BOISE, IDAHO, Sept. 11, 2017—The American Red Cross of Greater Idaho is pleased to announce that Roy Eiguren, of Eiguren Ellis Public Policy, has joined its board of directors.

“Roy’s experience and knowledge in government affairs will be a tremendous asset to our team,” said Nicole Irwin, Regional CEO of the American Red Cross of Idaho and Montana. “He has been very active in Idaho politics, and he is well known for his commitment to his clients and his community. Beyond that, Roy has a personal story about the importance of donation and the impact the American Red Cross played in saving his father’s life.”

Eiguren’s connection to the American Red Cross dates back to World War II. His father was severely wounded at the Battle of the Bulge and needed a significant amount of blood. Thanks to the efforts of the Red Cross, blood was found and Roy’s father, Joe Eiguren, survived. 

During that same war, Eiguren’s grandmother received a call that her son-in-law had been killed in battle. Instead of telling her daughter right away, she decided to spare her a few days. Hours before she was going to share the devastating news, the Red Cross called the one phone in the small eastern Oregon town of Jordan Valley and the message was delivered to Eiguren’s grandmother that Joe actually hadn’t been killed in battle after all. 

In 1988 Eiguren’s father was saved by the Red Cross again. Joe had suffered an aortic aneurysm and because of his rare blood type, and so many infusions during WWII, a specific blood would need to be located before the life-saving surgery could be performed. The Red Cross put out a call, and by the end of the day enough blood had been found in California. It was flown to Boise where Eiguren’s father received his life-saving surgery. 

“The American Red Cross saved my father’s life multiple times and while I have three separate stories of my own, there are millions of stories from people all around the world who have been positively affected by the American Red Cross,” Eiguren said. “I am honored to now be able to serve on the board of directors to give back what I can to ensure this great organizations continues its incredible mission.”

Eiguren is a Partner at Eiguren Ellis and is widely recognized for his strong ties and connections throughout Idaho. He has extensive experience including successfully managing a wide range of complex issues and has served as a campaign finance adviser to United States Sen. Mike Crapo, Congressmen Mike Simpson and Raul Labrador and Governors Phil Batt and Butch Otter. 

Eiguren was previously an attorney at Givens Persley and was special assistant to the administrator of the Bonneville Power Administration of the U.S. Department of Energy. 

Prior to that, he served as chief of the Legislative and Administrative Affairs Division of the attorney general of the State of Idaho, as a deputy secretary of state and as an Ada County deputy prosecuting attorney.

Eiguren is a graduate of the Executive Management Program of the Dartmouth School of Business Administration and attended Georgetown University College of Law and the University of Idaho College of Law, where he received his juris doctorate.