3 Days to Go!

The two most frequently asked questions over the past week, leading up to my departure on Sunday, have been #1 "Are you excited?", and #2 "How did you get chosen for this?"

So, first, the first question...YEEEEEEEEESSSSSS!!! I'm incredibly excited! I am not just going to the Olympics, I'm going to participate in the Olympics! That sentence, written by me, totally blows me away!

As for the second question...three years ago, our local paper, The Economist, had a little one-inch Want Ad that said "Ski/Snowboard for free at private ski club in Collingwood. Some volunteer hours required." Before I knew it, my husband Gord and I, and our three teenage girls, were FIS (International Ski Feration) certified as downhill skiing gate judges. We put in our volunteer days at Alpine Ski Club (as good as it gets in Ontario downhill skiing!), and in return, we ski to our hearts' content every winter - GRATIS!

When I heard that VANOC was accepting applications for volunteer roles, I thought I'd give it a shot. In September, 2008, we had a family meeting - I had few details, and knew this could put a lot of strain on our family - both emotionally, and financially. With this in mind, my family gave me their blessing...and the investment of countless online hours began...

From that Fall of '08, to my final acceptance in July of 2009, I engaged in a multitude of email exchanges, numerous phone calls with the Volunteer Centre in Vancouver, a pre-interview call, a long, in-depth interview call, an RCMP criminal history check, and the seemingly endless search for my local accommodation in Whislter, which, it was made clear to me, if I couldn't arrange that, they would not make me the final offer, more emails, and in the end, it all just fell into place.

Getting the accommodation was certainly the greatest challenge of all...I sent out an email to EVERYONE I knew: friends, family, clients, colleagues. I put an ad in my church bulletin, the priest announced the need from the altar, I contacted the parish priest in Whistler to appeal to his congregation, I wrote a Letter to the Editor of the Whistler paper, and it even got published, I contacted the President of the Whislter area Real Esate Board, and she sent out a group email to all of their Realtors. I put ads on Kijiji and Craigslist.

I spent all of April corresponding with hundreds of enthusiastic well-wishers, of whom many provided warm leads on accommodation possibilities, but none actually panned out, until one day...a Realtor at one of our Royal LePage Your Community Realty offices emailed me to say that she had a friend who she had visited in Whistler last summer, and that she was going to inquire on my behalf...within the hour, I received an email: "Hi Linda, You don't know me, but we're friends of Alba's (my RLP colleague), and we'd be delighted to be your hosts for the 2010 Olympics here in Whistler." I was floored - done! I could accept my position with accommodation secured, once they make me the offer.

The next amazing leg in this "journey of generosity", came to me without even looking for it - tune in tomorrow for..."Executive Class - the ONLY Way to Fly!"