Dave Griffith, director of the Heart of Missouri Red Cross chapter, announced Tuesday he'll be leaving "one of the best jobs I've ever had" at the end of November.
"My last board meeting will be Nov. 16," he said.
His resignation allows him also to announce plans to run for the 60th House District seat that covers most of Jefferson City.
Griffith, 69, said his decision to resign was "kind of bittersweet in many respects," because "there aren't many jobs you can have, where you know that everyday when you go home, the organization you work for has helped somebody and - many times - has saved their lives."
He began serving as the chapter's executive director in January 2012.
Part of his job is helping the national organization respond to emergencies by getting volunteers from Mid-Missouri to help in the recovery efforts, or by going himself.
Griffith's been deployed five times to national emergencies, beginning with the response to Superstorm Sandy, a Category 1 hurricane when it hit the New Jersey/New York region Oct. 29, 2012.
"That deployment, my deployment to Hurricane Matthew (last year) and my most recent deployment to Texas for Hurricane Harvey - those were life-changing experiences for me," Griffith said.
He had different duties in each assignment, but all were designed for him to serve as a liaison between local organizations and officials and the Red Cross.
Griffith acknowledged some people don't like or appreciate the Red Cross - because they've heard stories of high executive pay or, during World War II, of requiring soldiers to pay for a cup of coffee.
"It's a distraction that really takes away from all of the good things the Red Cross has done," he said.
Today's Red Cross doesn't "charge for anything. Any resources that we have are all done by the generosity of our members," Griffith said.