Monday, February 27, 2012

Stage 4 'Amgen' organizers looking for local volunteers

Hopefully you have heard that the Amgen Tour of California is coming to the Mother Lode.  Stage 4 of this year’s race will start in downtown Sonora on the morning of Wednesday May 16.  This will be a busy time in our area as the weekend before (May 12 &13) is the Mother Lode Round Up and the day after the tour (May 17) is the opening of the Calaveras County Fair and Jumping Frog Jubilee.

This is an extremely rare opportunity to attend three distinct and unique events and we are promoting it as:  Rope.Ride.Ribbit and suggesting to groups and individuals, far and wide, that this will be an excellent time to visit the Mother Lode!   I am assisting the local effort by volunteering on the LOC (Local Organizing Committee) as Media/PR/Marketing Director and I am honored to work with an outstanding team of volunteers on my committee including representatives from the Tuolumne County Visitors Bureau (Sandy Gordon & Bruce Tepper), Calaveras County Visitors Bureau (Lisa Mayo & Cari Morgan) in addition to Daniel Richardson County of Tuolumne , Greg Falken webdancers, Kristine Willis http://www.uvskinz.com/ and Judy Grossman  JG Signs & Design.




Hosting a stage of the Amgen Tour provides a tremendous opportunity to introduce the Mother Lode to the thousands of spectators expected to attend the event. The enticement of viewing a world class sporting event will drive them to our area – our task is to capture their interest, encourage them to arrive early and extend their stay (Rope.Ride.Ribbit) and ultimately, plan return visits and tell their friends and family.

Many in the community are already fully engaged in the local effort including our LOC – Bill Canning, Tim Miller, Larry Cope, Mike Ayala, Shirley Sarno, George Segarini, Gail Witzlsteiner, Craig Pedro, Nanci Sikes and myself.  Each of these directors have a committee of volunteers working on their particular assigned area.  Others in the community have asked and are asking how they can get involved and help with planning and putting on the event.  

While we appreciate the offers and certainly need the help, knowing precisely how to facilitate and effectively utilize volunteers is more complicated than you might think.  What’s helpful is to have a specific task or area of focus.  For instance, Judy Grossman is our liaison to the Mother Lode arts community. She serves as the point of contact, keeps them updated on our activities and coordinates their involvement.  Born from that was the terrific video produced by Judy and others featuring area residents “Showing the Love” for ATOC.

If you or someone you know has a particular area that you would like to get involved with, please reach out to me or any of our LOC with an outline of your suggestion.

However; there is a way for you to get involved right away.  Please become an ambassador for the Amgen Tour of California – Sonora!  Support our local effort and encourage others to do the same.  Follow our activities and familiarize yourself with our upcoming events so that you will be able to educate others. If you are a member of a club or business organization encourage your group to schedule a presentation by a member of our committee.  Provide links to our information (webpage and social media sites) from your personal and business sites.  Consider Sponsoring the event, personally, a business sponsorship or both.  We’ve already had dozens of businesses and individuals sign up as Community Supporter $100 a great package that includes some ATOC swag.  You can also attend, support and donate to our upcoming events including our Gala Dinner and Auction scheduled for May 6 at the Opera Hall in downtown Sonora. 
Thank you in advance for supporting this terrific cause and please contact me or any other LOC member with questions or to obtain additional information.

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