“It’s an annual event that we hold each year,” County Manager William Wilson Jr. said. “Both the city and county are very supportive of the American Red Cross and this is something we started after Sept. 11th and have continued since that time.”
He said the blood drive is a means of assisting those who are in need of blood and remembering those who died on Sept. 11, 2001.
Wilson said the county has two blood drives a year, one on Sept. 11 and the other done in conjunction with the city. The 2007 drives were a great success - the city-county drive in March collected 77 pints of blood, while the Sept. 11 drive collected 55, for a yearly total of 132.
Rick Fox, human resources specialist for the city of Griffin, is the city’s point man on the project.
“I’m really looking forward to a big one this time,” he said.
He said the city and county are promoting it more heavily this year.
Fox has a personal reason to support blood donation - he ended up in the trauma center in 2006 after a motorcycle accident and required a blood transfusion.
“It’s a necessary life-saving thing the Red Cross is doing,” he said. “It’s for later use; you never know when you’re going to need it.”
“Everybody needs it, I can tell you that much,” Spalding County Board of Commissioners Chairman Eddie Goss said. “It’s a very important thing here, not only in Spalding County, but throughout the world.
He said people don’t realize the importance of blood drives until there’s a disaster and blood is needed and that according to some articles he has read, there is a blood shortage.
He praised county employees for their willingness to participate.
“We’ve had a very good response from our employees and it’s very much appreciated,” he said.
Griffin Mayor Doug Hollberg is a supporter of the drive.
“I think it’s a great idea,” he said. “I appreciate our employees in the city and county making a sacrifice to help those in need.”
The blood drive will be at the Griffin Welcome Center, at 143 N. Hill St., and will run from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m.
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