Breckenridge Texan

By Carla McKeown/Breckenridge Texan

The Breckenridge Rotary Club will kick off its annual Battle of the Badges Blood Drive on Thursday, June 1. The three-day blood drive will allow those who donate blood to vote for the Breckenridge Police Department, the Breckenridge Fire Department or the Stephens County Sheriff’s Office. The winner gets bragging rights for the next year.

Colleen Horan with Carter BloodCare talks to the Breckenridge Rotary Club about the upcoming Battle of the Badges Blood Drive and how much regional blood drives, such as the ones in Breckenridge, help the blood bank. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

The Rotary Club hosts the event each year with Carter BloodCare, a non-profit blood bank serving North, Central and East Texas.

Colleen Horan with Carter BloodCare attended Tuesday’s Rotary Club meeting to talk to the members and guests in attendance about blood drive. Because of the construction work being done on the First National Bank building, the June 1 and June 3 blood drives will be held at TSTC. The June 2 blood drive will be at Stephens Memorial Hospital.

The Battle of the Badges Blood Drive will take place on the following schedule:

• Thursday, June 1, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Texas State Technical College, 307 N. Breckenridge Ave., room 103
• Friday, June 2, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Stephens Memorial Hospital/Breckenridge Medical Center, 101 S. Hartford St., Carter BloodCare Mobile Drive Bus
• Saturday, June 3, 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Texas State Technical College, 307 N. Breckenridge Ave., room 103

Click here to register for a donation time.

The summer blood drive is important because, overall, blood donations decrease during the summer, Horan said. During the school year, many Texas high schools hold blood drives to keep up the blood bank supply, and once school is out for the summer, blood donations slow down. Additionally, during the summer, fewer people make blood donations because they are traveling on vacation.

Although the Dallas-area hospitals had enough blood on hand to assist the victims of the recent mass shooting in Allen, Carter BloodCare did have to send extra blood out afterwards to replenish the hospitals’ supplies, Horan said.

During her talk at the Rotary Club, Horan shared some statistics with the group, including:

• Although about 3% of U.S. population donates blood, about 62% are actually eligible to donate.
• Every 2 seconds, someone in the United States gets a blood donation.
• One in 13 African American babies is born with Sickle Cell Disease, which often requires a monthly blood transfusion.

Colleen Horan, left, presents Les and Sherry Strickland with the Outstanding Blood Drive Coordinator Award for their work in 2022. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

Horan said people with O-negative blood can donate to people with any blood type. Those with O-positive can donate to others with any positive blood type. A-positive is the most common blood type, and AB-negative is the least common blood type.

In addition to talking about the upcoming blood drive, Horan presented Les and Sherry Strickland with the Outstanding Blood Drive Coordinator Award from Carter BloodCare. The Stricklands were honored at Carter BloodCare’s Blood Donor Banquet in Fort Worth last month.

“They are so wonderful,” Horan said about Les and Sherry. “When we have these blood drives, they are always there. Everything’s taken care of, they get the word out. You guys just do a fantastic job in this town.”

She also recognized Les as a six-gallon blood donor and Rotary member Sharron Brown as a 12-gallon donor. Both received milestone pins for their achievements.

For more information about the upcoming Battle of the Badges Blood Drive, call Les or Sherry Strickland at 254-522-1959.

Colleen Horan with Carter BloodCare, center, honored Les Strickland and Sharron Brown for their milestone achievements. Les has donated a total of six gallons of blood, and Sharron has donated 12 gallons. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

Cutline, top photo: Representatives from the Breckenridge Police Department, Breckenridge Fire Department and Stephens County Sheriff’s Office attended the Rotary Club meeting on Tuesday, where the upcoming Battle of the Badges Blood Drive schedule was announced. Pictured, from left, are Wesley Turner and Malcolm Bufkin with the Breckenridge Fire Department; Colleen Horan with Carter BloodCare; Stephens County Sheriff Kevin Roach; Brittany Metcalf, Francisco San Miguel and Trent McLane with the Breckenridge Police Department; and Sherry and Les Strickland with the Breckenridge Rotary Club. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)