In his first public speaking event as CEO of the Gold Country Chapter of the American Red Cross, Gary Strong presented the program at the November Rancho Cordova Luncheon. He talked about the Red Cross, and a little about himself as well. He has been involved with not-for-profit organizations for many years, with the Red Cross always being the “core” of his board memberships.

“It was the first board I was ever on,” Strong said. “That was over 25 years ago that I joined the Red Cross board and there’s only been two years in those 25 years that I’ve not been on a Red Cross board. I’ve loved the Red Cross forever, and now to be on the staff side is just really a blessing for me.”

Strong, 53, became CEO on Sept. 29th of this year. He gave some of his background pertinent to his work. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in economics from UC Santa Barbara. His work history in accounting and finance includes controller at the Los Angeles Times where he worked for 15 years, and 10 years with the Sacramento Bee, where he was CFO.

Strong told of the origins of both the international organization, started by Swiss businessman Henri Dunant, and the American Red Cross, started by teacher and nurse Clara Barton. The region to which the Sacramento area belongs is the Gold Country Region, which encompasses 48,327 square miles, and serves 24 counties in Northern and Central California.

“We have a staff of about 35 or 40 in our chapter, but we’re dealing with a territory that is really huge, and we can’t do it without the volunteers,” Strong said. “And nothing gets done without money, so we love the donors, too.”

In fiscal year 2014/2015, in the Gold Country Region alone, Red Cross employees and volunteers responded to 589 single and multifamily fires, 739 families received financial assistance after a local disaster, and 43,250 individuals were trained in preparedness, first aid, CPR, and water safety. There were over 4 million Red Cross mobile app downloads, website visits, and social media connections.

For the American Red Cross as a whole, Strong had the following statistics: Every 60 seconds 44 people are assisted in some way by the American Red Cross; 190 times a day Red Cross workers help a family affected by a home fire or disaster; 1,000 times a day the organization provides services to military members, veterans, and their families; 5,600 times a day a person receives a Red Cross blood transfusion; 15,500 times a day a person receives lifesaving Red Cross health and safety training; and 308,000 times a day a child receives a measles or rubella vaccination from the Red Cross and its partners.

The mission statement of the Red Cross states, “The American Red Cross prevents and alleviates human suffering in the face of emergencies by mobilizing the power of volunteers and the generosity of donors.”

“I’ve always loved this mission statement of the Red Cross,” Strong said. “It gets to the ‘what,’ which is that we’re all about people who are suffering and helping them out, and about the how—that we can’t do it without the work of volunteers.”

Kris Kirkpatrick, chief development officer for the region, was also at the luncheon. She has been with the Red Cross for three years, in the Gold Country Region, and has known Strong for that period of time.

“He has a tremendous compassion for people, which is a huge part of being a good humanitarian organization,” Kirkpatrick said. “He genuinely cares about the people we serve and our volunteers and staff.”