The In-Person Interview!

Beadraich - Well, now here was a day to remember. Woodsy and I had been selected for next step, the "in person" interview. So, we co-ordinated our schedules and chose December 5th as the day we went to Downsview Government Centre for the next step.

After waiting in the lobby for about 30 minutes, our group was called. We went downstairs to an area where they first made us check through show our passports and sign an authorization for them to do a background check on us.

Woodsy and I were seperated into seperate groups for this process, and I went off to the in-person interview, and Woodsy to the "training session". My interviewer was wonderful, she made me feel at ease with the process and soon we were laughing and carrying on as we awaited the moment where they switched groups. I must say that the questions seemed quite routine things such as "why do you want to volunteer", "how well do you ski" and "how would you handle this situation" were easily answered with the truth. So.... off I went to the training session, and Woodsy into the interview, where she had the same interviewer. (I think the interviewer liked Woodsy more than me).

The "Training Session" consisted of watching a video and then doing a Group Dynamic test. During the testing we were asked to put together an athlete package of souvenirs that met a budget and fit into a box. I know most of our group was focussed on the task, but I did notice the person hovering, watching how we interacted with others. There was one guy in the group, whom we had met earlier as he bragged about his experiences with alpine racing events. He was in my group, and his personality really came out during this task. He wasn't listening to others, really had no interest in what anyone's opinion was etc, so I did my best to build concensus. I'm really hoping he isn't a volunteer in Whister.

So, Woodsy and I left and came back to Guelph to enjoy a nice dinner as a celebration for having succeeded through another step. Now it was a matter of waiting to hear how we did... which took almost 8 months to the day.

(Photo is of me outside the Downsview Government centre with the Official Olympic Volunteer binder which we were pretty proud to have)

The Long Road by Woodsy

A suggestion a year and half ago has come to fruition. The 2010 Vancouver Olympics! It was a long process but was definitely worth it. As Michael had mentioned previously, this blog is primarily for friends and family to follow our exciting journey (but we look forward to getting comments from anyone!). I do not profess to be a journalist or author. Yes, there will be grammatical errors and maybe even spelling mistakes.
We applied, had a phone interview, background check, in person interview in Toronto and training session, and finally an RCMP check. We were told we would be informed around May 2009. On August 4 (while on vacation) we both received emails stating we had been accepted. Both of our roles are with the Men's Alpine Crew; I am working with the Steward Crew. I don't really know what my exact role will be but I understand it is security of some sort.
We were a bit stressed because our original accommodations fell through but we perservered and on August 26 found new accommodations.
On September 5, 2009 we purchased our flights to Vancouver.

The Dream Begins

Beadraich - For those who don't know me, I'm Michael Bennett, a resident of Guelph, Ontario. After over a year and a half of interviews, security checks and waiting, i've accepted a volunteer position with the Alpine team of the Vancouver Olympics. I don't really know what exactly I will be doing other than helping with the "Race Course" at Whistler Creekside.

My Girlfriend was the one who started this whole idea by mentioning offhandedly one evening that it would an interesting contribution to our country and the whole world to volunteer. Having just read that Workopolis was handling the Volunteer recruitment, we talked about it and both agreed that it would be a great experience, but impossible to justify the expense of arranging accomodation in and around Whistler. A couple of days after this conversation, a friend and co-worker mentioned that his mom was looking for someone to rent her place in Whistler during the Olympics, and did I know anyone who might be interesting in going. Instantly, I knew that this exciting adventure had begun. Within a week, or applications had been submitted, and we were eagerly awaiting the first step... A phone interview.

This blog location is going to be primarily to allow me to communicate home during the Olympics to my many friends, and family who will be wanting updates to know how we are doing. Stay tuned for a continuation of the story about what contributed to my GF and I now knowing we are going to VANOC 2010 as volunteers.