Partnership with Big Red, Inc. gives Red Cross's Savannah chapter emergency power The Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) and Big Red, Inc., a Taylor Machine Works heavy equipment retailer and service center, partnered to donate a mobile generator to the American Red Cross Savannah Chapter. The generator will be delivered at 10 a.m. today to the Savannah Chapter office, located off of Chatham Parkway, during a ceremony hosted by the Red Cross.

GPA provided two decommissioned units that allowed Big Red, Inc. to build a mobile generator that is now capable of powering nearly one city block for the Red Cross.

“This is truly a partnership for an excellent cause,” said GPA Executive Director Doug J. Marchand. “Working together, the GPA and Big Red have fulfilled the Red Cross’ need for mobile power during emergency response situations. Thanks to Big Red’s mechanical expertise, the equipment has been restored to excellent condition.”

After reading about GPA’s new electrified refrigerated container racks, a representative from the Savannah Red Cross Chapter contacted Marchand about the generators it was no longer using. To accommodate this request, the GPA contacted Big Red, Inc. to offer the company the opportunity to refurbish the unit. Big Red, Inc. supplied countless volunteered labor hours to transform the generator. The Taylor-made generator was originally purchased from Big Red, Inc. a decade earlier.

“We thank the GPA for allowing us to participate in this project,” said Big Red, Inc.’s Director of Maintenance Rodney West. “By donating equipment, supplies and labor, we are making a difference in times of need, not only in the Coastal Empire, but around this country. During the Katrina disaster, we at Big Red had seen firsthand the devastation a natural disaster can bring to a community. This is a way to thank the Red Cross for its tireless efforts to help ease the suffering when the hardest of times hit us.”

The Savannah Chapter of the American Red Cross works with most of the 37 other United Way funded programs in the Coastal Empire to provide emergency response during disasters. The Savannah Chapter supports other Red Cross chapters in a 29-county area throughout the Southeast and provides direct service to 20 of those counties.

“The American Red Cross empowers ordinary people to do extraordinary things when emergencies happen,” said Savannah Red Cross CEO Robin Wingate. “We train volunteers. We mobilize them. They respond when disasters strike. When people need the Red Cross, our volunteers cannot let a loss of power during an emergency get in the way of our mission. This generator is a ‘mission essential’ piece of equipment that we could have never afforded to purchase and install. It will allow the Red Cross to be at its best during the worst of times.”

The mobile generator will provide power for Red Cross operations and mobile command center at disaster locations. Power for the mobile command center also runs kitchens to feed disaster victims and emergency responders, establishes communication stations to communicate with outside Red Cross agencies and the media, and supports refrigeration needs.