Late Earth Angel president Neil Redd remembered for work with children and the community
LANCASTER — It's safe to say the annual Earth Angel Foundation of Ohio Cruise-In Saturday at the Fairfield County Fairgrounds will have an air of sadness to it. That's because long-time president Neil Redd died last week.
He had been the foundation president since 1986.
"He was a super nice and compassionate guy," WLRY FM station general manager Mike Lamneck said. "He really cared about the purpose of the Earth Angel foundation, which is to take terminally ill children and their families on a dream vacation."
Lamneck knew Redd for about 20 years and has served as the cruise-in disc jockey several times, as he will on Saturday.
MORE: A local classic car club disbands after more than 30 years of public service
"I'm sad, but I'm glad I had a chance to talk to him," he said. "I actually had him on the air a couple weeks before he died. We did an interview about Earth Angel."
Redd was also involved with the local Corvette club of which local business owner Dan Singer is also a member. Redd was also a member of the Lancaster Old Car Club.
"It's a tragedy," Singer said of Redd's death. "He was very active in the community through Earth Angel. That was his brainchild. As far as I know he started it from nothing and developed it into what it was."
Singer knew Redd for about 30 years.
"He was always into cars and he always tried to help children have a better life," he said.
Your support helps keep the lights on at the Eagle Gazette. Stay connected with our daily stories, in-depth reporting and more by
clicking Subscribe
Subscribe
The cruise-in is the primary fundraiser to help Earth Angel send terminally-ill children or children with life-threatening illnesses and their families on an all-expense-paid dream vacation. The families can go anywhere they want in the continental U.S. for a week.
The foundation usually sends several children on vacation per year, with Disney theme parks being a popular destination.
Visit www.earthangelfoundation.org for more information about the cruise-in and about the Earth Angel organization.
jbarron@gannett.com
740-681-4340
Twitter: @JeffDBarron
This article originally appeared on Lancaster Eagle-Gazette: Late Earth Angel president known for work with children and community
