By Martin Gagliano & Pooja Klebig 

Although Art Stine’s official title was, “Northern California Coastal Region Gift Planner Officer,” his contributions went far beyond the role. His selfless personality made him an outstanding and invaluable member of the regional Fundraising Development team. After an impressive lifelong career, including seven years dedicated to our mission, we celebrate Art’s retirement with this Q&A session. It is evident that Art remains a Red Crosser at heart and for life!

Did you come across or interact with the Red Cross in any way prior to being hired?

When I was 8 years old, I learned how to swim at the downtown public pool in Los Angeles. The swimming instructor was from the Red Cross.

What was your professional journey like prior to joining the Red Cross?

It began in sales, right out of college. For eleven years, I sold everything from greeting cards to pressure washers. In ’92, a college friend introduced me to Planned Giving at the Salvation Army. I didn’t get that job at the time, but found a small, national foundation that would hire me and train me in the workings of the fundraiser profession. That didn’t last long, but then the Salvation Army was once again hiring, I got the job and started in San Francisco. For the next 20 years, I worked in two Divisions and even served two years as Director of Development. In 2016, the Planned Giving Department made some changes that I couldn’t follow. I decided to make a change and thanks to a colleague in the Bay Area, I found the Red Cross. Thankfully, I was hired in April 2017, and I have not had a reason to look back. Since then, I’ve always wanted to bring my expertise to the donors supporting the Red Cross mission.

What inspired you to get involved with the Red Cross? 

Once I started, I realized that there was even MORE that the Red Cross did besides Disaster Relief. In 2018, I participated in my first Sound the Alarm event -installing free smoke alarms in communities with prone risk of fires. The amazing work of saving lives is only surpassed by the wonderful people that I met during that day.

Years later, I was given a tour of the Oakland Blood Donation Center and was quite inspired to immediately start donating platelets. I know how important this lifesaving product is, I lost my father to cancer. To date, I’ve donated 395 units (almost 49 gallons). 

What are some of the most memorable moments or milestones in your career with the Red Cross?

A moment that still chokes me up occurred in January 2018. I had just given platelets and the Blood Donation Center in Oregon, and someone called me to ask when I can come back to give more. I was a very close match to a patient going through a particular type of therapy. I gave a couple more times for the Oregon patient after this particular request. It was overwhelming to know that I was a lifeline to someone that I will never meet. This is why I’m always encouraging people to donate blood and if they are not eligible, I say, “ask through others.” 

What would you consider your greatest achievement and the biggest challenge you’ve overcome in your role?

The biggest challenge for me was stewarding hundreds of Legacy Society members. Before Jon Lacey came on board, that was close to 550 people! Once we had volunteers working specifically with the Gift Planning Unit, it became very manageable, so I am thankful that. My greatest achievement? That’s a big one, however, one of my colleagues pointed out something to me about my Red Cross legacy recently.

I have had the privilege and honor to work with many of our leadership team members over the past seven years. Those connections have allowed me to share what gift planning is to our donors, the Red Cross and to them personally. When I consider how collaborative everyone has been, I realize that my influence goes from a regional level to a national level.

Who or what has been your biggest inspiration during your career?

The legacy left by others. I am not saying that just because I work with Legacy Planning. I love and appreciate history because I see how others deal with hurdles. This gives me hope that what I (and we) face is not insurmountable. History also helps me understand why things are the way they are today. Specifically, I am inspired by seeing/experiencing others’ successes.

What would you like your legacy to be remembered as by your colleagues and the organization?

I want others to remember exactly what they have told me: “I remember Art.  He always had a word (or meme) to cheer me up!” As Maya Angelou said, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

What does retirement look like for you and what are you most looking forward to?

This next phase of my life will be filled with many things. I will get to spend more time with my wife, Beth (we are both aware that this will take time since we have both had something consistently outside of our home to take our time. We are taking baby steps!). I will have more time with the three grandchildren after 6 months away. We will explore the East Coast and continue to travel abroad as often as we can. I plan to reengage a long-lost hobby of fishing, specifically, fly fishing. Of course, a more pressing matter for me is getting a third surgery on my left knee. Fun!

What advice would you give to someone freshly joining the Red Cross or nearing retirement with the Red Cross?

Find the mission moments. Try them out and stick with the one(s) that resonates with you. On the flip side, do not forget that your work is vital to the whole organization, so don’t engage in too many mission moments…and meetings, webinars or small projects.  Another nickel’s worth of free advice: Work on your Red Cross brand.  See what else the Red Cross has to offer and work with your supervisor to map out your future after you have 12-18 months under your belt.

Anything else you’d like to add?

The Northern California Coastal Region (NCCR) is the best region! I am not saying that because I work here. Everyone here is committed to the Red Cross mission, and we all carry it out with fabulous compassion and creativity.  I will miss you, the people of NCCR, the most!