\”Mean and Nasty\” Red Cross Volunteer Helps in Montana

BILLINGS, Mont. – Norma Pilkington is a legend. She’s too humble to say it, but her fellow Red Cross volunteers quickly reach for the word when describing the 84-year-old great, great grandmother from Bloomington, Ill.

The organization is famous for its volunteers, so what makes this lady, who introduces herself as \”Mean and nasty,\” stand out? Well, to start with, the Montana fire relief effort marks the 92nd time Pilkington has left her loved ones to help others following a disaster.

Since her first relief operation, a flood response in 1996, Pilkington has averaged nearly six deployments a year and normally spends Mother’s Day, Thanksgiving and countless other days away from her family. She was in Montana for the birth of her seventh great, great grandchild and also her most recent birthday.

\”When the restaurant found out, they gave me 84-percent off my bill,\” she said with glee.

The client casework manager has responded to almost every type of disaster including wildfires, hurricanes, tornadoes and even an ice storm in Texas. \”It was like a big saw had come and chopped the trees off,\” she said.

Her most memorable Red Cross experience was the first of three deployments she made following 9/11.