When she was younger, Kristie Eggebroten worked as a ski patroller and received Red Cross training in first aid and CPR. She also met a colleague who was deeply committed to the organization.

“It was a great experience, and one of my co-workers deployed regularly with the Red Cross chapter in my home of Seattle,” Kristie said. “I never forgot her stories of how meaningful and impactful her work was.”

Now a Red Crosser herself, Kristie was recognized at the Montana chapter’s annual meeting earlier this summer for her amazing volunteer efforts.

Kristie, who lives in Trego in northwest Montana, joined Red Cross in 2023 and wears many hats. She’s a Service to the Armed Forces casework volunteer and serves in a variety of roles within our Disaster Cycle Services team, including as a Disaster Action Team member and duty officer.

She has deployed to national disasters including helping in Florida during flooding, deployed during Hurricane Helene and recently volunteered with the Missouri tornado response.

“On a recent deployment to North Carolina for Hurricane Helene, I was working on the distribution of emergency supplies, and one client came to see me many days in a row and started referring to me as ‘Miss Montana’,’” Kristie said. “She told me through tears how much the Red Cross meant to her and how her father always told her that the Red Cross saved his life during World War II when he was liberated as a POW. 

“She came to see me on her last day with a gift for me  -- even though she was the one who had just survived a hurricane and lost her house.  She had been an artist and had painted what she could as a gesture for our team.”

Kristie dedicated 964 hours to the mission of the American Red Cross in the past year.

“I am beyond impressed with the staff and volunteers I have come to know through my work with the Red Cross,” she said. “They are an exemplary bunch!”