Such was the case last Tuesday afternoon at Centre First Baptist Church. A man who has done more than his share to save lives over the past three decades was the honored guest.
And as the guest of honor, he rolled up his sleeves and pitched in by giving his 160th unit of blood. That's 20 gallons, making James Burkhart of Leesburg one of about only 30 people from Alabama ever to reach that mark.
As he would want it, Burkhart had plenty of friends and acquaintances at his shindig, and most of them also donated a unit of blood.
Burkhart had a choice to make at this particular blood drive. He was torn between giving a unit of blood and heading to Florida as a Red Cross volunteer to assist victims of Hurricane Charley. As it turned out, Burkhart's particular specialty as a volunteer wasn't required at the time.
As it was, Burkhart got his ticket to the Sunshine State later in the week and joined four other Cherokee County Red Cross volunteers who have been sent to assist
The 60-year-old Burkhart began giving blood when he was 22. His incentive was a half-day off work, which was offered by his employer for anybody who donated.
Burkhart said he has no thoughts of retiring from his routine of giving six units a year. ``I'm still healthy,'' he said. ``It's still good for me. I'll continue giving as long as I am healthy. I talked to nurse (at Tuesday's drive), and she said she stuck a 94-year-old at a recent drive. There's, no upper limit. As long as you're healthy they'll continue to take your blood.
``I'm still motivated because I know I'm doing it for the right reason. I'm a role model to some people; that's why I continue to give faithfully.``It feels great,'' Burkhart added of his latest donation. ``When we first talked about it, we'd had one (a blood drive) a month ago at the ROC. This was extra; it was out of cycle, so we did well.''
To those who seem a little squeemish about giving, Burkhart offered, ``It only hjurts for a few minutes. I haven't had any bad experiences. It just stings a few minutes.''
Burkhart isn't all that different from most. He doesn't like needles, but he explained, ``If it were for a loved one, you wouldn't think anything about it. I don't think about it being a non-personal thing.''
For the first 20 or so years, Burkhart wasn't quite as serious about giving as now. ``I didn't get serious early on,'' he said. ``I gave a few units. I got serious the last 10 years. I've been giving six times a year for the last 10 years.''
Those who are mathematically inclined would calculate that Burkhart has given 60 of the 160 in the past decade. That means he gave 100 units the firsst 22 years, not quite four units per year.
Burkhart isn't alone in his donations. Wife Theresa, who at one time was the coordinator for the donations for the Cherokee County Chapter of the American Red Cross, is a multi-gallon donor as well
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