More than 7,000 people from the American Red Cross are in the Southeast to help those beleaguered by hurricanes. Twenty-five are representing the Snohomish County chapter. But Josh Reiman isn’t among them.
“Definitely, a part of me wants to be there doing the hands-on work of the Red Cross,” said Reiman, who was recently hired as a special events planner for the Red Cross in Snohomish County.
It’s only natural he’d want to help. A caring nature is his birthright.
The 23-year-old’s father was Mark Reiman. With grace and grit, the Everett man turned his 12-year battle with Lou Gehrig’s disease into a crusade to raise awareness of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS.
Before his death in 2003, the elder Reiman traveled to every Major League ballpark in the country to sing the national anthem. He called his much-publicized tour a “Season of Hope.”
“More awareness means more money, more research dollars spent wisely for a faster cure,” he said in 1998.
When I met Mark Reiman at his home near Silver Lake that spring, his muscles were weakened by disease. Yet the concerns he voiced were all for other people.
“He had an incredible faith in people. It gave other people a source of confidence, a faith in themselves. That spawned an incredible sense of community,” Josh Reiman said of his father, who was a counselor at Evergreen Middle School in Everett.
Josh Reiman said his father left him with the knowledge that each day is precious. “I’ve taken that to heart,” he said.
Since completing his degree in communications at Pacific Lutheran University, Josh Reiman has taught English at a language academy in Valencia, Spain.
“I know I want to be in a field where I’m helping people and seeing the results of helping people,” he said. “I’ve thought of counseling. But I really enjoy working for a nonprofit like the Red Cross. It’s constantly involved in the community, and we see the fruits of our labor.”
In 2003, the agency weathered financial difficulties and staff turnover. With donations down after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the Snohomish County Red Cross held an emergency Save Our Chapter fund-raiser. Chuck Morrison, formerly with the Everett Community College Foundation, took over as executive director.
“We’ve gone a long way toward establishing a solid financial footing,” Morrison said Wednesday. “In better financial times, we had 22 full-time people in this chapter. We have nine full-time now, very efficiently handling our services.”
Those include outreach to the Navy, the Project Pride energy assistance program, and disaster aid ranging from fire and flood relief to sending volunteers across the country to feed and shelter those hit by the hurricanes.
Josh Reiman is busy organizing the annual Heroes Breakfast fund-raiser, set for Dec. 7. He may not be near the eye of a storm, but without money, the Red Cross can’t help when a storm hits.
“They try to send as many volunteers as possible and keep the staff people here,” Reiman said.
In the hurricane-ravaged Southeast, there are 25 from Snohomish County. Most are volunteers, and two are from Naval Station Everett, Morrison said. They will stay up to three weeks. The chapter also has an emergency response vehicle in Florida.
“Imagine being in Florida right now, with no air conditioning, no power, not a lot of access to showers, lines for the bathroom, difficult living conditions,” Morrison said.
Red Cross workers are shoring people up with financial aid, food, shelter, even mental health assistance.
Josh Reiman would be there if he could.
“He constantly exhibits the same characteristics that were attractive about his dad,” Morrison said. “He’s a caring individual who came to the Red Cross looking for opportunities to help folks.”
Columnist Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460 or muhlsteinjulie@heraldnet.com.
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