The Southeast Georgia Chapter of the Georgia Region of American Red Cross has announced new Chapter-based staff members:  Kelly Crane, Katie Davis, and Deborah Heddendorf

Kelly Crane is the Disaster Program Manager for Disaster Response Area 5, which covers twelve counties in Southeast and Coastal Georgia.  She is responsible for directing the Red Cross’ Disaster Cycle Services programs to help communities prepare for and recover from disasters of all levels. Crane’s background includes serving as the Coastal District Disaster Response Coordinator for the South Georgia Conference,  United Methodist Church, and as a trainer for United Methodist Committee on Relief.  She serves as Vice President of the Board with Coastal Empire Disaster Recovery Committee and has leadership roles with Effingham County VOAD (Volunteer Organizations Active in Disaster), and local church Outreach Teams. A native of New York, she attended St. John Fisher College, Rochester, NY, and Elmira College, Elmira, NY.  Crane, who recently completed a 22-day deployment for the Level 4 Disaster Relief Operation for the January tornados that destroyed over 500 homes in Georgia, is based out of the Red Cross Savannah Office.

Katie Davis is the Service to the Armed Forces Program Manager serving Hunter Army Air Base, Fort Stewart, and King’s Bay Naval Submarine Base.  Davis is responsible for providing humanitarian support to active-duty military, family members, and veterans. Key service areas overseen by Davis include Emergency Communications, support for the military community in Military Treatment Facilities, and resiliency programs such as Coping with Deployments, Reconnection Workshops, and Mind-Body Workshops.  The programs provide tools to address the challenges and stress of military life and are led by licensed mental health professionals.  Davis completed two 6-month deployments in 2021 and 2022:  Camp Arifjan in Kuwait, and a Polish military installation in Boleslawiec, Poland.  While on these deployments, she provided wide-ranging support services to members of the United States military. Davis previously served as Red Cross Service to the Armed Forces Program Manager for Fort Gordon in Augusta, Georgia. Davis, who has an MS in Family Community Services from Michigan State University, is based at the Red Cross Office at Fort Stewart.

Deborah Heddendorf is the Blood Services Account Manager for Chatham and Effingham counties. Heddendorf is responsible for ensuring the needs of blood drive donors, sponsors, and volunteers are met, while coordinating the successful collection of lifesaving blood products. As the primary supplier of blood and blood products to Candler/St. Joseph and Memorial Health University Medical Center, the only Level 1 Trauma Center in Southeast Georgia, and as part of the larger Georgia Blood Services Region, which includes a Blood Manufacturing Facility and Immunohematology Reference Laboratory, the Georgia Region is responsible for providing blood products to over 100 hospital partners across the Southeastern region of the United States, delivering over 300,000 units of red blood cells and about 50,000 platelet products to hospital shelves annually. Deborah comes to Red Cross with a wealth of community service experience as the Director of Development and Community Service with the Medbank Foundation, the Community Outreach Director for both the Alzheimer’s Association and Assisted Recovery Center of Georgia, and most recently as the Patient Experience Manager for Memorial Health.  Heddendorf is based out of the Savannah Red Cross Office.