Village of Oak Creek/Sedona resident Janet Dubiel was honored at the recent American Red Cross Northern Arizona Chapter volunteer recognition event, receiving the ‘Bio-Medical Achievement’ award. The event, held on April 25th at the 1899 Conference Center on the Northern Arizona University campus in Flagstaff, celebrated the work put in and accomplishments achieved by all of the organization’s volunteers. Roughly 90% of the work done by the Red Cross is done by volunteers. It is not unusual for one volunteer to hold several positions, though some choose to concentrate their energies on one role.

Janet has been donating blood & platelets for over 45 years, recently earning her 21-gallon milestone achievement.

She became a Blood Donor Ambassador in July 2022, the Yavapai County Bio-Medical Volunteer Engagement Lead in July 2024 and the Northern Arizona Blood Services Community Volunteer Leader (CVL) in the Spring of 2025. In the latter role she is tasked with developing new blood drive sites throughout Northern Arizona, currently focused on the Verde Valley and greater Flagstaff areas.

She currently manages 15 Blood Donor Ambassadors in Yavapai County and will be adding more in Coconino County. As a CVL, Janet has worked Red Cross information tables at numerous community education events (i.e. Volunteer Fairs in Sedona and Cottonwood, Wildcat Carnival in Sedona, Resource Fair in Williams) and spoken to community groups (i.e. Sedona Rotary) about all Red Cross services and volunteer opportunities. She has recruited numerous new Red Cross Volunteers in all the Lines of Service.

Since July of 2023, Janet has been a regular contributor to newspapers across the Chapter, having published over 60 articles educating the public about blood donation, upcoming Red Cross blood drives, the ‘Sound the Alarm’ program, and other Red Cross activities in local communities. In addition to her blood services activities, she also participates in the Red Cross’ ‘Sound the Alarm’ program – installing smoke detectors, free of charge in residential homes in Yavapai County.

Janet enjoys spreading the brotherhood of the Red Cross globally. She has visited the Red Cross headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland and presented a Northern Arizona Chapter challenge medallion at headquarters of the Portuguese Red Cross in Lisbon, Portugal just days after the tragic crash of the Gloria Funicular. During an upcoming trip, she hopes to visit and present medals to Red Cross chapters in Japan and Thailand.

When not volunteering for the Red Cross or playing pickleball, you can find her at the Village of Oak Creek branch of the Community Library Sedona, where she volunteers Wednesday afternoons.