American Red Cross - Paducah, Kentucky - The Paducah Area Chapter

For emergency preparedness gifts go to redcrossstore.org. All sales help benefit the local and national Red Cross.

All Red Cross workplace training satisfies

OSHA requirements. Contact 800-Red Cross

to schedule training at your site or facility.

For community class schedules and to

redcrossonlinetraining.org.

News

Allison Hogancamp and Katherine Thomasson

join local staff

The Paducah Area Chapter welcomes the addition of two new members to their staff.

Allison Hogancamp, a recent graduate from Murray State University, has been hired for the position of Area Volunteer & Community Programs Specialist. She will oversee volunteer recruitment and retention, community outreach initiatives, special programs and chapter social media. Allison has a degree in marketing.

"I'm excited to work in the community and with the volunteers as I plan for upcoming events for 2012," said Hogancamp. She began work on Jan. 9 and has begun scheduling community presentations for the year. She has been actively recruiting new members and has already attended area events promoting the Red Cross. If your group or organization would like to have a safety or disaster presentation at one of their meeting you can contact the chapter, 442-3575, or Allison directly at allison@paducahredcross.org.

For current volunteers, Allison is updating volunteer information and may be contacting volunteers to update and verify data. Follow the chapter on Facebook and now on Twitter.

Area Services Delivery Coordinator, Katherine Thomasson, is well known throughout the area for her work with the office of emergency management. She came to the Red Cross from her position as Social Services Coordinator for the McCracken County Office of Emergency Management. She is a CPR/First Aid instructor and a member of the Rescue Squad.

"Katherine brings a wealth of disaster training and experience to the Red Cross. We are excited to have her join our staff," said Executive Director Jessica Toren. Thomasson began work Jan. 23.

Disaster volunteer updates:

Monthly volunteer meetings are the second Monday of each month. We welcome all volunteers to come and meet together at the chapter office at 6 p.m.

Disaster Instructor Specialty Training coming up. March 1 & 2 Disaster Instructor Specialty Training will be held at the chapter for volunteers wanting to teach disaster courses. Janine Brown, Senior Director of Disaster Services for the Louisville Region, will be conducting the training.

ALSO: Disaster Services Overview will be taught Feb. 23 at the chapter office. The first module will begin at 4:30 p.m. and at 6 p.m. the second module is scheduled. All volunteers wanting to work in disaster related fields must complete this course.

Check out YouTube to see our volunteers Eddie and Pat Jordan at work. The Jordans deployed to New York after Hurricane Irene http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTJss8hMOjc

Health and Safety Changes - Instructor deadline for update extended

The Dec. 31 deadline for instructors to update to new course materials in order to stay authorized has been extended to March. To update go to instructorscorner.org. If the instructor has not registered for this site, they must register as a new user. The password and username is not the same as the Learning Center username and password. If you have any questions on updating, contact Heidi Cox at the chapter.

STUDENTS:Course offering can be found online at www.redcross.org under the "Take a Class" tab. Using the search feature, students can find classes within their travel area and register online. Or students can call 1-800-Red Cross to enroll.