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P
art of the Bluefield
College mission is to
develop transformational
servant leaders, but that
purpose is not demonstrated
only with students and not just
in the Bluefield community.
Just ask BC professor Bonny
Dillon, who traveled to
Florida this past summer to use her counseling skills to help
the families and friends of the victims of the mass shooting in
Orlando, where 49 people were killed and 53 wounded in a
terrorist attack/hate crime inside a nightclub.
In a true act of servant leadership, Dr. Dillon traveled to
Orlando as a member of the American Red Cross Spiritual
Response Team. A professor of psychology at Bluefield
College, Dr. Dillon has an extensive background in counseling.
She has academic and clinical training in both theology and
psychology. She also carries the credentials of Board Certified
Chaplain from the Association of Professional Chaplains and
Board Certified Professional Counselor and Board Certified
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Clinician from the
American Psychotherapy Association.
In addition, Dr. Dillon has been a member of the
American Red Cross Spiritual Response Team (SRT) since
2007 when she first deployed to Blacksburg, Virginia,
to assist with the aftermath of the campus shootings at
Virginia Tech. She decided to respond to the Orlando
incident based on her commitment to SRT and because
she was aware that her previous experience with the
Virginia Tech shootings would give her greater insight
for the survivors of the Orlando tragedy.
“My primary area of service in Orlando was in the
Family Assistance Center (FAC), which was set up in
Camping World Stadium,” said Dr. Dillon. “My specific
duties included supportive conversation with FAC
agency representatives, employees of the stadium,
survivors, and family members.”
Dr. Dillon also provided ombudsman services to
people navigating the complex array of agency booths
in the Family Assistance Center. She helped provide
a Red Cross presence at vigils and a benefit concert,
and she staffed the Red Cross booth in the Family Assistance
Center, where she distributed blankets and tote bags and
issued client assistance cards. At the end of the day, she
played a key role in providing mental and spiritual health care
through the services of the FAC to more than 750 individuals,
representing 243 families.
“I came away from this experience with much more than I took
to it,” said Dr. Dillon. “I have a greater awe for the resilience
of persons who have experienced disaster. Surely resilience is
a God-given capability that goes beyond what can be learned
or taught.”
Dr. Dillon also said that those who came to know she was a
Christian were moved by her compassionate response to such
a disaster. She said she connected with people just by being
there and by offering a person-to-person connection that is
much needed after such a disaster. She said she could not have
served in the ways in which she did without the prayers and
support of her BC family. She described it as “a great comfort”
to know that her Bluefield colleagues “had her back.”
“I hope my actions conveyed the message of servant
leadership,” said Dr. Dillon, “better than any words I might say.”
Developing servant leaders
11
Professor Bonny Dillon models
servant leadership for Bluefield
College students.
Professor Bonny Dillon
Counsels Crisis Victims
As a member of an American Red Cross Spiritual Response Team, Bluefield
College’s Dr. Bonny Dillon helped provide mental and spiritual health care to more
than 750 individuals affected by the 2016 mass shooting in Orlando, Florida.