Longtime community servant George Ashman has decided to pass the bloodmobile baton.

For the past 16 years, Ashman has organized several bloodmobiles each year in Palmerton. Now at almost 91 years old, he has decided it's time to retire.Alice Wanamaker, director of member relations for the Greater Northern Lehigh Chamber of Commerce, is stepping into this role. She said his organization skills have made taking over the position an easy one.Wanamaker said she first met Ashman in 2009 when she got involved with Miller-Keystone Blood Bank. He was in his late 80s, and she was amazed with his resilience."I want to thank you, George, for what you started in Palmerton. I'm excited to continue that work," she said at the Palmerton Chamber of Commerce luncheon where Ashman was honored.He said it was actually his mother, Ruth Ashman."My mother was the first donor in Palmerton," he said.While he was serving in World War II, his mother was donating blood. She would travel to Allentown to donate, because there weren't any bloodmobiles in Palmerton, he said.When one finally came to the town, his mother was the first to give because they knew she wouldn't faint or get sick."Women didn't give often at that time," he said. "She was an example for the others."She was also an example for him.When Ashman came home from the war, he finished his college education in engineering and took a job in Connecticut. Like his mother, he took the time to donate blood. He continued that tradition when he moved to his next job in Lancaster. And when he retired, he came home to Palmerton to stay.In 2000, he took over as the bloodmobile organizer in the borough and has maintained it for 16 years.In that time, the bloodmobile has received enough donations to save 6,000 lives, said Deb Otto, the director of donor resources for Miller-Keystone Blood Bank."That's a lot of lives saved," she said. "I think that reflects the community of Palmerton as well."Marie D'Amato, a donor resources representative, said, "We're just so proud to say you're in our footprint. You are just an inspiration.""He's a rare individual to have that kind of commitment," Otto said.Ashman alone has donated at least 226 units of blood in his lifetime. In recent years, he began donating platelets, because they are needed by cancer patients."Giving blood is a gift," said Peter Kern, president of the Palmerton chamber."There really is no greater gift we can think of to give at holiday time," Ashman said.To find a bloodmobile or blood bank locations, go to

www.giveapint.org. The next bloodmobile in Palmerton will be from 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Jan. 18 at West End Fire Company.