Texas Time Trials 2015 Volunteer Thank You
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Texas Time Trials 2015 Volunteers
We mentioned in the Sponsor recap that we couldn’t do Texas Time Trials without Sponsors, which is true, however we would never ever be able to pull off this event without our fabulous crew of over-the-top volunteers. All told, we go through almost 100 volunteers including some before the event shuttling trucks and t-shirts, some after the event, but most during the event. Some of these volunteers work 8 hour shifts and some work all weekend. For most of these volunteers, this has become a yearly reunion where they come to see all their volunteers and racer buddies, they have known forever but only get to see at TTT. These folks may be one of the main reasons that all the racers continue to come back year after year. Many of the volunteers are cyclists who give up three and sometimes four days in late September to give back to their beloved sport.
Pam Wright may be our own Volunteer Super-Hero who keeps everything running smooth including Race Director Dan Driscoll. Pam wears many wigs at TTT; she runs registration, gives pre-race announcements, Facebooks, Twitters, is in charge of last minute Texas Ultra Cup calculations and handing out TUC awards, runs like a speeding bullet… Well you get the idea. Thanks to Pam with her crazy colored hair for always being there and making this “Woodstock of Cycling” the most fun ever. Remember the Dorothy outfit in 2010? She has class, too!
The Whitford Family: Kalleen not only recruits the many volunteers that come out every year she also recruits her whole family in force year after year. Thanks to Kalleen for making this a family friendly event while bringing out the same recognizable faces that everyone loves so much. Did you notice that Kalleen rode a tandem with grandson, Ben, this year plus rode her beach cruiser? Kalleen had 5 of her 7 grandkids at the event, two of her sons, her brother Bob, her sister Vanessa, mother Naomi, cousin Karen and her Aunt Fran; in all 12 family members. Vanessa Bowles spends the entire weekend covering the timekeeping tent night-shift and has for years. Amazing! Bob Whitford, on his motorcycle, zips around everywhere, making sure all things TTT are going well. Bob covers the oasis corner out on the course. Karen Yandell worked the timing tent as she has for years, keeping track of racers numbers and times. Fran Flemmer, brought her camper out to TTT, parked it out on the course to keep a watchful eye on the cyclists the entire weekend. Nephew, Jordan Bowles came by and helped out with some time-keeping.
Bill Fox drives out to Glen Rose every year and stays the entire weekend to make sure that timekeeping and ultimately the awards go smoothly. Who could do what Bill does every year with his magic on a laptop? Bill has been with TTT since the beginning, created the timekeeping tracker for the computer, keeps his cool and amazes us all with his smarts. Thanks a million Bill!! You’re the best.
Sammy Bartholomew, The King of SAG, has been rescuing stranded cyclists for years at The Texas Time Trials. You’ve seen Sammy driving around the course at all hours of the night and day. Sammy is the “lead out” on most of the races and helps to get the racers on the right roads for that first lap. Thanks Sammy for checking on all the racers throughout the entire event.
Gary Gottieb is another one of our computer gurus who comes out and stays the entire weekend. He knows the course inside and out having two 1st Place Tejas 500 finishes, one course record for the Tejas 500 on a tandem and over 2000 miles at TTT events over the years. With Gary, we are lucky to get his wife, Dana Pacino, as a volunteer. Thanks Dana and Gary for all the cycling knowledge you bring to TTT. You’re irreplaceable!
The Flickners: Brad Flickner is our Sprint Race Master who coordinates the staggered start times of all the Sprint cyclists. Brad comes out every year with his wife Julie and daughter Lexi to handle the Sprint event, unpack and set-up all the trophies plus he emcees the TTT awards. Many thanks to Brad, Julie and Lexi for all the help over the years. It’s a family affair.
SAG Heros: All of the guys that drive SAG during the Texas Time Trials are incredible. With 24-hour roving SAG at least once an hour at the start and increasing in frequency as the event adds more racers to the course, over 2000 miles of SAG is performed day and night for over 50 hours straight. Stephen Hazelton did TTT the huge favor of driving the Bikes, Inc truck and trailer down to Glen Rose on Thursday, super spouse Jo Hazelton drove down and picked him up, he came back Friday evening drove SAG and then proceeded to set a new course record in the Sprint Tandem category with volunteer Sharon Stevens. Richard Remm, our night-time SAG champion watches over all the folks out there sagging the dark shift. How does he stay up all night?? H.C. Gordon, a longtime SAG’er, is always there with that great smile to help any stranded cyclist. Dave Regier, a prior TTT participant who came out this year as a first-time volunteer and SAG driver, was awesome and you’d never guess he was a newbie. Bob Page, a Tejas 500 record holder and first-time TTT SAG’er, came out for the whole weekend and even brought along a buddy, John Choate, to be the SAG dynamic duo for the entire event.
