OCEAN CITY, Md. - Steve Pappas, the founder of The Greene Turtle Sports Bar and Grille, died after a battle with leukemia on Oct. 28, 2026. On Nov. 13, a blood drive was held in memory of Pappas, fulfilling the need for blood.
The event took place inside the Carousel Hotel on 117th Street in Ocean City. It ran from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m., with many donors in attendance. In addition, those who visited The Greene Turtle after donating their blood received 50% off their check.
Basil Hanlon volunteered at the event and says he’s glad to see so many people coming together for a great cause.
“I think it's a testament to Steve Pappas and to the public in general,” he says. “I mean, there's always a shortage of blood. So the blood, obviously, that's been donated today will go to all the hospitals and the people in need. So it's a noble thing to do.”
Officials say the summertime and the holiday season tend to be when donor numbers are low. Ralph Groves, the account manager for the Blood Bank of Delmarva, says a reason the numbers drop is because of schools closing.
“Any blood that's collected from the summer and the holidays are just the people from the community,” he says. “It's not from high schools, and people are away. They're on vacation, they're doing stuff. So, they're not around to be able to donate. But the demand never goes down.”
Groves adds that the blood bank has not been able to reach the pre-COVID levels that it used to have before 2020. The Blood Bank of Delmarva says one blood donation could potentially save up to three lives. Michael Tkac donates blood because of his wife.
“Back in 1980, my wife, she gave blood all the time, I didn't,” he says. “When she tried one time, they had a false positive on the hepatitis. So, she was really upset, and she couldn't give blood anymore because of that false positive. I told her that I would go for her, and I've been doing it ever since.”
Tkac says it was great to see everyone involved, including the donors and those working at the event.
“If you can just save one life, then it's worth it, and everybody should want to help their fellow human being,” he says.
All of the blood donated from the blood drive will help supply local hospitals across Delmarva.
