How we got started in the Olympics

Seems like a good time to explain how we both got involved in all of this. Way back in January of 2001, I, (Patty) had signed up over the computer to be considered for a volunteer. By February I had received a letter with the date and time for an interview in Provo. Everything went so well that I really felt good about the possibility of being considered for being a volunteer. Eventually I was temporarily placed for working in Accreditation up at the Olympic Village.

Along came the month of March and I received a phone call from Lori who was the Secretariat for the Olympics at Soldier Hollow.  She was also going to be working the World Cup in March and wanted to know if I was interested in helping with the Biathlon and Cross Country events.  I said sure as it would give me a  chance to see how things worked. I asked her how come I got a call and she said that most everyone on the list was either working or going to school and couldn't take the time off.  Blessed retirement!  I had the chance of a lifetime to be a part of the World Cup plus I figured that I would have one foot in the door if I was learning the how's and why's of what to do.

Nineteen countries attended that event and what fun we had meeting the coaches and team captains, plus some of the athletes.  I met Lori and also Toni who came in from Mn. and some of the others that I ended up working with during the Olympics and Paralympics were there.

Raymond works the graveyard shift for the Post Office and usually didn't come home until between 4 and 6 in the morning.  I needed to be up there around 7-7:30.  How was I going to do that?  Bless Raymond's heart! He came home, got me and we drove up to Soldier Hollow and he slept in the car. When he woke up, he would come in and say good morning to us then he would just roam around looking at things.  After a while that got to be rather boring so he started to stay in the trailer with us.  Good ol' Toni put him to work!  He loved it and they all loved him. (Security wasn't an issue and we parked the car right behind the trailer.)

When the activities were over on the World Cup, we had really wanted to be able to work up there instead of me at the Olympic Village at the University of Utah up by Salt Lake City.  Yup, they made the transfer. I say we, but Raymond hadn't even thought of being a volunteer until after being up there with me so we did the computer thing for him and we both were assigned up there.

Raymond started to save his vacation time so that he would have the six weeks off that we needed to be volunteers for both events.  Some of the others were really fortunate as their employers gave them paid leave to be involved with all of the activities as volunteers.  But we were grateful that Raymond had most of the time accrued from the previous year and for the year we were in and part of it coming from this year so he was covered.  We could still have the beans on the table!  <smile>