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AWARDS

 * AWARD SUBMISSION FOR 2024 IS NOW CLOSED *

2024 Annual Meeting Award Winners

South Central recognized the contributions and achievements of those dedicated to blood banking and transfusion medicine at the recent 2024 President’s Awards Program. Congratulations to all our winners!

Picture of Kathy Dunagen
2024 President's Award of Merit: Outstanding Individual
Kathy Dunagen
Promotions Manager, WEAR ABC 3

Kathy Dunagan has been serving as the Promotion Manager at WEAR ABC 3 in Pensacola, Florida for the last 30 years, starting in June 1994. Over the last 17 years, Kathy Dunagan has been a faithful supporter for OneBlood, Inc’s blood center and the community by hosting 3 blood drives annually during the spring, summer and fall.  Since 2008, Kathy has collected 7,834 pints of blood throughout 59 blood drives. Even during the pandemic, she continued to support the community and coordinate blood drives without wavering. Kathy Dunagan has selflessly devoted her time and efforts to share her power to save lives.

 

President's Award of Merit: Outstanding ContributionHorse and Dragon Brewing Logo
Horse & Dragon Brewing
Fort Collins, Colorado
Horse and Dragon Brewery, owned by the dedicated Cochran family, is a shining example of a company that deserves recognition with this award. Every quarter, they put in hard work to ensure the success of their mobile blood drive. The Cochran family stands out for their exceptional support of first responders and enthusiasm for hosting blood drives. Before guests approach the bar, they always ensure that they check in with the blood bus first, displaying their commitment to community service. Their warm and friendly attitude towards the mobile staff and donors creates a sense of community during the blood drives. Furthermore, they organize numerous charitable events throughout the year to give back to the community. Horse and Dragon Brewery is a shining example of a company that deserves recognition with this award.
Picture of Samantha Gomez Ngamsuntikul
Bill Teague Cornerstone Award
Samantha Gomez Ngamsuntikul, MD
BioBridge Global, Medical Director

Dr. Samantha Gomez Ngamsuntikul has been with BioBridge Global for 8 years now and has been a trusted and valued colleague. For this award, she has truly changed the face of transfusion medicine because she was instrumental in starting BioBridge Global’s Low Titer O Whole Blood program. We were one of the first, and over time have definitely become one of the largest providers of this product.

She is asked routinely to speak to other emergency preparedness groups in other cities to help them bring this program to their area because of the significant reduction in mortality it has afforded our patients, she has travelled abroad for the same type of education, and has published peer-reviewed articles on the topic.

As if that wasn't enough, she continues to challenge the landscape of emergency preparedness and is working with local collaborators to try and institute a walking blood bank. If successful, this would become another program that she would be helping to institute across the country and even abroad as well.


Annual Meeting Award Nominations

Each year, South Central Association of Blood Banks recognizes the contributions and achievements of its members and those dedicated to the blood banking profession through its Awards Program. These awards highlight the accomplishments of individuals working in Donor Recruitment, Blood Collections, Immunohematology, Education and Research, etc. Collectively, they recognize excellence in the field of blood banking.

The nomination window for awards presented at the 2025 SCABB Annual Meeting in Texas will open at the end of this year.


Cornerstone Award


The Cornerstone Award is presented to an individual or institutional member of the association who has contributed in an extraordinary way to the success of the South Central Association of Blood Banks. Recipients of this award are recognized for a contribution, landmark event, or new endeavor that helps sustain the association or promotes its growth and prosperity.

 


Dr. Matthew Gottlieb Rising Star Award


Named in honor of Dr. Matthew Gottlieb, the “Rising Star” Award services to recognize the contributions of an Association member of less than five years that has contributed to the South Central Association of Blood Banks, either by serving on a committee, presenting, or writing an article for the Pulse.


Larry L Trow Memorial Educational Award


The Larry L. Trow Memorial Educational Award is presented to an individual within the South Central Region who has significantly contributed to the promotion of education with relation to immunohematology. 


President's Award of Merit


The President’s Award of Merit consists of two awards: one for Outstanding Individual and the other for Outstanding Contribution for either the promotion of blood banking, public understanding or commitment to blood banking.

  • Outstanding Individual: This award is presented to an individual who has made a significant contribution to the blood resources of a blood collection facility, either by coordinating blood drives, donating large quantities of blood, or recruiting large numbers of blood donors over a long period of time.

  • Outstanding Contributions: This award is presented to a group or financial contributor to the blood banking profession, which has shown spectacular long-or short-term results. 

 

  Lemuel W. Diggs Award

Lemuel W. Diggs attended Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine where he received his medical degree in 1925. He became a University of Tennessee in Memphis faculty member in 1929 and then became Director of Medical Laboratories.  Diggs helped create the first blood bank in the South in 1938 in Memphis.  This was only the fourth blood bank in the US. He also helped Danny Thomas create the St. Jude Research Hospital in 1962 in Memphis.

Each year TABB honors a person for rendering a significant and lasting contribution to blood banking in the state of Tennessee.