Friday, July 5

Contest draws blood between local chiefs

[JULY 5, 2002]  What is the world coming to when our heroes, the ones we trust to come to our aid in times of trouble, enter into a blood-drawing battle? Not to worry, the world is coming to good. Logan County’s first-response emergency agencies have accepted the challenge to see which group can give the most blood over a 62-day period. The Lincoln City Police Department, Lincoln Fire Department, Lincoln Rural Fire Protection District, Logan County Sheriff’s Department, Logan County ESDA and the Logan County Paramedics will recruit blood donors from within their ranks as well as from the public over the next few months.

Terry Bell from Central Illinois Community Blood Center explained, "Anybody, and I say anybody, can donate blood at a drive and say that they are giving in the name of any of the participating agencies." They can come in and say, "I’m giving in the name of the police department or I’m giving in the name of the fire department." If you would like to help them out, you can watch the Pantagraph for updates and a schedule of July and August drives.

The "Badges for Life" competition officially kicked off the contest with a blood drive on Monday, July 1. CICBC will keep track of the donations made in the name of the six agencies now through Aug. 31. According to Cherie Sexton-Young, CICBC director of donor resources, the purpose in conducting the contest at this time is to heighten awareness about the need for blood donations and to avert local blood shortages in the wake of new FDA deferral criteria as well as preparing for the traditional summer drop in donations.

Sexton-Young was pleased to comment, "We have never had a shortage in central Illinois in 31 years." She added, "Fifty percent of the blood centers across America are on media appeal at this time." We are fortunate not to have shortages here, she said. It is hoped that by the preparations and awareness now we will avert any unexpected urgency.

 

[to top of second column in this article]

The "Badges for Life" winner will be determined by the total number of donations made in the name of each department. Since agencies vary in size, the playing field will be leveled by taking participation percentages from each department. A trophy will be awarded to the winning agency. However, the greater motivation in this friendly competition between these closely related agencies is that the five losing department directors will wash the vehicle of the winning department director. The ribbing has already begun as each agency is thinking about what vehicle they want someone else to wash. Talk evolved with chuckles about bringing an E-1 tower truck or fire department pumper truck for washing.

Central Illinois Community Blood Center supplies all of the blood and blood products for 12 area hospitals, including Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital, Hopedale Hospital, Memorial Medical Center and St. John’s Hospital. They emphasize that all of the blood collected here stays here.

[Jan Youngquist]


Lincoln native lives his dream

[JULY 5, 2002]  SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE — Two years ago, Chad Bryant of Lincoln left home to fulfill a lifetime dream of traveling.

Now he’s helping fight the war on terror.

"I always wanted to travel," Bryant said. "So, I got my associate’s degree from Lincoln College in 1998, I got married, joined the Air Force and left for training two months later.

"My wife and I even moved our wedding date up so we could get married before I left for basic training!

"But I had no idea at the time just how important my job would be."

He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Don Bryant of Lincoln.

It was a very big year for Bryant in 1999, and the pace has never slowed. Since his graduation from basic training — an event he considers one of his proudest achievements — Airman Bryant has had the opportunity to work in the long and winding halls of power at the Pentagon, a bit off the beaten path from Lincoln.

"My wife and I had a lot of fun in D.C.," Bryant said. "We got out of Illinois and got to see another part of the United States."

 

After assignment at the Pentagon, it was back to Illinois for a tour at U.S. Transportation Command — the military’s transportation center. Bryant is an intelligence systems administrator, responsible for ensuring computer servers are up and running, allowing the command’s 1,000-plus military men and women and civilians to communicate electronically at a moment’s notice. Information technology is of paramount importance in coordinating worldwide transportation and delivery of personnel and supplies for the military.

Almost all of the personnel and equipment delivered to fight Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, a land-locked country, was flown into that mountainous country by Transcom C-17s and C-130s. The effort required a great deal of traffic on computer systems handled by Bryant and others in his department.

 

"We sustain several main servers as well as hundreds of client workstations," he says. "I was never really into computers before, but that has changed. The Air Force gives you incredible training, and I was really enjoying my job."

Sept. 11 was something Bryant says he will never forget.

He was at work in the communication center at the transportation command when the terrorists hit the World Trade Center towers. The event changed his job and his view of its importance.

"I saw how vital my position is to the command. My work became more important, knowing that keeping lines of communication open for our command — and all the people who depend on us — rested partly upon my work," he said.

 

[to top of second column in this article]

Things have slowed down a bit since then as Bryant makes sure that the command’s information technology system gives us an edge in the war against terrorism.

After working often-long hours, Bryant spends most of his free time with his children, Isaiah, 2, and Brianna, 4 months.

"I’m always doing something with them, whether it is crawling around on the floor or completing a college education to provide them with a good example."

Bryant received his bachelor’s degree in organizational leadership from Greenville College this spring and planned to apply for Officer Training School. The Air Force will pay most of the bill for his college education.

Bryant says he would like to make the Air Force a lifetime career.

"I enjoy the challenge, and it is interesting meeting new people," he said. "I’ve learned from working within a joint command that each branch of service helps one another and how essential they are to one another’s success."

 

Bryant has been making a name for himself around the transportation command. The command is responsible for most air, land, and sea transportation needs worldwide for the Department of Defense. Recently, Bryant was selected as U.S. Transportation Command’s Junior Servicemember of the Quarter, an honor given only to the command’s most deserving servicemen and women.

His selection was based in part on his active community work, supporting the local Airman’s Attic, a charity providing various household items to military families — senior airman rank and below. Bryant also donates his time to various cancer walks in the St. Louis area.

 

"My parents are both survivors of cancer. I feel it is my responsibility to walk in honor of them," Bryant says.

"I enjoy volunteer work because I know that my community was there for me during rough times. So, I am there to provide that same support."

And still on the airman’s mind is his continued desire to travel.

"I want to travel," he said "Italy is my first choice, but I am ready to go anywhere."

He will get his wish when his tour at Transcom ends in 2003. He will be deployed, and it will be far from Illinois.

In the military, that’s something Bryant knows he can count on.

[Kelly Thompson,
U.S. Transportation Command,
public affairs]

Return to current Top Stories page

Back to top


 

News | Sports | Business | Rural Review | Teaching & Learning | Home and Family | Tourism | Obituaries

Community | Perspectives | Law & Courts | Leisure Time | Spiritual Life | Health & Fitness | Calendar

Letters to the Editor