HENRICO COUNTY, Va. — CBS 6 asked American Red Cross spokesperson Jonathan McNamara for the name of an employee who goes above and beyond her normal duties.
He said Meredith Snellings is that employee and “the most selfless person I know.”
Snellings started with the American Red Cross in 1996 and is now in charge of the community disaster program for 22 counties in Central Virginia.
She has held many titles, including human resource associate, volunteer, youth services coordinator, and disaster program specialist and manager.
“I’ve learned that it’s okay to be passionate about disaster, because there’s a lot of us—about 170 volunteers in this territory at least—who get that call to action, whether it’s blood or disaster response serving veterans or even those that donate money. Everybody understands that we have to be ready for this,” Snellings recalled.
Misty Ness and James Stafford work closely with Snellings and spoke about how beloved she is among the volunteers.
Both shared stories of their boss going above and beyond the 40-hour workweek.
McNamara said she’s always on call and willing to spring into action by volunteering on weekends, late nights, and holidays.
“Meredith is available to the volunteers. If somebody's having a problem, if a volunteer has a personal issue or something, she will talk to them for hours to help them feel better—just to listen, because that's who she is,” Ness explained.
Stafford described Snellings as his “go-to person.”
“She's probably seen and done just about everything when it comes to disaster,” he said.
Fittingly, March is both Women’s History Month and Red Cross Month.
Women have played an important role in fulfilling the lifesaving American Red Cross mission since Clara Barton founded the organization more than 140 years ago, according to its website.
Known as the “Angel of the Battlefield,” Clara cared for wounded soldiers during the Civil War before establishing the Red Cross in the U.S., where she was a visionary leader in serving those in need.
Snellings feels she is one of many women who continue to carry the torch lit by Barton.
“Clara was an amazing woman, and I can say that I work with so many modern-day Clara Bartons that the spirit is alive and well,” Snellings said. “As far as I'm concerned, there will always be the Red Cross. There’ll always be that spirit of Clara, and there will always be wonderful men and women working this mission.”
She said she has no plans to retire from the American Red Cross.
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