Trustee wins defibrillator, donates to senior center

Thanks to an auction and a member of the Orion Township Board of Trustees, the new senior center will be armed with a second defibrillator unit.
The Monday, Feb. 7 Orion Township Board of Trustees meeting began with a presentation from Trustee Joann VanTassel, who described her fortune at the most recent Michigan Township Association conference.
‘At the annual Michigan Township Association conference, they called 10 finalists up for prizes, and I happened to be one of them, and one of the rules they have is that people have to be present to win,? said VanTassel. ‘They drew the first name, and that person was not present, and when they drew the second name it was mine, and I became the proud recipient of this defibrillator unit.
‘At this time I would like to present it to Orion Township for use at the new senior center.?
After the applause of the board and attending citizens died down, Lisa Sokol, Community Programs Director for the Orion Senior Center thanked VanTassel for her donation, citing the importance of having such devices onsite.
‘This is something that is really necessary to have on a public site like this, and while we have one, one of our other ones is no longer working,? said Sokol. ‘We have had need of these before, so we’re very appreciative of this donation.
‘This will allow us to have one unit on each floor of the new senior center.?
Sokol later added that the staff at the center would again be training with Bob Smith of the Orion Township Fire Department in the use of these machines.
Orion Township Supervisor Matthew Gibb quipped after the presentation that it was a very kind act and that VanTassel would not be needing one for at least another 20 years.
VanTassel also won a small HDTV at the conference.