EVANSVILLE (September 1, 2008) - Charline Bridgeman has spent a lifetime serving others, first as a radiologist technician and then as a volunteer with the American Red Cross and Habitat for Humanity of Evansville. So it was no surprise when she was pictured standing next to President Bush on Sept. 1 at a U.S. Air Force base in Texas as residents there prepared for Hurricane Gustav.

Secret Service agents had asked Bridgeman and her fellow Red Cross volunteers to assemble behind the President for a photo opportunity. But when the cameras started to flash, Bush pulled Bridgeman and her friend next to him. The experience left her with a “little place in my heart” for the President. “He’s a man doing the best job he can,” said Bridgeman, pictured below to the left of the President.

Bridgeman began volunteering with the American Red Cross in 2004 and helped when Katrina devastated the coast of New Orleans. She saw piles of garbage as high as vehicles and heard heart-wrenching stories of rescues gone sour.

“It was like a bomb went off,” she said of Katrina’s aftermath. “There were no birds. It was just dead.”

She spent 11 days in San Antonio, Columbia S.C., and Myrtle Beach, S.C., when Gustav struck the coast early September. Most of that time was spent in preparation, getting the emergency response vehicles ready and assisting at a shelter filled with people who had evacuated. She said the wind blew so hard “it blew the trees horizontally.”

“All the people who stayed at the shelter were very well mannered,” Bridgeman said. “There was no disruption of any kind.”

A Red Cross official asked Bridgeman to attend the event at the Air Force base in September to“show the colors” of the Red Cross. While Secret Service scanned everyone with an electronic wand and perused the area with bomb-sniffing dogs, snipers watched overhead. Initially, Bridgeman was standing in a line of other volunteers, but she was asked to move closer to the President. He then pulled her to the front and draped his arm around her.

“He talked about the importance of volunteering and contributing,” she said.
Bridgeman started volunteering with Habitat for Humanity of Evansville shortly after her own Habitat home was completed in 2008. She can be found on most Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, working alongside the other regular crew members.

“I work with a great bunch of guys,” Bridgeman said. “They’ve become like my brothers and sisters. When I came home after this last tour, I felt like I was coming home to my family.”

About Habitat for Humanity of Evansville
Founded in 1984, Habitat for Humanity of Evansville is a nonprofit Christian ministry whose mission is to build and sell simple, decent houses to hardworking families in Vanderburgh and Posey counties. We partner with individuals, churches, businesses and civic organizations who share our vision to make adequate, affordable housing for all a matter of conscience and action.

To be eligible, families must have incomes at or below 60 percent of the area median income. They must have a need for housing, be willing to contribute 300 hours in sweat equity and have the ability to pay their mortgage based on a 25-year, no-interest loan.

For more information, go to www.evansvillehabitat.org or call (812) 423-5623.