American Red Cross

Robert Foster (Bob) Reinicker, 82 of Roanoke passed away surrounded by his loving family on May 15, 2007. He was born in Baltimore, Maryland, the only surviving son of the late Harvey E. & Lynn I. Reinicker. He served in WWII in the 194th. Glider Infantry , 17th. Airborne Division. His glider was shot down and the German Army captured him on March 24, 1945. As a POW, he was marched across France to Germany and held prisoner until the Allied Victory. He was subsequently awarded the Bronze Star for his service and valor.

GENEVA -- The new president of the American Red Cross, Bernadine Healy, has opened the long-simmering issue of whether to admit Israel's related aid group, which uses a red Shield of David as its emblem, as part of the international organization."

The Baroness Katharine Harris van Hogendorp sits in the nostalgic light of morning by a handsome Knabe piano, its unique dun-colored finish worn away above the keyboard, a place where she rested her forearm while teaching generations of piano students.She's a somewhat unlikely baroness, completely without affectation, warm and sympathetic and thoughtful, still light-hearted and venturesome in her mid-80s. She's a spirited Baltimore woman who married an enlightened Dutch nobleman.She's reflecting this morning on her World War II service as a Red Cross worker at a secret air base in India.

Three hundred and fifty candles seemed a bit too many for a birthday cake, so the American Red Cross, Central Maryland Chapter, helped Annapolis observe its 350th anniversary by dedicating its annual Annapolis Red Cross Heritage Celebration to the occasion.Among the more than 150 guests celebrating at the Annapolis Marriott Waterfront: Annapolis Mayor Dean Johnson and wife Sally (who will be celebrating their 30th anniversary in June); Frank L. Miller, executive director of the American Red Cross, Central Maryland Chapter; William F. Trussell, board chairman of the Red Cross Anne Arundel County district; Newton Gentry and Beverly Goodwyn, board members; Kathryn Ottman and Lenora Henry, event coordinators; and Gerald Ford, VP at Arinc Inc.The evening netted $28,000 for the Anne Arundel County Disaster Relief Fund.

Students at Columbia's Wilde Lake High School played Beatles music and read Dr. Seuss to calm blood donors during an American Red Cross blood drive there in February.At Old Mill Senior High School in Millersville, a teacher went table to table in the cafeteria, telling students how giving blood was the right thing to do, and at Towson's Dulaney High, T-shirts and public service points were exchanged for pints.Intense recruiting, heart-string tugging and peer pressure are the weapons that helped those schools collect more than twice the average 52 pints usually collected from high schools at daylong blood drives.

Students at Columbia's Wilde Lake High School played Beatles music and read Dr. Seuss to calm blood donors during an American Red Cross blood drive there in February.At Old Mill Senior High School in Millersville, a teacher went table to table in the cafeteria, telling students how giving blood was the right thing to do, and at Towson's Dulaney High, T-shirts and public service points were exchanged for pints.Intense recruiting, heart-string tugging, and peer pressure are the weapons that helped those schools collect more than twice the average 52 pints usually collected from high schools at daylong blood drives.

Elizabeth H. Dole, national president of the American Red Cross, visited Baltimore yesterday to honor Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. employees for giving 200,000 pints of blood over 40 years. BGE is the leading corporate source of blood donations in Maryland.But, Dole added, more is needed here."BGE is a wonderful role model for companies throughout the country," Dole said. "It's a great partnership with the Red Cross.""Right now, during the busy holiday season, the region is experiencing shortages, so it is doubly important to give the gift of life now," she said.

Past the White House, the Jefferson Memorial and the American Red Cross building we went. In three hours, we were to see these and at least four dozen more Washington landmarks.But, we weren't huffing and puffing from a jog or cursing at the traffic congestion. We were pedaling our bikes at a leisurely pace around Washington with a touring company called Bike the Sites Inc.The three-hour, 10-mile tour is an excellent alternative to sightseeing by foot or car. As well as giving the tour to individuals who sign up for it, owner Gary Oelsner leads capital-sites tours custom-designed for groups, whether it be members of an extended family or conference attendees.

Mitchell S. Singletary was not on the payroll at the American Red Cross. But you couldn't tell that.For the past three years, Mr. Singletary had volunteered daily at the Red Cross Mount Hope Donor Center for a variety of duties, including helping to register donors, assembling blood bags and assisting donors afterward.Mr. Singletary, 32, who died Saturday at his West Baltimore home of complications of epilepsy, treated his volunteer duties as a paying job, working a full day at the center five days a week.

