At least two days a week, you will find Pat Evans volunteering at the Vitalant Blood Donation Center in Billings.
From tidying up, to putting out snacks, to welcoming and visiting with donors, Evans does it all. And to pardon the pun, he’s quite a draw at the blood bank.
“We have donors that know he is here Tuesdays and Thursdays, so they will schedule those days or come in when they know he is here,” says Marissa Langemo, the donor relations specialist for Vitalant.
It seems Evans has never met a stranger and quickly strikes up a conversation with just about every donor who comes in.
“Oh, I love the word phlebotomist—that’s from ancient Greek—and it really means cutting into the bloodstream. Literally that’s what it means,” he says.
It’s not Greek but Latin that Evans spent his career teaching. After serving in Vietnam, he got his first job at Billings West High School and stayed there for 35 years.
“The kids were always good students for the most part-- really good students,” he says.
He says he still runs into quite a few of those students.
“They tell me, 'Mr. Evans you haven’t changed a bit.' Which I want to reply, I was born with white hair,” he laughs. “But it is very satisfying and quite a treat to run into them.”
It’s also a treat to run into this Super Senior who is always ready to greet donors with a smile.
“We really appreciate him coming in. He is just so much fun to be around and it makes my day go quicker when he is here—just somebody to talk to and hang out with and greet the donors with,” says Langemo.
Growing up in a Montana family with 10 kids, Evans says there was no choice but to pitch in and help. He says that is something that has stayed with him.
“There’s a quote from (Johann Wolfgang von) Goethe that pops into my head. It says, 'Arise each day ready to do your duty.' And what is your duty? Whatever the day calls for,'” he says.
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