Jan Dick figures he’s donated about 16 gallons of blood in the last four decades.

“I guess, what kicked the whole thing off, I had a neighbor,” said Dick, a former Valparaiso councilman. “This was about 45 years ago, and (the neighbor’s) boss was in need of surgery. The guy worked for a small outfit and he asked me if I would go donate blood and I went. It didn’t take very long. If you don’t think about it, it was painless. Sure, you get stuck, but it wasn’t that bad. I thought it was the right thing to do.”

After becoming a donor, Dick said he started volunteering with the Porter County Red Cross, eventually becoming president. The chapter is now merged with the Northwest Indiana chapter of the Red Cross in Merrillville.