Meet Logan Whitsitt: From military kid to Red Cross team lead

 By Charlie O’Halloran, Regional Red Cross Writer  

Logan Whitsitt defines the American Red Cross as “a powerful symbol of freedom, health, and safety.” He first saw that symbol as a child, celebrating the Christmas season in Fort Meade, Maryland. He remembers a Red Cross truck driving through the U.S. Army base where his family lived, packed with volunteers wearing festive costumes and dropping off presents. Growing up in a military family, Logan lived on bases and communities all over the country. One of the few things every location had in common was the presence of the Red Cross. He saw Red Cross volunteers going out of their way to help people when no one else would, which left a deep imprint on him. He especially remembers the aftermath of a flood warning in Texas, when a group of volunteers got to the site as quickly as possible. The whole site was incredibly dirty, and the volunteers still had their nice clothes on - but without hesitation, they got right into the mud to make sandbags. They stayed on the site for over ten hours, and they returned the next morning. At that point, he was old enough to understand that they were there on their own free will. They were not getting paid, and they had no real connection to the area – in fact, most of them were not even from Texas, but travelled there to help. He asked himself what made them want to volunteer.  

“I was wrapping my head around what it is to be volunteering for a community - your community being the world,” Logan said. 

 

Fast forward to 2021. Logan was all grown up, with a family and a successful career in information technology. His memories of the Red Cross had always stuck with him, and as soon as his schedule allowed, he jumped at the opportunity to become a Red Crosser himself.  

Logan decided to serve his community as a member of the Red Cross Disaster Action Team supporting Disaster Cycle Services. He quickly learned that his community had more fires than he ever imagined. Logan said the most rewarding part was being able to provide financial assistance to his fellow community members after they experienced an emergency, like a home fire.  

 

Having a firsthand look into disaster relief taught Logan a lot, which he carried into his next role as the leader of the Regional Application Support Team (RAST). The Northern New England region established this team in January 2021, and with his IT experience, Logan played a pivotal role in developing it. Essentially, the Red Cross uses business systems to deliver Red Cross services, including disaster services like sheltering and emergency mapping. RAST is involved in the long-term operations of these systems, making them as effective as possible for their fellow employees and volunteers. Logan says he does not think of himself as a boss – rather, as a team member who is there to facilitate and help other experts. He loves being on a team with others who share his passion for helping others, and who are willing to make the time. In this role, Logan runs the meetings, creates newsletters and other content, and meets individually with any of the leads who need his support. Logan reports to the Regional Executive and other stakeholders. He says he appreciates that they are always willing to help solve problems and invest in further training. 

Logan says of his favorite memories of RAST is making a team poster. This is not a typical task for an IT team, so it was a team effort. This may seem like a simple memory, but it is special because of what it represents: collaboration. A question was presented at his very first meeting: “Why are we here and what are we doing?”  

Logan’s answer is simple: “to learn from each other, guide each other and see where we can help each other.”  

And he says there’s nowhere else he’d rather do it than the Red Cross.

If you are interested in learning more about volunteer opportunities with the Red Cross, visit: redcross.org/VolunteerNNE.