By Presley Allen

T. Arnold Ferguson’s years of service with the American Red Cross began in homeroom.

“I kind of got into it by accident,” Ferguson said after explaining that his teacher appointed him as homeroom representative for the Junior Red Cross Club at his high school.

From there, Ferguson eventually got named a representative for Junior Red Cross for the Greater Providence Chapter in Ohio, which happened to be a couple of blocks from his high school.

“It started out as a place to hang out and gather with friends but it grew into learning about the activities with the Red Cross and what the youth were involved in,” Ferguson said. “And that sort of grew into a love for the organization and a feeling that everything I did was really important.”

What initially began as a Friday afternoon hangout with friends blossomed into 66 years of service, helping clients in snow shelters during disaster response, serving on the board of directors, and teaching first aid and CPR courses — a part of his work with the Red Cross that Ferguson said sticks out to him the most.

He shared that a former student of his once sought him out, and shared with him something that to this day, is one of his “greatest paybacks” from working with the Red Cross.

“[He] wanted me to know that because of something I had taught him he had been able to save his father’s life,” Ferguson said. “I don’t think he realized that him telling me that, made me so proud to think that I had been able to help him. I wasn’t able to take care of anything like that until the Red Cross taught me how to teach.”

Throughout the years, Ferguson has served in chapters from Massachusetts, to Ohio, to Connecticut and now Tennessee.

In his wide array of experience, he has done everything from administrative work, training for disasters and deployment, to even transporting blood.

Today, Ferguson serves on the board for the Southeast Tennessee chapter, sharing with volunteers his expertise and knowledge from his years of working with the Red Cross.

He hopes that his work with the board and behind the scenes will help others get the experience and payback he has received with the organization.

“You feel real good when you see the faces of the fire victims at 3 o’clock in the morning and you drive up to the fire and they realize that somebody is there to help them now,” Ferguson said. “I saw it in the eyes of the people in the shelters, even though they were just there waiting out the storm. That’s the sort of thing I miss: seeing the look of the faces of the folks that we interface with.”

For more information on volunteering with your local American Red Cross, visit redcross.org/volunteer.