Phil Moore, a veteran SAG driver, made his rounds on the course and also stayed around on Sunday to load and then unload the truck and trailers. Buddy Caldwell worked SAG along with timekeeping all weekend.
Mike Ostrander, another SAG driver that also does it all, every year, was out again this year doing his part to take care of all the cyclists. Jeff Parry, drove SAG on Friday afternoon and early evening with a keen eye out for all those 500 and 24-Hour riders. Tommy Simmons, one of those great guys that comes back year after year to provide a sense of security for riders out on the course and helps pack on Sunday, too. Dennis Jones, in town for work from Tennessee, volunteered AND rode the Sprint. Thanks to all those Super SAG drivers, y’all are the very best!
Registration Experts: There is a good deal of admin and paperwork that comes with an event this size. Registration volunteers take care of most of this work. Cindy Edmison, a TTT regular volunteer and participant takes care of the check-in for the riders. Bea Schindler brought her big smile out on Thursday afternoon and stayed into the evening covering registration for a bunch of the Tejas 500 and 24-Hour folks. Vickie Tyer woke up early to help Pam Wright with the early shift on Saturday morning and then rode an Elliptigo bike around the course for a new Sprint Course Record. Daniel Sanchez, Texas Ultra Spirit Race Director, came up from south Texas to help out with registration all weekend. Cynthia Caruthers, with MBBC, helped with registration on Saturday morning before riding to 1st Place in her age group in the 6-Hour Shoot-Out. Blanca Gonzales made time to come out to volunteer for registration. A great big thank you to all these ladies and gentlemen for helping the event and registration run smoothly.
Terrific Timekeepers: You know that tent that sits at the start/finish with a few folks always in it. They are not just there to watch TTT, they are there to count every single lap of every single racer and record their time. That’s a job that takes some focus. Ask, Vanessa Bowles, who is the best at staying awake to work the night shift with long-time volunteer Tommy Fitzgerald. Tommy spent the entire weekend doing timekeeper duties. ”Rider Up!” Buddy Caldwell, another night-shift time-keeper, is multi-talented working SAG at night too. Both Tommy and buddy have been TTT volunteers forever. Terry Willingham, who did some timekeeping, also did almost every other volunteer job known to TTT. Bob Millay and Karen Yandell come out and stay the whole weekend to hold down the time-keeping fort during the day and have done so for years. Dependable Sherwin Rubin, shows up every year for his shift at the time-keeping tent while Marti Lewis and Jordan Bowles work a full day on Saturday during that crazy time when most every racer is out on the course. Thank you to all the time-keepers for sharing those great concentration skills with TTT.
Keith Smith, a terrific source for all things Glen Rose, marked the course, helped load and unload the tons of stuff needed for the event, provided countless resources and rode with his daughter Naomi on a tandem in the Sprint. Another super volunteer, David Murray was the go-to guy for anything and everything and rode the 6-Hour event on Saturday earning 2nd Place in his age group. Ski Lieske, came out two days in his beautiful classic roadster, to do a myriad of volunteer jobs including stage builder and a couple of “lead-outs” and photo-ops with his show-stopping red convertible. Charlie Fenske came out for the whole weekend to volunteer and saved Leslie, back at the office by bringing a box to Glen Rose that she forgot to pack. Thanks Charlie! Dan DeKalb, a local cyclist, came out to volunteer for two days plus he rode 106 miles at TTT. Terry Willingham was a newbie volunteer at TTT this year, he had raced in the past, but took every task seriously and got them done right!
Pat Nolan, who will most likely enter the TTT Hall of Fame next year, did a great job volunteering and also rode in the Sprint coming in 1st Place in his age group. Cathy Bartle, drove out to Glen Rose on Saturday and helped on Saturday evening when many of the volunteers were losing their mo-jo. Chris Skarzenski, volunteered a full day on Saturday. Barry Dorsch, who came out with his wife, Marti Lewis, was a welcome addition to the volunteer crew. David Towns, a racer who showed up early and offered to help, got put on the scaffolds detail and did a great job hanging all the sponsor banners. LSR’s Sharon Stevens and Vickie Tyer work it all.
Too many others were able to lend a hand in some shape or form that we may have missed a few. A great big huge thank you to all those hard-working priceless volunteers who make the TTT world go ‘round. When you see a TTT volunteer around town be sure to tell them thank you for such a super event.
To purchase these pictures or others from The Texas Time Trials visit Grace Photography at:
http://www.photographygrace.com/f762471632