Certainly one of the biggest beneficiaries of my spare time this year has been the San Diego Track Club, particularly since I lost my job this summer. Not only have I served on a couple of committees, done one-off assignments and helped out at every race I'm in town for, but I unexpectedly went from being a training program e-newsletter editor for three months to an interim administrative director for six months. That's a huge shift in responsibilities.
On Saturday night the track club held its annual banquet and I was among the "Super Volunteers" to receive recognition and a really nice embroidered, fleece jacket. A lot of wonderful people received special honors, including Mike, our volunteer coordinator, who was named Volunteer of the Year, and Marison, our own program's volunteer coordinator, who received the coveted Spirit Award. I liked something Mike said that evening that explains why a lot of running programs have a chronic shortage of volunteers. Mike mentioned that when you volunteer, you are putting someone else's running goals ahead of your own. It's true, and it's a big reason most avid volunteers are older and have been running for awhile. They are ready to give back, sometimes in a big way.
My husband and I had the pleasure of sitting next to Irene and Michael at the dinner, and she's written a great post on the event's venue, guest speaker and honorees, so I'm just going to steer you to her blog for more details. Because, being the good volunteer that I am, it's not all about me.
9 comments:
you are a GREAT VOLUNTEER!!!! Volunteers are amazing!!! I bow to you!
You've made a difference in my life, Anne! It was a wonderful evening.
So glad that you received recognition for your volunteering efforts! You deserve it Anne!
Yay Anne! You've made a difference in my life too! Thanks for all you've been doing for all of us!
I'm always so grateful for all of the volunteers out there and it's amazing how all of them are truly putting the needs and desires of others before themselves. That's so like you! Thanks. Thank goodness you were honored with others, you deserve it. Hope you're doing better and hanging in there...thinking positive thoughts for you.
Congratulations on being a super volunteer!
Volunteering like this makes a huge difference. I would also say that it does look good on a resume as well, when I hire people it really can help to show you are up to something while looking for something new.
Congrats again
Tom Bailey
Such a nice gesture to recognize your hard work. Btw, thanx for all your motivating comments on my blog:-)
Holy crap, Anne, that's a whole lot of time involvement! Interim admin director?!
Congratulations, Anne, that's wonderful that you received such great recognition.
Post a Comment