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Thursday, July 28, 2005 -- Cascade Regional Blood Services received a generous gift, thanks to the auto-refurbishing experts and volunteers at the Harold E. LeMay Museum in Spanaway, WA. Their oldest blood mobile received a badly needed makeover. Mrs. Nancy LeMay, President of LeMay Enterprises along with several staff and volunteers turned out to unveil the refurbished blood mobile to members of Cascade Regional Blood Services.
Before
The LeMay Museum’s restoration team (part of LeMay Enterprises) completely refurbished the blood mobile’s exterior, duplicating the colors and graphics of the blood center’s three other blood mobiles. This particular blood mobile had been in service for nearly 10 years and was in desperate need of a makeover. The restoration team stripped off old decals, pounded out dents, sanded, primed, painted and affixed large decals to update the elderly white bus. The newly painted vehicle is now easily recognizable as one of Cascade’s distinct blood mobiles, featuring the cartoon kids graphics and distinct blue and green paint.
After
Mr. Tom Towers, Restoration Manager for LeMay Enterprises, managed the project. Many volunteers (i.e. retired Boeing engineers, mechanics and painters) helped out; specialists who are experts in their fields. One noteworthy aspect of the project was the actual paint used. Acrylic urethane was used, which is an especially strong and technologically advanced paint product. The paint, used on airplanes, is scratch and chip resistant and will last the blood mobile’s lifetime.
Pictured above (from left) are Chad LeMay, Nancy LeMay, President, LeMay Enterprises, Tom Towers, Restoration Manager of LeMay Enterprises, three of Tom’s volunteers, John Thompson, CRBS Board Chair, Charles Drummond, CRBS President, and Christine Swinehart, Jan Chandler, Sherill Richards, Maureen McCarthy all of Cascade Regional Blood Services.
Among the many special vintage cars and trucks currently under restoration, the LeMay team fit the blood mobile in during their busiest time of the year, getting the feature vehicle ready for the Annual LeMay Museum Car Show & Open House. The project took approximately 30 days from start to finish. Over $12,000 in labor hours was donated by LeMay Enterprises. Roman Meal and the Ben B. Cheney Foundation sponsored the cost of the special paint, graphics and decals.
Charlie Drummond, President/CEO of Cascade Regional Blood Services stated that: “The expertise and professionalism of their restoration team really came across in the finished product. We were grateful that they took on this gratis project and it has been a pleasure working with them; their work truly speaks for itself. Blood donors in Pierce County will be able to view the results of this project for years to come.”
The Harold E. LeMay Museum is a non-profit initiative established in 1998 in Tacoma, Washington to build a permanent home for the world’s largest private collection of vintage and classic automobiles, trucks, motorcycles, commercial vehicles and automobile memorabilia.
Cascade Regional Blood Services’ mission is to provide a constant safe and cost effective supply of blood and blood products to the communities it serves. Cascade serves all local hospitals in Pierce and South King counties.
Copyright 2005 Cascade Regional Blood Services
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