DANA PUTERBAUGH IS NATION’S BEST BLOOD DRIVE RECRUITER

CBC DARKE CO. REPRESENTATIVE HONORED AS 2011 ADRP RECRUITER OF YEAR

DAYTON, Ohio – Ask anyone in Darke Co. to name the greatest champion for saving lives through the gift of life and the answer without hesitation will be Community Blood Center (CBC) Account Representative Dana Puterbaugh. The Association of Donor Recruitment Professionals (ADRP) has answered the same way by recognizing Dana as the 2011 National Recruiter of the Year.

Dana will receive her award at the annual ADRP conference May 16-18 in St. Louis, MO. “We like to call Dana one of the hardest-working professionals in Darke Co., if not our entire service area,” said CBC Donor Relations Director Andrew Keelor. “She is part of that strong fabric of community support in Darke Co., she knows her donors as neighbors, and she inspires everyone to reach down and do more. Please join me in congratulating Dana on this awesome achievement!”

Dana joined CBC more than 11 years ago as a part-time recruiter and through hard work and innovation developed her role into a full-time position. Since then she has doubled Darke Co. collections to more than 5,700 units a year. She oversees 130 blood drives per year, coordinates multiple special events and fundraisers, and works with more than 65 sponsor groups to accomplish her blood drive goals.

“It’s a profound honor,” says Dana. “I feel that it takes the help of a lot more people than me to win an award like this. I’m just doing my job and I am very fortunate to have the great people – the donors – I get to work with. It’s just an honor to do the work I do. I just try to make people happy.”

One of Dana’s major accomplishments was developing regular rotations of blood drives in specific geographic areas of her territory to make donating more convenient and to encourage people to donate more often. Blood drives are now better balanced around the county.

To date, 13 percent of eligible donors in Darke Co. participate in her blood drive program, far exceeding the national average. The winner of the Jeep Liberty in CBC’s 2011 summer campaign entered the contest by donating at one of Dana’s regular blood drives in Versailles.



One of her strengths is developing partnerships with local businesses and community leaders to promote blood drives and their sponsors. She works with the Darke Co. Advisory board to guide projects; the “CAPS” Community Awareness Program to advertise on the local transit system; and the Community Awareness Goal Chart so sponsors and donors can track the county’s blood donation progress on a goal thermometer throughout the year.

Darke Co. special projects have been colorful and creative. The Eldora Speedway Blood Drive partners with the hugely popular dirt track events; the annual Darke Co. Hero Award honors a donor, and the Hero Ride and Poker Run raises community awareness; the Blood and Guts Grudge Match Challenge revives high school donations during the summer; and the Darke Co. Fair CBC T-Shirt Day promotes blood donation awareness at one of Ohio’s largest fairs.

Her “Darke County Days” is an annual marketing project with local businesses. This year she partnered with Whirlpool Corporation to celebrate the 100th Anniversary Celebration of the county’s largest employer with the “100 Days of Giving” blood drive campaign. She started 2012 by partnering with Bob Evans for a special fundraiser at their Greenville restaurant.

During the holiday season she partners with Darke Co. Lions Clubs to host a blood drive that generates approximately 100 stuffed animals a year for patients at Wayne HealthCare hospital. She also sponsored the CBC entry in the Sterling House Greenville Festival of Trees.

Dana writes most of her own news releases and designs campaign posters and flyers. She writes, edits and distributes her own “Darke Co. Donor Newsletter” at blood drives and appears monthly on a local radio talk show.

ADRP established the Donor Recruiter of the Year Award in 1982 to recognize donor recruiters as “the heart of the organization and the blood banking industry.” Reaching out to donors is Dana’s unique talent, and in that indispensible way she is “the heart of CBC.”

Dana is the wife of Steve Puterbaugh and proud mother of her 17 year old daughter Logan. She enjoys spending time with family and friends.

Technology is making it faster and more convenient than ever to schedule your next blood donation. Just use your computer or smart phone to make an appointment online at www.DonorTime.com. You can also schedule your next appointment using your mobile device to scan the DonorTime QR code.

Blood donation requirements: Donors are required to provide a photo ID that includes their full name. Past CBC donors are also asked to bring their CBC donor ID card. Donors must be at least 16 years of age (16 years old with parental consent: form available at www.givingblood.org or at CBC branch & blood drive locations), weigh a minimum of 110 pounds, and be in good physical health. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) changes blood donor eligibility guidelines periodically. Individuals with eligibility questions are invited to email canidonate@cbccts.org or call 1(800)388-GIVE. Make an appointment at www.DonorTime.com.

Community Blood Center/Community Tissue Services® is an independent, not-for-profit organization. Community Blood Center provides blood products to 24 hospitals within a 15-county service area in the Miami (Ohio) and Whitewater (Indiana) Valleys. For more information about Community Blood Center/Community Tissue Services®, visit www.givingblood.org.