Red Cross honoree hails from a military family

Ann Layman’s dad was “a career Navy man,” and she guesses that’s why she learned “to think about being prepared.”

So, 17 years ago, when a friend and fellow PTA and community volunteer approached her to serve on the board of directors for the Roanoke Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross, she couldn’t refuse.

“They do a lot for the military,” Layman said of the Red Cross and its services to military personnel in areas where her father was stationed.

Layman, of Botetourt County, recently received the Red Cross’ 2013 Chapter Chairman’s Award.

She has worked on a local disaster team, served as board secretary and on the executive committee for 10 years, led the board’s nominating committee and introduced a Kroger Card program that provides a new funding source, in addition to other efforts.

“She is an excellent ambassador of the American Red Cross, its programs and its services, helping ensure we live out the Red Cross mission of preventing and alleviating human suffering,” board Chairman Tom Johnson said in a news release announcing the award.

Johnson also called Layman a tireless supporter and a loyal leadership volunteer.

Layman had praises for the Red Cross, noting that she witnessed the work of the agency as a child and adult.

“They just do good things for so many people,” she said. Recalling seeing the Red Cross in action while her father was in the Navy, she’s particularly impressed with “services to the armed forces, especially to soldiers overseas” who get help with contacting their families and other services.

Layman said the Red Cross has “lots of people who work very hard in the Roanoke area,” assisting families displaced by fires and other disasters, supplying blood, providing international aid and teaching skills that save lives such as holding mock alcohol programs to show children the dangers of drinking and driving.

But Layman, a retired high school teacher, said she’s taking a sabbatical from the Red Cross while she’s helping St. Mark’s Episcopal Church develop a disaster plan for its community.

“All schools and churches need to be ready. You just never know. We live in a scary world,” she said .

In addition to presenting the chairman’s award to Layman, Johnson also presented the Good Neighbor Award to WSLS-TV (Channel 10) for its ongoing support of the Red Cross and its 10-year-old Celebration of Heroes, an awards breakfast that honors those in the community who have saved a life, performed an act of courage or offered a valuable service to the community.

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