honor Of” blood drive was held in Clyde on Aug. 16.
From May 1 through Sept. 30, a total of 55,009 presenting donors entered online or by mail to win the Fat Boy, according to Taunia Oechslin, senior director of donor recruitment. All presenting donors also received a black biker T-shirt or other appreciation item.
The five-month campaign netted 95,213 blood donations toward a goal of 101,778, and resulted in the region’s most successful May ever. Oechslin added that the region also had the highest percentage of collection goal achievement in May in the 35-region Red Cross Blood Services system.
Starr opened and closed the press conference by emphasizing the need for increased blood donations. “Zach is among the thousands of young people across our region who are the future of our blood services program,” he said. “We are at a critical point in time when the next generation of blood donors must step up to the plate. We need more people like Zach to take on this civic duty and donate blood to help patients in need.”