There is just one day until the biggest multi-sport event in Orillia’s history begins. With that in mind, OrilliaMatters is publishing a daily countdown to help you get ready for the 2018 Ontario Winter Games.
Wednesday, February 28
One more sleep! That’s how close the Ontario Winter Games are to becoming a reality in Orillia. However, without volunteers, this massive multi-sport event would not be a reality.
“Our volunteers are awesome,” said Gill Tillmann, the chair of the Games Organizing Committee (GOC). “The response has been incredible. We had over 600 volunteers already signed up by Christmas and they just keep coming.”
Two volunteer training sessions were held last week to help arm last-minute joiners, Tillmann said. “The amazing thing is so many volunteered to do more than we asked,” she said. “They have really stepped up and we’ve been so fortunate to find people with the heart to volunteer, but also the expertise needed to help fill roles in so many different areas that we needed help with from transportation to food preparation, to marketing and finance … it’s been incredible.”
Tillmann said those volunteers will be wearing royal blue T-shirts and visible at venues and throughout the region during the four days of events which begin tomorrow. “They are critical to helping the athletes and coaches navigate through the process, to get to their events on time, to answer their questions … whatever is needed.”
In addition to event-specific volunteers, the GOC, which has worked tirelessly behind the scenes over the last year to organize the games, is also driven by volunteer community leaders. Under the leadership of Tillman and Michael Ladouceur, the general manager of the games, members of the GOC are:
- Andrea Sullivan and Michelle Weber (accommodation co-chairs)
- Dan Sawatsky (finance chair)
- Ian Brown (special events chair)
- Derek Mayes (food services chair)
- Kathy Hunt (marketing and promotions chair)
- Deb Collins, Andrew Westelaken and Bev Steele (medical co-chairs)
- Andrea Town (registrations chair)
- Roy Micks (sponsorship chair)
- Paul Barnetson (sport technical chair)
- Rob Downie (security chair)
- Lori Koughan (transportation chair)
- Isobel Hill (volunteer chair)
