Five people honored at Contra Costa County meeting
By Ritch DavidsonEditor’s note: At a recent Red Cross meeting in Contra Costa County, the organization recognized five individuals who have made a positive impact in their communities. Their service is described below. For more photos from the recognition event, please click here.
Deborah Simpson 
Deborah Simpson was on the phone with a friend when they both heard a beeping sound. When her friend asked what that sound was, Deborah replied it was her smoke detector indicating that the battery needed to be replaced. The friend suggested Deborah call the Red Cross for assistance. Deborah wondered, “Does the Red Cross do that?” After calling, she learned they did. A Red Cross team went to her house and replaced not only the batteries but the smoke detector itself, giving her a new 10-year model. Deborah found the team to be friendly, warm, and high-spirited, even bringing her some coffee cake from a meeting they’d just attended.After her own detectors were installed, Deborah took flyers about the program to post them at her Church. She also encouraged the team to canvass her neighbors (which it did), saying she would be happy to let the team use her as a reference. Deborah was recognized for spreading the positive word about the Red Cross Sound the Alarm program.
Rayce and Wendi Loughlin
Eight-year-old Rayce Loughlin and his mother, Wendi, were watching television when a news story described the Red Cross opening a shelter at the Clayton Valley Library in response to the July 2018 Marsh Creek fire. Rayce immediately wanted to help, and Wendi agreed. They turned off the TV and went to the shelter, where they became “spontaneous volunteers,” setting up cots and whatever else was needed. They didn’t stop there. Rayce and Wendi returned to offer assistance three more times. For their selfless and generous contribution to their community and the Red Cross, they were acknowledged with Certificates of Appreciation and Red Cross backpacks.
Valerie and Robert Rodriguez
Disaster Health Services nurses Valerie and Robert Rodriguez were presented with a numbered Nurse Enrollment badge, a tradition begun in 1906. The American Red Cross nurse’s badge is a distinctive symbol of professional attainment and service to humanity.
It’s not surprising that a group of fourth graders from an elementary school in the picturesque coastal community of Pacific Grove have already developed a keen interest in their natural surroundings. But a recent gift to the American Red Cross shows that the young students also are developing a similar interest in helping their fellow humans. 
Almost 50 volunteers from the Silicon Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross met at Fire Station Number 3 on Martha Street in San Jose on a rainy morning this past Saturday. After remarks by Captain Bien Doan of the San Jose Fire Department and superb training by Liz Dietz, Terry Unter, and Doug Moses-Batson, the teams — in spite of the rainy weather — visited a total of 52 homes in County Fair Mobile Estates and Village of the Four Seasons, in San Jose. The work was done as a part of the ongoing Red Cross “Sound The Alarm” activities. 
By Andrea Mendoza
Your Red Cross Update 