The Association of Donor Recruitment Professionals honored Georgia Power with its Corporate Award, given annually to the company that exemplifies a commitment to its community’s blood drive program.

The Southern Region of American Red Cross Blood Services nominated Georgia Power for the award because of the company’s strong corporate and executive support of blood drives and donors. Also, the American Red Cross saluted the company for its outstanding response to urgent calls for blood.

“We’re proud to support American Red Cross Blood Services because we truly believe in helping our fellow citizens,” Georgia Power President and CEO David Ratcliffe said of the company’s involvement. “I strongly support our employees donating their blood and time to the Red Cross and living up to what we mean when we say we are ‘A Citizen Wherever We Serve.’ ”

In 1999, Atlanta-based Georgia Power and Southern Company employees led all major corporations in the metro area in blood donations. The two companies had a 78 percent participation rate, which is a ratio of number of pints collected/number of employees. Since 1997, blood donations from Georgia Power and Southern Company employees have increased 51.9 percent.

The Association of Donor Recruitment Professionals is an international association that provides education and motivation to blood donor recruiters. It has more than 400 members from 26 countries.