Back in Ottawa and getting into a different routine.
My 2010 Olympic Winter Games volunteer journey started more than two years ago when I applied on-line. As one of the 75 Ceremonies Support Volunteers, I had no idea what to expect. The tasks were many and varied and very different from my previous volunteer experiences.
What I saw was an amazing group, mostly young Canadians, practicing hard in their cast roles, often late into the evening, to deliver the best performance they could for the Opening or Closing Ceremonies. It was interesting to see how all the components for such a major event are pulled together. We were given an opportunity to see, first-hand, the imagination, dedication and talent of the excellent production team; David Atkins, Drew Anthony, Steve Boyd, Jane Misovich, and the many others whose seemed to be there 24/7 to fine tune every aspect.
We were very lucky to have an superb group of volunteer and cast coordinators, particularly Antoine, Judy, Michael, Melanie, Liza, Alison, and Chistina. Not to mention the other cast coordinators, stage managers, and other volunteers who I had the pleasure to work with during the three months. They worked extremely hard to accommodate everyone, deal with many last minutes crises, and provide all of us with a very memorable experience. Thanks for all the fun.
To all of my friends in Vancouver, thanks for putting-up with Graham. Amazingly, I may be welcomed back!
So what's next - London 2012 - You never know!
One of the unique memories was as the protocol stand-in for Jacques Rogge. I am not sure what I did to have 60,000 listening to Graham speaking! Unfortunately, at present, I don't have any pictures celebrating Graham's performance.
What follows are a few pictures from Graham's volunteer journey.
Graham and some of the support volunteers
(The Van 2010 volunteers were referred to as ``Smurfs'' - I wonder why?)
(The Van 2010 volunteers were referred to as ``Smurfs'' - I wonder why?)
Graham and the other protocol stand-ins
Graham, Zoe, and Gary at the Sliding Centre (Whistler) for the 2 Man Bobsleigh
Clara Hughes getting the Long Track Bronze Medal (Ladies 5000m)
Some of the thousand celebrating Canada's win in the Gold Medal Hockey Game as they got ready for the Closing Ceremonies
Backstage at the Closing Ceremonies:
Adding the Gold Medal for Canada to a large table top hockey player
The GBR team getting ready to enter
Manipulating the mouse!
Hard to beleive it's over, it was great fun, one that we will never forget. You have done a fantastic job with you volunteer WORK and your blog. What is next a Golf blog ?
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