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NEW YORK RED CROSS
Bonnie
McElveen Hunter
Says You Can’t Say ‘Can’t’
Story and
Photos by Tim Boxer
FTER
President George W. Bush appointed her chair of the advisory
board of the American Red Cross in 2004, Bonnie McElveen-Hunter
fought to end the stubborn boycott of the international organization
against Israel. "This is not going to happen on my watch,"
she resolved.
Some tried to
end the bias and failed. Others told her it can’t be done. But then
she recalled growing up in Louisiana where she often heard her mother’s
pearls: "Failure is a comma, not a period" and "Can’t
is a word that doesn’t exist."
Last year
McElveen-Hunter finally succeeded when both Magen David Adom and the
Palestine Red Crescent Society were invited to join the International
Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.
"Fifty-eight
years of discrimination is over," she declared at the 2007 New
York Red Cross Ball in New York. "Perhaps this can open some
potential channels to peace."
The chairman of
Magen David Adom, Dr. Noam Yifrach, flew in from Israel to
assist Wilma "Billie" Tisch in presenting a
humanitarian award to McElveen-Hunter as 550 guests gave her a
standing ovation.
"Bonnie has
been a tireless and successful leader of the American Red Cross,"
said Billie, the widow of Laurence Tisch, who was chairman of
Loews Corp. and president of CBS.
William Gray,
co-ceo of Ogilvy North America and chairman of the American Red Cross
in Greater New York, presented a lifetime achievement award to the
late Eleanor "Elly" and John
"Jock" Elliott. Jock was chairman of Ogilvy & Mather
advertising agency.
The award was
accepted by Jock’s brother, Osborn Elliott, former
editor-in-chief of Newsweek and dean emeritus of Columbia
University’s Graduate School of Journalism.
Jock said on a
video regarding Ellie: "It’s good to have a partner who lets
you have the last word – and feeds you the lines."
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