Bobby Villela and the Loud Boys were out in force Saturday greeting with great enthusiasm donors arriving at their fifth annual Give Fore Life blood drive.
Several mobile blood collection vehicles (affectionately named “The Big Red Bus”) from OneBlood dominated the parking lot at SeaBreeze Recreation Center.
Inside, there was plenty of warmth, laughter and food.
Several years ago, Villela was inspired to give blood when his friend Roy Bishop fell ill.
“I didn’t think I was doing much, I just gave blood,” Villela said. “But it meant a lot to Roy and his wife.”
Bishop passed away, but his memory inspires the Loud Boys to hold the popular blood drive each year.
Last year, the Loud Boys set a Central Florida record by collecting 383 units of blood in a single day. Numbers from this year’s event are still being tallied, according to Tony Banner of OneBlood.