The American Red Cross is continuing an emergency blood drive today in response to a dangerous drop in the regional blood supply, agency officials said.Gov. Parris N. Glendening urged the public on Thursday to donate blood to replenish the supply. The American Red Cross Greater Chesapeake and Potomac Region has extended the hours of its collection centers, which will be open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. today.Call (800) GIVE-BLOOD to make appointments at any of six area centers.They are at 4700 Mount Hope Drive, Seton Business Park, Baltimore; Bright Oaks Courtyard, Suite 122-124, 2021 Emmorton Road (Route 924)

Fitje Lavinia "Binnie" Pitts, who served in the Red Cross in Europe during World War II and was later decorated for her service, died of respiratory failure related to Alzheimer's disease Friday at the Keswick Multi-Care Center. The Roland Park resident was 91. Born in Providence, R.I., she earned a degree in sociology at Smith College in Northampton, Mass. She then moved to New York City, took courses at the Catherine Gibbs School and worked at the IBM Pavilion during the 1939 World's Fair.

The American Red Cross dismissed its president and chief executive, Mark W. Everson, yesterday because of his "personal relationship with a subordinate employee." He had been in office for only six months. The news was another blow to an organization that has struggled to overcome criticism of its performance after Hurricane Katrina and other disasters, and it stunned the organization's employees, as well as the nonprofit world at large. "Although this is difficult and disappointing news for the Red Cross community, the organization remains strong and the life-saving mission of the American Red Cross will go forward," Bonnie McElveen-Hunter, chairman of the Red Cross board, said in a statement.

The Carroll County Health Department will hold its 11th annual Risky Business Prevention Conference from 8 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. June 19 at the Best Western Conference Center in Westminster. The goal of the conference is to educate the community on current risky behaviors that county youth may be participating in or be exposed to. The conference includes presentations by Barbara White from the Health Department on the Cigarette Restitution Fund Program; Wayne R. Moffatt, retired from the Maryland State Police, on "Sex Offenses and Child Abuse ... What is the Law?"

Robert Foster (Bob) Reinicker, 82 of Roanoke passed away surrounded by his loving family on May 15, 2007. He was born in Baltimore, Maryland, the only surviving son of the late Harvey E. & Lynn I. Reinicker. He served in WWII in the 194th. Glider Infantry , 17th. Airborne Division. His glider was shot down and the German Army captured him on March 24, 1945. As a POW, he was marched across France to Germany and held prisoner until the Allied Victory. He was subsequently awarded the Bronze Star for his service and valor.

1917: Red Cross auxiliary in Bel Air On April 13, 1917 - days after America's entry into World War I - 41 "patriotic women" met in the Bel Air Armory to organize the Bel Air Auxiliary of the Baltimore Chapter of the American Red Cross. In 1864 the Geneva Conventions were ratified and the International Red Cross was formed. In 1905 a charter was granted, providing the basis for today's American Red Cross. After World War I began in Europe, several community organizations in Harford County were formed and dedicated to civilian and military relief.

The American Red Cross' response to Hurricane Katrina was poorly planned, relied too heavily on inexperienced managers and often failed to meet the needs of victims, say reports by international Red Cross officials who were dispatched to assist their U.S. counterparts. The unusually harsh reports, prepared in late summer and the fall, detailed mismatches between the needs of victims and the supplies the Red Cross had arranged, the absence of a plan to guide the distribution of supplies and a lack of record-keeping, which allowed inventory to go astray.

Ralph E. Brown, a retired U.S. Postal Service and American Red Cross official, died of pneumonia Thursday at Peninsula General Hospital in Salisbury. He was 83. Born in Allen, Wicomico County, and raised in Salisbury, Mr. Brown was a 1942 graduate of Wicomico High School. He enlisted in the Navy in 1943 and served as a gunner in the Atlantic aboard two tankers and later the Liberty ship SS Thomas Nelson Page. He later was assigned to an air squadron at Pearl Harbor and was discharged in 1946.

WASHINGTON -- Marsha J. Evans, who led the American Red Cross through an uneven and much-criticized response to Hurricane Katrina, resigned as its president yesterday in another sign of continuing troubles in the organization that bears prime responsibility for delivering relief to victims of disasters, including storms and terrorist attacks. Red Cross officials attributed Evans' departure to conflicts between her and the organization's board of directors rather than to her post-Katrina performance.

Suddenly on September 7, 2005, MARY M. ROUDETTE (nee Krajewski). Memorial service private. In lieu of flowers, please send contributions to the American Red Cross.

The Baltimore Ravens will match every dollar collected from fans attending Sunday night's game against the Colts to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Originally, the Ravens were going to match the first $25,000 donated by the fans. "We are seeing every day that the devastation in the Gulf Coast states is far more extensive than originally portrayed, and we've also been inspired by the generosity of our players," Ravens president Dick Cass said. After pleas from teammates Ed Reed, Alan Ricard, Jamal Lewis and Deion Sanders last week, Ravens players donated $165,000 to the hurricane relief fund (through the Red Cross)