Salt Lake City, UT - In July and August, Utahns who donated blood to the American Red Cross were eligible to enter a statewide raffle to win a scooter.  (There were two scooters available.  One for July donors and the other for August donors.)  Russ Temple Motors in Orem generously sold the Phantom 150cc scooters to the Red Cross at cost to encourage blood donors at Red Cross blood drives.

All presenting donors at every Red Cross blood drive in Utah in July and August were eligible to enter the drawings.  Dan McNeece, a computer programmer for BYU, won the scooter in July.  Dan took possession of his new red vehicle at the Red Cross Orem Donor Center.

The drawing for the August contest was held September 8 at the Red Cross Blood Donation Center in Salt Lake City.  Rita Guzman, a Salt Lake City resident who started donating blood in 1985 in San Juan, Puerto Rico and just received her 3-gallon pin, was the lucky winner. 

Rita’s commitment to blood donations is based on a personal family experience.  Her oldest daughter was born on Christmas Day in 1982 and needed a blood transfusion.  “The Red Cross in Puerto Rico provided the blood to us,” she said, adding that, “I will always be grateful to the Red Cross for saving my daughter’s life.”  Rita also said that she has “always wanted a scooter.”