Steven Helmer Publications

  After spending 4 years on the Beaver Dam Swan City Ice Skaters Board of Directors (two of them as vice president), I allowed my term to run out so another person could take my place. My last day on the board was yesterday and, as that meeting/banquet came to a close, I was presented with the President Award in recognition of my volunteer efforts. I'm honestly still a bit undecided about no longer being on the board. The time was right (my daughter is graduating and will no longer be skating with the club) but I'm a person who thrives on routine and not being part of the board is a major change to that routine that I'll have to get used to. Plus, after helping navigate the club through a pandemic and leaving it in great financial shape, there is part of me that is apprehensive about letting someone new take the reins. I'm sure, after time, I'll get over it though, especially if I find a hobby or part-time job to take up some of my newly acquired free time.

My daughter's ice show ( Rapunzel's Story ) is next weekend and, a week from today, is the full dress rehearsal. That means we are all scrambling to get everything finalized. I've always been involved in some capacity with other ice shows, whether it was working concessions or selling flowers. But, this year, I've been involved even more. In addition to finding raffle table donations (we have 56 prizes in total this year), I've been taking on pretty much any task that has needed me. This includes taking ticket pre-orders, helping with painting the scenery (something that is not my strong suit) and even helping out in the costume room. Heck, I'm even in charge of the afterglow party now. Because of all of this, I'm definitely looking forward to the show. But, I'm also kind of looking forward to it being over so things can get back to being a little closer to normal.

My boss handed me a flyer for the web site www.volunteerdodge.net  and I had an opportunity to check it out. As it turns out, it looks like it is a great idea. Basically, the idea behind the site is area non-profit groups can post their volunteer needs and people looking to make a difference can fill those holes. It's an easy way to bring wannabe volunteers together with the groups that need them. In fact, I'm thinking about sharing it with our skating rink since we can never seem to find enough help.

I was a little concerned last night because there were other things going on in the area (including trick-or-treating in a near-by city). But, the turnout for open skate was decent. We had roughly 170 skaters show up and, at $5/each, it ended up being a nice fundraiser for the ice rink. It seems like everyone had a good time too. We only had three people ask for their money back because they couldn't find skates in their size (we always run out of certain sizes) but even they ended up sticking around to hang out with their friends. As far as my volunteering went, I bounced around a little bit. I didn't need to be the DJ last night (though, as it turns out, I probably would have been a pretty good one considering the kid that took those duties picked out virtually every song I would have). Instead, after helping with decorating, I ended up at the admission table before taking over in the skate rental room (a job I hate, but we were short-handed and one of the other volunteer...

As I mentioned before, when I volunteered to help organize the upcoming Halloween open skate at our skating rink, I knew I was stepping outside my comfort level by becoming one of those parents who spends time working with other parents to organize something like this. I didn't realize this might be more than I was even expecting. The event is fast approaching (3 days) and I'm helping get all the last-second things done. This includes, potentially, volunteering to be the DJ for the event. Keep in mind, I have a very dated taste in music (basically, with very few exceptions, anything recorded after 1989 is crap). But, I do have a Pandora account and, with nobody stepping up to fill that role, that might wind up being what gets me the job. So, just in case, I'm starting to compile a Halloween play list now so I don't have to scramble to figure one out later.

Even though my daughters are both involved with sports (dance and figure skating), I've never been one of "those" parents who spends a great amount of time volunteering. Sure, I'll pitch in when asked and will fill in my required volunteer hours at the concession stand, etc. But, I've never been overly interested in doing anything beyond that. This is largely because I'm not a person who is overly social and have never been enthused about spending extra time with people I probably would never interact with if our kids weren't in the same sport. Not to mention, I'm also horrible with remembering names (my wife is the one who does that), something that can lead to some awkward situations. I am, however, making an effort to change that. And, I started this month by volunteering to help organize the annual Halloween Open Skate at the ice rink on October 28. To be honest, I'm still undecided about this new role. I'm definitely outside my com...