When Haverhill resident Jeffrey Kennedy donated blood at a local drive, he had no idea what chain of events would follow.
Before long, he was on the field at Fenway Park chatting with Red Sox President/CEO Larry Lucchino.
Kennedy was named the Red Sox Blood Donor of the Game and honored prior to the Sox game on June 28 against the Toronto Blue Jays.
"It was a very cool experience," Kennedy said. "They know how to make you feel really special."
It all started after Kennedy completed donating blood. Red Cross workers handed him a small index card and asked him to fill out information so that he could receive special offers. He later received an e-mail saying that he was going to be honored at Fenway Park and would be given free tickets to the game.
"I went in through Gate E and got to look into the fields from under the seats (on the left field side)," he said. "Then Wally the Green Monster escorted me out onto the field before the game, and I even got to talk to Larry Lucchino for a little while."
Kennedy said the Red Sox put his name and photo up on the big video screen at the park and he got to pose in a photo with Wally behind home plate. He then watched the rest of the game from seats close to the first-base line.
Kennedy said that he likes to donate blood as often as he can, which is every three or four months.
"When (Barack Obama) got elected he said that you should go out and do something," Kennedy said. "I thought, what can I do to help make things right?"
He urges other people to donate blood as often as they can, so people in need can be helped.
"It's painless and brainless," Kennedy said. "It only really takes an hour of your time."
