Rotary Program: 5/5/04

Program Chairperson: Joseph Meglen

Speaker: Angela Tackett, Miss Pike County

Angela Tackett is from Virgie, Kentucky and graduated as valedictorian from Shelby Valley High School in 2002, where she maintained a GPA of 4.0. She is presently a Senior at Pikeville College and has been on the Dean’s list for the past four semesters with a GPA of 3.8, while carrying an average of 21 hours per semester. She is a Presidential Scholar and a CEDAR Scholar and is pursuing her B.S. Degree in Elementary Education with an emphasis in music. Angela plans to go on to get her Masters Degree in music from Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee while hoping to score it big in the country music industry. She has represented Pikeville College in the Mountain Laurel Festival, as a soloist in the Pikeville College Concert Choir, and was voted best singer of the class of 2002. She was also voted as North American Country Music Association International Female Vocalist of the Year, Entertainer of the Year and Duo of the Year in 1998.

Angela says she is honored to represent the Miss East Kentucky and Miss Pike County Scholarship Pageant as well as the American Red Cross which is her platform as she reigns as Miss Pike County and Miss East Kentucky. She will also be vying for the Miss Kentucky crown in June. She is speaking to organizations like Rotary about the need for blood donors for the American Red Cross. Angela chose this organization as her platform in honor of one of her classmates who is now serving in Iraq. Some statistics concerning the need for regular blood donors include the fact that the Red Cross provides over 50% of all the blood supply in the nation, but the need is greater than the supply. Every two seconds, someone in the U.S. needs a pint of blood but only 5% of the 60% who are eligible in the population donate blood in any given year. Each pint of blood can be broken down into its four basic parts - plasma, platelets, red blood cells and white blood cells so that the different parts may be used by different people as needed. In fact, one donation of blood can save as many as three lives. 38,000 pints of blood are needed every day for cancer patients, accident victims, children with blood diseases, patients with sickle-cell disease, and wounded soldiers fighting in Iraq. A single car accident victim can require as many as 100 pints of blood. While the need is so great, blood donation is at an all time low. Only 60% of the blood requested by hospitals can actually be provided at the present level of donation. If another tragedy like the one on Sept.11, 2001 occurs, we could not supply enough blood to meet the need. O positive type is the one most requested because it is the one that most people have. O negative is also in demand because it can be donated to anyone, regardless of their blood type. AB types are the universal recipients so they also need to donate blood. The most important fact to remember is that blood cannot be manufactured. The only source is from people - donors who will take the time to give this life saving resource. It is a simple and safe procedure that would only take about an hour, so Angela encourages all of us to get out and become a blood donor. To end the program, Angela sang a song that she is planning to use as her talent in the upcoming Miss Kentucky Pageant and it was a delight to all. Thanks and good luck, Angela. You have represented us well. - J. Morgan Chapman