Thank you to the Volunteers in the BC Athletics Community

Volunteer Week April 10 – 16, 2016

“Volunteers are the roots of strong communities”   volunteer.ca/nvw2016

With National Volunteer Week (April 10 to 16) having just ended, I would on behalf of the Staff and Directors of BC Athletics like to thank each and every volunteer that supports the athletes in Athletics in British Columbia.

In my role as Chair of the Board of Directors, I have had the great fortune this past year to meet many of our wonderful volunteers at clubs functions, events and on the field of play. The coach that sits alone quietly supporting just one or two athletes in the cold driving rain, the official that shows up on the field of play an hour before any of the athletes, the parent that brings their child to a track meet and noticing a gap in the number of volunteers and jumps in to help, the athlete that completes their event and then works as a volunteer for the rest of the meet, the event director that marks a run course, the certified course measurer that measures a road running course in the middle of the night, the club registrar that does all the paper work to get the members into the Trackie database, the parent that drives the team to a meet,  the club administrators that attend club and association meetings, the volunteers that work long hours to support a road race, race walking race, cross country race or a track and field event. These are just a few of the examples of the work of volunteers. In many cases, our volunteers take on multiple roles in volunteering: event organizer, club administrator, official and coach.

As I talk with our volunteers, I learn that they each have their own personal reason for volunteering but the common reason is that they have a desire to give back to their community.

I salute the volunteers and thank you for making British Columbia the leader in membership, programs and contributions to Athletics in Canada and that is due to your dedication, passion and hard work. Not just during National Volunteer Week but every week of the year. You are doing so much more than just volunteering your time, you are investing in the future of our youth.

As we go into the spring and summer seasons, I look forward to meeting many more of our wonderful volunteers across British Columbia.

Greg White

Chair, Board of Directors

BC Athletics

April 16, 2016