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NEWS RELEASE

September 24, 2009

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Ulman Receives Award from American Red Cross

ELLICOTT CITY, MD – The American Red Cross has named Howard County Executive Ken Ulman their “2009 Dignitary of the Year” at their 18th Annual Awards Luncheon held today in Baltimore. The award recognizes Ulman’s generosity and support of the Red Cross’ mission to provide relief to victims of disasters and help prevent, prepare for, and respond to emergencies.

This past summer, Ulman contacted the American Red Cross in Maryland knowing there is often a desperate need for blood donors in the summer months. Ulman initially set aside 400 free tickets to Virgin Mobile’s FreeFest Concert for individuals who donated blood at sites set up through his “Summer of Service” program. Ulman’s program also provided people the opportunity to volunteer their time at various community service activities throughout the County to earn a ticket to the “sold out” Virgin Mobile FreeFest concert at Merriweather Post Pavilion.

“Of course I’m honored by this award,” said County Executive Ulman. “But I am fully aware that the people who really deserve this are the 755 blood donors who supported our program. Simply put, their service to our community saves lives.”

In addition, Ulman’s unique proposal allowed the American Red Cross to attract younger donors, one of the hardest age groups for the Red Cross to capture. Through this unique partnership, 256 first-time donors donated blood at one of the Red Cross’s blood drives throughout the region. After seeing the positive impact of the initial 400-ticket allotment, Ulman later donated an additional 500 tickets, allowing the Red Cross to add an additional 21 blood drives to their summer schedule. Through the Summer of Service program, the Red Cross collected 755 units of blood, which will save potentially 1,800 lives.

“We are grateful to County Executive Ulman for his unique initiative in launching this program, and thank him for his amazing support of the American Red Cross,” said Gary Ouellette, CEO for the Greater Chesapeake and Potomac Blood Services Region.

***The luncheon represents the Greater Chesapeake and Potomac Blood Services Region that serves areas in Maryland, DC, southern PA and Northern Virginia.***