Red Cross lays off Kalispell staff

The Red Cross of Montana will lay off its entire Kalispell Service Center staff by the end of March as part of a statewide restructuring.

The cuts don't affect Red Cross blood services, which operate under a separate budget.

Rod Kopp, chief executive officer of the state Red Cross, confirmed that he delivered a letter on Tuesday informing director Gayle Wilhelm and program specialist Bernadette Larson that their jobs would end March 28.

"This is obviously a very hard decision the board of directors had to make," Kopp said.

He said the statewide chapter has been running at a deficit and tapping reserves for the past five years while cutting costs to stem the red ink. But a steady flow of disasters coupled with diminished donations threaten the organization's survival.

"This is a last-ditch effort to continue services in the state," Kopp said.

The restructuring pares six staffed offices down to three, with offices remaining in Missoula, Bozeman and Great Falls. Kopp said Missoula was retained instead of Kalispell because it is strategically placed best to serve the Western region.

THE ONGOING financial crisis has required the Red Cross to return to its volunteer roots in Kalispell and other areas of the state, Kopp said, to continue serving disaster victims and Armed Forces families as well as offering classes in first aid, CPR and other functions.

"We are 95 percent volunteer-run," he said.

Kopp said volunteers staff other Montana Red Cross offices. He cited Butte as a location run five days a week, eight hours a day by volunteers. He added that the Red Cross has no plans to close the Kalispell office.

The organization will seek assistance from job programs such as Experience Works to find office help to augment volunteers.

The restructuring follows on the heels of another belt-tightening announced in December 2007, when the Kalispell Service Center was designated as one of four new regions with Wilhelm as the director over an area that included Missoula.

Information provided at the time said service centers were closed in Butte, Missoula and Helena. But Kopp said on Wednesday the information about Missoula closing was inaccurately reported, although no corrections were requested when the story was published.

At that time, Wilhelm said Kalispell was chosen as a new regional zone in part because the residents here contributed more dollars to the Red Cross by a large margin over Missoula.

Kopp said contributions change from year to year. He said Missoula was "by far the most productive area" when revenues from classes, major gifts, direct mail and other sources of income were considered.

WHEN CONTACTED on Wednesday, Wilhelm said she was not able to comment on the latest restructuring. But Karen Davison, chairwoman of the local office advisory group, expressed her dismay at the job losses.

She said she had not spoken to Kopp yet, but couldn't visualize how the Red Cross could keep the four-county operation going without paid staff after March.

"If you don't have someone coordinating volunteers, how do you keep that going?" she asked.

According to Davison, the Kalispell area contributes 40 percent of the statewide fundraising for the Red Cross. She credited much of that success to Wilhelm.

"She's been able to tap into a lot of resources, such as applying for grants," Davison said. "We've all benefited from her efforts statewide."

Davison also spoke highly of Larson's exceptional ability to coordinate volunteers. She said she has never met two more dedicated people.

Wilhelm and Larson work out of the office located on North Meridian Road that serves residents stretching across Flathead, Lake, Sanders and Lincoln counties. Like Davison, Kopp expressed regret at losing these two "really good team players."

But he maintained it is the entire Western region, not the Kalispell office's four-county area, that contributes 40 percent of the statewide revenue. The big problem, he stressed, is that no area is contributing enough to support the previous staffing level.

John Donoghue, a member of the local advisory committee and former chairman of the statewide board, said he could not comment on the staffing changes. He said he wanted to wait for a briefing from state officials expected in the next 48 hours.

He did, however, comment on the dire financial circumstances of the Red Cross in Montana as well as across the nation, calling it the biggest shock of his many years serving the organization.

"We're in for a 30 percent reduction in force nationwide," Donoghue said.

He said competition has become incredibly fierce for disaster-relief donations. Donoghue, who with his wife deployed to help Hurricane Katrina victims, said demands from disasters have outstripped the dollars donated.

Kopp cited figures from Montana from the last fiscal year in which the organization budgeted a maximum of $130,000 for disaster relief but spent $250,000 serving a huge number of forest-fire and house-fire victims.

"We do draw on national resources when we need to," Kopp said. "But the first line of support is the state."

In spite of calling this restructuring a last-ditch effort, he said he believed the Red Cross would continue serving the state due to the generosity of volunteers.

Kopp said the organization, now more than ever, needs financial help. People willing to donate should call 406-727-2212 or consult the Web site at www.montanaredcross.org.

Reporter Candace Chase may be reached at 758-4436 or by e-mail at cchase@dailyinterlake.com