BIKES, BLUES & BBQ: Often unnoticed, volunteers crucial to motorcycle rally

By Vernon Tarver

Posted: September 19, 2009 at 6:29 a.m.

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From running beer gardens to parking cars to cleaning up after all the mess, perhaps the most important part of pulling off a successful Bikes, Blues & BBQ each year is the work of a group often overlooked.

They're the volunteers, and without them it's obvious to see the bike rally wouldn't be close to what it has become today.

"There's always a need for the volunteers," said Karen Boston, who is serving her second year as volunteer coordinator for the rally. "We've had more and more needs, of course, as we've expanded. We're using more space now with the Tyson center, and that means the need for more volunteer help."

Boston has helped work Bikes, Blues & BBQ for five years. But for the past two, she's seen first-hand why the volunteers are the ones who really make this event happen.

"It takes several hundred volunteers to pull off an event like this," Boston said. "The bulk of our volunteers are from groups, from different organizations like banks, and that's really nice. Because the volunteers often like to be with somebody they know and you can do that when they volunteer as agroup."

One of those groups is Life Styles. Specializing in work with the disabled community, Micah Hickam, of Life Styles, said the bike fest is actually a chance for her organization to give back.

"They always donate a tremendous amount of money to all of the organizations every year," Hickam said of the rally. "And you really just cannot ever do enough for somebody that's helping us."

Life Styles works out of the Walton Arts Center during the festival, and Hickam said it's a great opportunity for their individuals to get out and meet more people. But while Life Styles is one group that chips in, there are also many more.

"We get a lot of groups to come out and help," Boston said. "I mean we get a lot of individual volunteers, too, but the groups are where much of our volunteers come from."

Volunteers can serve at the beer garden, tend to parking lots or work the ice stations during the week. And then of course there's the most important part to the volunteer effort: the cleanup.

"Oh, that's our big one," Boston said. "The cleanup is where we need a lot of help."

Bikes, Blues & BBQ officials held a reception for the volunteers Thursday and Friday at Jose's on Dickson Street. In a way, Boston said the reception was used to thank the volunteers ahead of time. But while showing their appreciation, Boston said there's always lessons to pass on about the volunteer work at the same time.

"Last year we did one of these receptions, and we decided this year to have two," Boston said. "One of the things we do here, along with thanking our volunteers for their help, is we go over the beer garden and discuss the proper ways to work with selling the beer. So in some ways, this is a reception and a class at the same time."

News, Pages 1, 3 on 09/19/2009

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