Thursday, June 26, 2025 06:00 PM-07:30 PM-Northwest Florida Annual Meeting and Volunteer Recognition- Greater Little Rock Baptist Church 901 North A Street, Pensacola, FL 32501

  John Thomas Winskas Attended Event: 

Thursday, Juen 26, 2025 06:00 PM-07:30 PM-Northwest Florida Annual Meeting and Volunteer Recognition- Greater Little Rock Baptist Church 901 North A Street, Pensacola, FL  32501

• Walked to the American Red Cross Northwest Florida Annual Meeting and Volunteer Recognition event at Greater Little Roc Baptist Church 901 North A Street, Pensacola, FL  32501 from home 1517 e Lloyd st., Pensacola, FL, 32503 at 4:00pm (stopped in walgreens to get a bottle of hydrogen peroxide on the way to the event).
• Arrived at the Greater Little Roc Baptist Church at around 4:45pm waited in parking lot until another Red Cross Volunteer guided me to the entrance at 5:00pm ( an hour before the event was set to start.
• Met Terri again, began helping set up tables, 
• adjusted the position of the chairs.
• tied around 20 loop swoop and pull bow knots on the sombrero decorations.
• placed the miniature sombrero around the center pieces of the tables.
• Met Kelly again, 
• placed folded table clothes on placemats at the tables after Kelly folded them.
• Learned how to fold table clothes and place on the placemats so they stand up from Kelly.
• Folded a few table clothes and placed them on the placemats.
• Met Norm again
• He said to be ready to go out on calls to finish my DAT specialist training.
• Gave me a DAT pin to pin onto my shirt when I go on calls.
• Gave me a backpack that I gave to Terri at the end of the night to store at the american red cross building until I or another DAT member might need it-(I should be at the American Red Cross building again volunteering at the blood drive event next Wednesday pending any schedule conflicts.)
• Learned about the hundreds and thousands of hours that other DAT volunteer members have given to the American Red Cross and about the work that all of the award recipients have been completing and their service to the community!
• Ate burrito's & nacho's & cheese and lettuce and spicy queso sauce and salsa, and some more nachos.
• ate 2-3 miniature cream filled pastries
• Talked with Nicole about the possibility for volunteer hours helping the NWFL maintenance and facilities team at the American Red Cross building and maybe a few admin tasks I could help with to reduce the workload of the staff.
• Instructed to channel further questions through Terri
• Terri said she will be in touch, but is busy this week
• Thank you Terri! I appreciate your time and for the potential volunteer opportunities.
• Spoke to Kelly about the next step for shelter Volunteer Associate onboarding.
• She is also busy this week but mentioned there to keep my availability updated during the hurricane season in the American Red Cross Volunteer Connection in case volunteers might be needed in local shelters.
• Noticed Samantha Cleaning up the tables during the event; thought about helping but also wanted to listen to speakers.
• Thank you Samantha for keeping the tables clear and taking my plate!
• Help clear tables as meeting attendees left.
• Took instruction from facility staff at the end of the event assisted them in stacking chairs, moving chairs, and moving tables 
• Picked up a red cross coffee mug for my mother, a pen, 2-3 ARC patches, and key chain flashlight.
• Took a Parfet and few frosted deserts home for my dad & mom
• Walked home (Thank you very much Terri for offering to give me a ride home I appreciated the offer)!

• On my walk home I looked at phone for the first time since I got to the American Red Cross event and found out my dad went to the ER to have a pacemaker put in when I was munching down on nachos- his phone was off when I tried to reach him but I got a hold of my mother and I will visit and/or pick him up tomorrow with my mom and maybe bring a couple of the deserts for him if he is allowed to eat.
• I am looking forward to completing my onboarding as a volunteer DAT Specialist and volunteer shelter associate and hope to continue to learn and volunteer with the American Red Cross! Thank you to the American Red Cross volunteers and the hundreds and thousands of hours that the volunteer award recipients put in to serving our community!