This weekend we had the Winship Win The Fight 5k Run/Walk, and it was a great success. Over 3,000 individuals participated in the race and roughly 400 volunteers helped us in making the event happen. The Guest and Volunteer Services department was in charge of preparing, organizing, and distributing all of the volunteers, as well as assisting in the set up and take down of the event.
Being apart of this event has given me valuable life skills and important work experience. On Thursday, my supervisor, co-workers and I helped the head of the event unpack and organize team and individual 5k T-shirts for the participants. On Friday, we started the day off early for runner/volunteer registration and other preparations for the event. I assisted in sorting volunteer t-shirts, putting up banners, registering participants and volunteers, and escorting all those who came to register to and from the parking decks on Emory’s campus.
Finally, the big day came bright and early at 5:00am on Saturday morning. Among many other roles, I was given the task of Volunteer Leader for the Greeters. As Greeters, we were instructed to greet and guide all participants as they came in. I was in charge of distributing 25 volunteers along the pathways going to and from three different parking decks to the main Quadrangle where the race began. I had previously sent out event information and mapping/routes to all of my volunteers, and was excited to get them set up. Unfortunately, as these things do, we ran into a couple of literal and figurative road blocks. My Greeter Volunteers were supposed to show up at the Quad by 6:00am, 6:30am at the latest. By the time that 6:45 had rolled around, about 80% of my volunteers had still not shown up. Participants began trickling in and I didn’t have enough volunteers to guide them to the appropriate locations. I frantically ran around gathering any extra volunteers I could and quickly gave them a low-down of their new duties. Thankfully, my new volunteers were quick to learn and eager to assist in any way possible.
The race began promptly at 8:30am and we had successfully greeted as many people as possible. Our volunteer stations at the parking decks also happened to be along the race route, so I asked my volunteers to stay put and act as cheerleaders for all participants passing by. This is when we experienced an issue with literal roadblocks. A few individuals did not read their part of the e-mail that said all roads leaving the parking decks would be closed during the duration of the race. As I was cheering on people walking/running by one of the parking decks, a man swiftly walked passed me with his keys in-hand. I politely grabbed his attention and reminded him that he would not be able to leave the parking deck yet because the race was still going. Surprised and angry, he demanded that I let him to be the exception to the rule because he had a tennis tournament to get to. I told him again that unfortunately all exits and roads from the deck would be closed and he would have to wait until the race was over. He began yelling at me and walked off into the parking deck in a tizzy. I found out later that he had tried to drive out of the parking deck at another exit that lead directly into the race and ended up getting in an altercation with an officer.
Both of these experiences taught me that being prepared in the face of uncertainty and knowing how to appropriately deal with conflict are two life lessons that will always be important, no matter what field of work I go into. This experience has also taught me how to work as a team, whether it’s taking appropriate instruction from others or knowing how to delegate work successfully.
Outside of the professional life lessons, I learned so much from my fellow volunteers and participants of the 5K. All 3,400+ individuals at the event had one common goal: fighting to find a cure for cancer. I was inspired and encouraged by their strength, dedication, and determination to themselves and each other. This is an experience that I will never forget.