HR1230 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR1230 LRB097 22924 MST 71728 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are pleased to congratulate Senior Master Sergeant Rebecca Gabel for receiving the "2012 Most Innovative Blood Drive Coordinator Award" from the Illinois Coalition of Community Blood Centers; and

WHEREAS, SMSgt Rebecca Gabel embarked on the organization of blood drives at Scott Air Force Base (SAFB) in June 2011; and

WHEREAS, SMSgt Gabel has since coordinated 15 successful consecutive blood drives on the last Thursday of every month; and

WHEREAS, Setting up blood drives on military bases can be very challenging and requires coordination of various departments due to security access that must be coordinated beforehand; and

WHEREAS, The coordination of donors and other volunteers for SAFB blood drives can also be difficult because service men and women can be reassigned or deployed with little notice; and

WHEREAS, Prior to the drive, SMSgt Gabel would reach out to the entire base to enlist donors and others to help with the logistics; and

WHEREAS, To make it more convenient and reach more donors, SMSgt Gabel would make sure the location of the donor bus changes for each drive between 1 of 5 sites throughout the base; and

WHEREAS, Under SMSgt Gabel leadership, nearly 500 units of blood have been collected in just 15 months; and

WHEREAS, A single unit of blood can save up to 3 lives; and

WHEREAS, In April 2012, SMSgt Gabel pushed successfully for a motion which adopted the Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center's blood drives as one of the major projects of the Air Force Sergeants Association (AFSA); this ensures that in Rebecca's absence the drives will continue through AFSA; and

WHEREAS, In June 2012, the Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center nominated SMSgt Gabel as the "Most Innovative Blood Drive Coordinator" in a state-wide competition hosted by the Illinois Coalition of Community Blood Centers; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we commend SMSgt Gabel for her selfless service to her community and her strong dedication to insuring blood drives will remain a priority at SAFB for years to come; and be it further

RESOLVED, that we commend all the service men and women of Scott Air Force Base for their commitment and sacrifice to our nation; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to SMSgt Gabel as a symbol of our respect and esteem.