And the winner of the 2021 Battle of the Badges Blood Drive . . . . Emporia Fire and EMS.
Emporia Fire Marshall Reason Bradford jokingly says he was confident they would come out on top of the friendly competition.
On a serious note, Bradford says that he’s proud of the local community for stepping up and helping make a huge difference for patients all across the country.
Emporia Fire’s win snapped a two-year winning streak for local law enforcement. Emporia Police Cpt. Ray Mattas says despite the loss, he’s just happy they could help make a difference in the local community.
New to this year’s competition was Lyon County Emergency Communications. Spokesperson Ashley Dowd says it was “awesome” to be a part of the event and bring more awareness to the work of Lyon County Emergency Communications.
The blood drive saw a total of 229 units of blood collected. This was slightly less than the overall goal of 252, however, American Red Cross spokesperson Susan Faler says she is extremely pleased with how the drive went.
Despite donations being down slightly from years past, Faler is confident the blood drive may have exceeded its original goal of 282 usable pints of blood. Final totals will be announced at a later time.
According to Faler every pint of blood donated has the ability to save up to three lives. She says she is grateful to everyone that took time to give and assured them it will make a major difference in the lives of individuals across the country.
For more information on the American Red Cross, upcoming blood drives or how to donate vist RedCrossBlood.org.
Photos by Tagan Trahoon/KVOE News
