Saturday's Internet Edition, May 17, 2008.
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“It is our commitment to Davidson County that Red Cross services will continue and even grow stronger in the month and years ahead,” said Robert Ziegler, executive director of the High Point-Thomasville Chapter, after the boards of his chapter and the Lexington-Davidson Chapter agreed to join forces last week. “This joining only makes sense to better serve our communities.”
Lori Copelan, executive director of the Lexington-Davidson County Chapter said, “This is only going to strengthen our services in the community as a whole, and improve our efficiency.”
Both directors agreed that improved efficiency was the key to the agreement.
“The whole point is to figure out how to more efficiently deliver services,” Ziegler said. “For the longest time, the Lexington-Davidson office has had financial difficulties. It just makes sense to avoid duplication of administrative efforts. We’ve got a larger office and we have more staff available who can do administrative efforts. By relieving Lori and the office down there in Lexington of those administrative duties, it will free her up to recruit more volunteers, raise more money and deliver more services.”
Currently, both chapters are keeping their names, their offices, their executive directors and the rest of the staff.
“One of the reasons why it makes sense for us to be the one for Lexington-Davidson to join with is we’re already in Davidson County, delivering services into Thomasville,” Ziegler said. “We’ve got a lot of people who work either with this office or the Lexington office. How far outside of Thomasville in Davidson County becomes not our jurisdiction, but theirs? That’s all going away now. It’s going to be a lot nicer and neater.”
Copelan remembers some of the confusion that is now being worked out.
“Sometimes we would both show up at fires that were in Wallburg, right on the line,” she said. “Now we can communicate better with each other.”
This agreement could lead to more streamlining between the two chapters.
“We’ve got a couple of committees — one representing their board of directors and one representing our board of directors,” Ziegler said. “They’re going to meet, starting on Monday, to figure out what resources are available, how we have been doing things, what the differences are and how we can blend the two together. I would suspect that, in a few short weeks, subcommittees are going to get together on developing a disaster action team and developing our health and safety training resources, as we spread things out in the county.”
While both offices continue to operate and both Ziegler and Copelan remain their respective executive directors, more streamlining may occur.
“Some little things might change as far as if we decide to change our names or anything, but as far as services go, we want to make this an easy, no-fuss transition,” Copelan said. “We still need for our volunteers and their volunteers to continue to support the community.”
Doug Burrow, chairman of the High Point Thomasville board of directors said, “We think this will mean a stronger Red Cross presence all across the area, from Jamestown to Denton, from Thomasville to Churchland.”
While this is not a formal merger — not yet anyway — the High Point and Thomasville Red Cross chapters merged in 1970.
“I’m really optimistic about all this,” Ziegler said of the agreement. “I’m going to make sure that services do not decrease. That’s my commitment to everybody in Davidson County.”
Staff Writer Kevin Reid can be reached at 472-9500, ext. 230, or at reid@tvilletimes.com.