Red Cross to honorjunior volunteers

Casey Clark with Ray Smith, chairman of the Red Cross Board of Trustees

Tinton Falls - - The American Red Cross honored two Clara Barton Junior Humanitarian honorees at its Red Tie Gala March 24.

The honorees are Casey Clark and John Lorton.

Casey, 16, Tinton Falls, has been a Red Cross volunteer for five years. She is a high school level junior and is home-schooled

Casey is currently the Jersey Coast Chapter's Youth Council secretary. Her Red Cross experiences include: packing and distributing comfort kits at the Fort Dix Army training site for soldiers overseas; assisting with community donations in Tinton Falls for Katrina Relief; assisting with local blood drives; and actively participating in the Reassurance program.

Casey also is involved with Grace Christian Church Youth Group, Search and Rescue Outpost 156, and is a member of Team Gulf Coast, which restores homes in Mississippi.

John, 16, is also a Tinton Falls resident and a junior at the Marine Academy of Science and Technology at Sandy Hook.

John Lorton with Bill Murray, Red Cross chief executive officer

John has been involved with the Red Cross for four years and is currently the Youth Council president. His Red Cross involvement includes: assisting in blood drives, including the annual Great Adventure blood drive; participating in car wash fund-raising events for hurricane victims; delivering packages to soldiers at Fort Dix Army training site; and being an active participant in the Reassurance program.

He is also involved with the Key Club at his school as well as the Latin Club.

The Red Tie Gala was sponsored by New Jersey Natural Gas, We Collect Clothes for a Cause and Seabrook Village and was held at the Robert B. Meyner Reception Center at the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel.