Barnett Harley-Davidson to get national honor for hosting blood drives
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EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — Barnett Harley-Davidson is being honored by America’s Blood Centers for 20 years of hosting blood drives.
The business will receive the Outstanding Blood Drive of the Year Award on Tuesday, March 5 in Washington, D.C.
The family-owned Barnett Harley-Davidson has collected more than 32,000 units of blood over more than 20 years of hosting blood drives, according to a news release sent to announce the award.
“The Barnett Harley-Davidson Blood Drive is truly a unique effort; one of the most successful in the country. Vitalant is thrilled that America’s Blood Centers selected them for this much deserved award,” said David Veloz, Sr. director of Donor Recruitment for Vitalant.
America’s Blood Centers, a national blood banking organization representing more than 80 blood banks throughout the country, chose the blood drive not just because of the incredible number of units collected, but because of the Barnetts’ ongoing commitment to blood collection in the community, according to the news release.
“Our Dad always taught us that it was important to give back and do things for the right reasons. This is why we’ve been so committed to this effort all these years,” said Kim Barnett. Kim Barnett will be representing the Barnett family at an awards dinner and reception on Capitol Hill.
The Barnett family started hosting blood drives at their El Paso and Las Cruces Harley-Davidson dealerships more than 20 years ago. Mark Barnett, owner of the El Paso dealership, was diagnosed with cancer in 2003 and received several blood transfusions as part of his treatment. It was at this point that the Barnett’s understood the critical demand for blood transfusions and made the commitment to help patients, according to the news release.
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