This year, our end of season volunteer party was held at the most interactive place I could think of. BC Sports Hall of Fame, located inside Gate A at BC Place. It was my first time in this venue so I was really excited to see all the really interesting stuff in there. There was tons for the volunteers to do.
We started off with a word from our Chief Operating Officer, Rachel Lewis, welcoming the army of volunteers that came out tonight. Followed by an awards ceremony. This is the inaugural year for awards to be presented to four deserving volunteers. The Bob Lenarduzzi Leadership Award, The Carl Valentine Spirit Award, The Rookie Award and the one most dearest to my heart, The Hazel Boettcher Rising Star Award. All of the recipients received a plaque and Whitecaps FC merchandise.
This was the picture of Hazel that I had propped up on a table while I read out the speech I prepared for the volunteers so they knew who she was and why she was being honoured this way.
This was also the first time recognizing our long-time service volunteers. Most of them have been with the club anywhere from 5 - 20yrs. Their service and dedication was finally recognized tonight. I, myself having eight years of service with the Whitecaps. We all received a certificate of recognition, which I will be adding to the certificates of events I've received for volunteering for in the past, on my wall. :)
Next on the agenda were the door prizes. Gershon and David were asked to come up and help distribute the prizes to the winners. They were naturals at at this.
Once the awards and speeches were done, it was off to mingling with the crew! I was asked to show Gershon Koffee around and introduce him to some of the volunteers, since he was by himself. He was soon joined by David Ousted. I ended up taking them both to the Snap Tap picture booth where they were acosted by volunteers wanting them in their pics. They were great fun, putting on costumes and enjoyed meeting the volunteers. While waiting in line with my friend, Alana, we decided to take some pics with them.
Then we did the Snap Tap picture. If you look over Koffie's shoulder, you'll see Kenny Miller photo bombing our pic!
Gershon and David were great sports and they obviously had fun with it. It's always fun when players show up and become part of our volunteer family.
The staff, volunteers and players all mingled and ate some really nice appys til it was time to leave. Each volunteer was given a thank you gift for the their hard work and dedication throughout the season. It included refurbished Whitecaps Flags string bags. Here's a little background video about these bags and why they are so special.
From Banners to Bags - Vancouver Whitecaps FC
I also received a Tim Hortons Tumbler with a coupon for a free coffee, a thank you card that had a $50 Sport Chek gift certificate inside. This was an extra bonus for me as I was the Volunteer Development and Recognition Coordinator. Everyone got the same thing except for the gift card. Can't wait to spend that.
I stayed behind til the last volunteer left and made sure each one received a gift as they walked out the door. It was a great event and everyone had a good time in this fun and unique venue. I'm so glad we had our party here. If you haven't been here yet, I totally recommend it. My volunteers were spread out everywhere being interactive with the sports activities in the venue. So, comes the end of another Vancouver Whitecaps FC season. We didn't make the playoffs this year, but we had so many other things to celebrate like Camillo winning the Golden Boot and the emergence of Kekuteh Mannneh. Once they have a new coach in place, it will be all systems go again in three months. Til then, we'll all just enjoy the break.
well said! :-)
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