On the Front Lines - Utah National Guard and Red Cross
- Registration for this event is now closed.
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18 Mar. 2025 |
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 Salt Lake City
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Join us for lunch as we hear from Second Lieutenant Andrea Chica of the Utah National Guard and our own president elect Heidi Ruster, CEO of the Utah/Nevada Region of the Red Cross about the deployment to Kuwait and Poland as a member of the Service to the Armed Forces (SAF) Team 55.
Guided by a Congressional Charter, the Red Cross serves as the communications medium between service members and their families during emerg encies. For nearly 140 years, Red Crossers have supported every major forward deployment and mobilization of the U.S. military by relaying urgent messages relating to the health and wellness of family members and extended families, and through morale and welfare activities, onboarding hundreds of volunteers, and working alongside command leadership to ensure a dequate care is present as needs arise. This support is provided by a global network of Red Cross staff and volunteers, ranging from deployment zones to military hospitals.
Bio 2LT Andrea Chica has served in the Army National Guard for 14 years, enlisting as a CBRN Specialist in 2010. After earning a degree in Environmental Science in 2017, she transferred to the Utah Guard and later deployed to Afghanistan in 2020 with the 1/211th Apache Battalion. She pursued a full-time military career as a Title 32 technician at the Utah National Guard Headquarters, where she gained insight into the big-picture operations behind the scenes. This experience motivated her to commission as an engineering officer, leading to her deployment to Kuwait in 2023 in support of Operation Spartan Shield.
While in Kuwait, LT Chica volunteered with the American Red Cross, hosting Latin Dance Socials to bring service members together. These events provided a much-needed escape from the demands of deployment, fostering camaraderie and boosting morale.
Beyond the military, LT Chica is passionate about helping veterans achieve financial independence through real estate investing. She runs a free real estate networking event for military members looking to build long-term wealth and create new opportunities beyond their service. She believes in the power of education, community, and taking action to change the financial future of veterans.
Bio - Heidi Ruster, Chief Executive Officer, American Red Cross Utah/Nevada Region
Heidi is a more than 25-year veteran of the American Red Cross and has served in numerous capacities, beginning in 1992 as a volunteer at the US Naval Station in Rota, Spain. She is currently the CEO of the Utah/Nevada Region overseeing a dedicated team of staff and volunteers serving more than 6 million residents across five chapters in two states.
Heidi works with board members, donors, community leaders, business leaders and elected officials to enhance the Red Cross in the region and bring its mission to the communities. It was that humanitarian mission that drew her to the Red Cross and led her the position as a director for Health, Safety & Disaster for the Red Cross in Florida, and then Disaster and Training Director in Oklahoma. She was promoted to CEO for the Lee County, Florida, Red Cross, and later, regional CEO for Florida’s Gulf Region. After a nationwide search, Heidi was selected as Red Cross of Utah CEO in July 2013 and when the Utah/Nevada Region was created in 2018, she was named Regional CEO.
Her career has also included serving in the Navy and executive director at an Aids Service Organization in Oklahoma. Heidi has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland in Business Administration and Management, and a master’s degree from Bowie State University in Public Administration.
RESERVATION NOTE - RSVP Due by Friday COB of the prior week
When Registering for this lunch meeting: If you do not select a payment option during registration by selecting pay online or by check payment, or noting NO Lunch in the comments box, you will be invoiced along with your monthly dues the cost of lunch and fees. $40.00 cost of lunch plus 3.9% merchant fees.
** If you DO NOT WANT to reserve lunch please proceed to submit your reservation and in the comments block mark NO LUNCH. Please also note any dietary restrictions in the comments box.
Thank you.
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