George Cretekos leads by example. He has a long history of serving others. For 35 years, George served in both Pinellas County and Washington, D.C. as aide to U.S. Representative C.W. Bill Young. He then continued his service in the Clearwater City Council and now serves as Mayor of Clearwater.

Mayor Cretekos gave his first blood donation in the late 1960s at Davidson College, but he didn’t become a regular donor until the late 1970s when it became personal. A friend’s husband needed life-saving blood donations during heart surgery, and George responded.

After seeing the immediate impact of blood donation, Mayor Cretekos vowed to donate 10 gallons. He became a platelet donor when the technology became available. Once he reached the 10 gallon milestone, he decided to strive for twenty-five. More than fifty gallons later, Mayor Cretekos continues to be a dedicated blood donor, as well as a volunteer stem cell and bone marrow courier.