Sara Cease has the joined the American Red Cross of Montana as the program manager of the Service to the Armed Forces program.

Cease, who lives in Helena, has more than 12 years of experience working with service members, veterans and their families. She previously worked as the lead child and youth program coordinator at the National Guard, first in Nebraska and then in Montana.

“Sara brings a multitude of competencies to serve our military and veteran communities in Montana,” said Anthony Trimarco, regional Services to the Armed Forces director. “We are excited to have Sara build the Service to Armed Forces program throughout the state.”

The Red Cross Service to the Armed Forces program helps military members, veterans and their families prepare for and cope with the challenges of military service. Red Cross and its volunteers provide comfort and critical services on bases and in military hospitals around the world, support military families during deployments and emergencies and continue to serve veterans after their service ends.

“I want to take my experience and passion for service members, veterans and their families to the next level by helping to connect them with information and resources to make their lives, in regards to their military service, that much easier,” Cease said.

Cease serves on the board of the Lewis and Clark County Joining Community Forces Initiative and teaches suicide prevention and resilience training in schools. She graduated from Bellevue University in Nebraska in 2013 with a degree in health and human service. Her husband, Jake Ganieany, recently retired from the National Guard after a 25-year career. He currently works for the State of Montana as a program manager in Disaster Emergency Service.