FORT LORAMIE — St. Michael’s Hall blood donors began 2024 with a surge of support for a neighbor in need, and they continued to donate with the June 18 “Country Fun” blood drive in remembrance of Irene Boerger.

Tuesday’s blood drive totaled 250 donors, including 233 whole blood donors, 17 platelet and plasma donors and 245 donations. St. Michael’s hosts six blood drives a year, and the first three blood drives of 2024 have now totaled 834 donors, more than a 14 percent increase compared to 2023.

Fort Loramie donors have been passionate in honoring Boerger, a former blood drive organizer, and burn victim Kevin Pleiman. The first St. Michael’s blood drive in memory of Boerger in 2022 totaled 358 donors and the February 2024 blood drive in support for Pleiman’s recovery totaled 329 donors.

Pleiman was severely burned a week before Christmas and underwent multiple blood transfusion and skin graft surgeries during the 98 days he spent in the Miami Valley Hospital Regional Burn Center. His recovery continued with another skin graft surgery the day before the “Country Fun Blood Drive.”

Pleiman’s wife Shelly encouraged support for the blood drive with a social media post.

It is the third year the blood drive has been dedicated to Boerger, who served as the Solvita (formerly Community Blood Center) account representative in Shelby County for 38 years and passed away in 2021.

Boerger organized blood drives across the county, recruited donors and encouraged community-wide support. Shelby County ranks 10th in population among Solvita’s 18-county region yet ranks second overall in number of donors and donations. Among the county’s eligible population, 6.4 percent are blood donors, more than twice the national average.

The “Country Fun Blood Drive” features a drawing for two weekend passes to “Country Concert 24” in Fort Loramie, a tradition started by Boerger said.

“Mom bought them,” Diane Meyer, Boerger’s daughter, said. “She just thought it was a way to get more donors.”

One of Boerger’s traditions at blood drives was to ring a cowbell to announce milestone donors.

“I swear, she would go home and memorize people’s numbers,” Meyer said. “She knew them! She knew when someone was coming up on a milestone.”

Diane and her sister Sharon Brandewie rang Irene’s iconic cow bell every half hour to announce door prize winners of the “Give a Pint, Get a Pint” $5 gift coins for the Fort Loramie Brewing Company. They added gift card prizes for all first time donors, a total of six at the blood drive.

Their goal is to help recruit first-time donors, welcome high school students to the summer blood drive, and to encourage occasional donors to give more frequently.

Irene encouraged her children to donate, and Meyer became a platelet donor.

“Back in the day, we had a group of five and mom would sign us up at every mobile,” Meyer said.

Diane gave platelets for her 388th lifetime donation Tuesday and was joined by Sharon Brandewie, who made her 93rd lifetime donation, and sister Nancy Havener, who made her 116th lifetime donation.

Volunteers served hot sandwiches, ice cream and a cake celebrating Irene in the Donor Café. All six St. Michael’s blood drives are sponsored by the Fort Loramie American Legion Ladies Auxiliary, the Fort Loramie Community Service Club, St. Michael’s Church, and the St. Michael’s Knights of St. John.

Schedule an appointment to donate with Solvita (formerly Community Blood Center) on the Donor Time app, by calling (937) 461-3220, or at www.donortime.com.