First Night - Behind the scenes Part II

Today was another day full of preparation for First Night! This morning Yuan Gao - known by Karen here in America - spent a few hours in our office making trail mix and cubing cheese to be served in the Green Rooms at the First Night venues. Volunteers, entertainers and crew take some time to relax and grab a bite to eat in the Green Rooms. I'm sure they aren't as fancy as they are in Hollywood!

This afternoon, Karen continued her work in helping set up chairs at the Missouri United Methodist Church and First Christian Church along with Jon Culver, Allison Van Riper and Stephanie Hart. We made quick work of things setting up more than 300 chairs in two locations in less than an hour and a half. Oh, and in there Jon swept the floor, too! Thanks to these volunteers for sharing their afternoon to help with this important, but not so glamorous, project!

Karen (Yuan Gao) is very interesting to me. I met her in September when she volunteered to help at the Festival of the Arts. She had moved to Columbia just a month earlier from China to attend school at MU. I was just flabbergasted at the thought of this young lady, moving half way around the world to a place she's never been where they speak a language that's different from your own. (She speaks excellent English by the way.) She's a brave young woman and an excellent volunteer! Karen is another example of someone who has used volunteering to get to know her new home. She will be the site manager at the Methodist Church tomorrow evening and I know she'll do a great job.

First Night - Behind the scenes

Any big event has a lot of work that gets done beforehand - behind the scenes where few see it. Although quiet, this work makes a huge difference in the end!

This week there is a good bit of this "behind the scenes" work being done getting ready for First Night on New Year's Eve. Today, Debra Hardin Program Assistant, had five Columbia Hospitality Corps volunteers in our building working with Linda LaFontaine to stuff bags and sort t-shirts for the participants in the First Night 5K Run.

Many thanks to Barb Seabolt, David & Diane O'Hagan, Sylvia Bradfield and Mary Wise for sharing a few hours this afternoon. We appreciate your time and it will make all the difference with the success of the event.

Lang Award nominations due Jan. 9

About a year ago, the city received a fantastic donation from Leo Hill who was city manager for Columbia in the 1950's. Leo wanted the city to use the funds to create a volunteer award in honor of Howard Lang who was Mayor of the city when he served as manager.

After some discussion, the award was defined to be given to someone who has served our local government - through service as an elected official, on a board or commission, with a special effort or project or as a volunteer in any way. The recipient will be awarded based on impact, initiative and length of service and will receive a $1,000 prize, that they may choose to receive or give to an organization. The nominations for the award are due Jan. 9.

Yesterday I had an interesting call from a young man who was inquiring about the award. He wondered if he started his service now if he might qualify for the award. He also asked if he could nominate himself. I told him while he was welcome to nominate himself or let someone he works with know he is interested, I told him that I expected the nominees to be people who had volunteered for a long period of time in some form of service.

Hmmm... maybe I should have been more encouraging with this young man. I think his call surprised me more than anything else. Maybe the economy is so tough that people are willing to volunteer in the hope of receiving a cash prize. In any event, his call reminded me that volunteering is a long-haul commitment - it's not a sprint. It's difficult for anyone who volunteers to make a big impact in just a few weeks - even if we give it our all! We must be willing to put in our time over a long period and be patient to see the results.

It's that special holiday season...

This time of year, the Office of Volunteer Services is abuzz preparing for First Night, a family-friendly celebration on New Years' Eve. It takes over 100 volunteers to put on this event and we so greatly appreciate the help of each person who has agreed to help us this year or has in the past. As you might imagine, many people travel at the holidays or want to enjoy the night with family and friends, so it's always a challenge to find those 100+ people to share a few hours to make the event possible.

Please let us know if you are interested in helping with this year's event... we can still use volunteers, especially from 8-10 or 9:45-11:30 p.m. Tasks including serving as an usher/button checker, helping in the children's art area, or serving as an ambassador.

Last week we had a special treat from Tom Masters, a long time Park Patrol volunteer. Tom brought us in some fresh baked chocolate chip cookies! In addition to his dedicated service to the Park Patrol, you may also see him at First Night as an ambassador in the Stephens College buildings. You may also find him about any day on Bear Creek Trail. Thanks, Tom, for your service to Columbia and your thoughtfulness.

Happy Holidays!! Leigh

CARP volunteers say goodbye to Daniel Gibbins

On Thursday afternoon, several CARP (Columbia Aquatic Restoration Project) volunteers stopped by the Gentry Building to bid farewell to Daniel Gibbins, Horticulturalist with Columbia Parks & Recreation. Daniel was the primary staff person who worked with CARP and it's 39 participating volunteers during the last two years.

Daniel is leaving Columbia to take a job with the City of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Cedar Rapids was hit hard by the floods this last summer and Daniel will be helping them with green space and new parks.

The volunteers who worked with Daniel on projects in our parks enjoyed his sparkling personality and the great faith he had in their work. Just about every project was a big one - with hundreds of plants to install and lots of work to be done. I think volunteers appreciated those challenges and stepped up! He also set high standards for the work and made sure it got done correctly. I think that sends a message to the volunteers that what they do is so very important and makes a lasting impact for years to come.

CARP is going to continue with the next class planned for March 2, 9 and 16 with Brett O'Brien providing the leadership until the new Horticulturalist is in place.

Goodbye, Daniel! Thanks for your work with Columbia volunteers and good luck in Iowa!

Leigh Britt

Goodbye, Dylan!

The Office of Volunteer Services says goodbye to one of our great youth volunteers, Dylan Conn. Dylan, a junior at Hickman High School, has been volunteering with the city as well as many other community organizations since he moved to Columbia at the age of 11. He was among the first Youth In Action volunteers (a summer volunteer program for youth 12-15) helping with dozens of projects and logging hundreds of hours of service.

Dylan has also been very active with March of Dimes, raising thousands of dollars to support them and taking a role at the national level with their youth board. Locally, he was active helping the Columbia Public Works Solid Waste program and the Missouri Theatre, to name a few!

In April 2008, Dylan was honored with the youth HERO award by the Columbia Daily Tribune and the Voluntary Action Center. This was a well-deserved award for his dedication to service!

Dylan and his family will be moving soon to the Chicago area. Volunteering was a great way for Dylan to get to know Columbia when he moved here and I know that when he arrives at his new home, he will use volunteering as a way to meet people and learn more about his community. Thanks, Dylan, and good luck!!

Leigh Britt

Santa Hotline - Dec. 6

Saturday, December 6 was the annual Santa Hotline sponsored by Columbia Parks & Recreation. Area children are invited to call the North Pole and share their gift requests with Santa and his helpers. Volunteers staff the North Pole call center, located for one day at least, at Paquin Tower.

Many thanks to Paquin Tower residents, Jamie and residents from Boone Landing and members of Sigma Rho Sigma for sharing a few hours to create memories for local children. This is just another of many ways that volunteers add to our community!