#346 – Volunteer

It takes a truck load of volunteers to put on the Huntsman World Senior Games, about 3,000 actually. Today we visit with one of our valuable volunteers, Susi Lafaele. Susi started her “career” as a volunteer with the Games driving a shuttle for athletes. Now she helps with the check-in process. Almost 10 years of volunteering and she loves it.

Kyle and Lil also chat about Cowboy Action Shooting at the Huntsman World Senior Games.

Transcript

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Kyle Case  0:02  
Hello and welcome to the Huntsman World Senior Games Active Life. My name is Kyle Case and I'll be your host on this amazing journey as we attempt to help you get the most out of your life. Joining me in our studio today is my co pilot Lil  Barron. 

Lil Barron  0:17  
Well, hi there. Hey Mr case, how are you 

Kyle Case  0:22  
I'm doing great. So over the past several weeks, I've been taking a minute and highlighting a few of the amazing sports that we offer at the Games so I thought we would just continue that tradition. Today I wanted to talk a little bit about cowboy action shooting, 

Lil Barron  0:38  
oh they dress so cute. Cute. 

Kyle Case  0:44  
You're giving the whole thing away.

Lil Barron  0:45  
 sorry sorry 

Kyle Case  0:49  
cowboy action shooting, it's so much fun. It's so much fun. I was introduced to cowbooy action shooting actually, when I ran a different sporting event the games. I just, I just got introduced to and I just thought this is the greatest thing ever. I did a TV interview one time with a guy named Aces High Bill. Oh, and it was just a blast, fun, so cowboy action shootingwas added to the Huntsman World Senior Games in 2003. And you alluded to a number of them but there are so many unique things Yeah, fun things about this sport, so first of all, all of the athletes have aliases 

Lil Barron  1:26  
Yes, they do.

Kyle Case  1:26  
Nobody actually uses their given name, and many of the athletes don't know each other's names they only know the aliases. So, let me also just say that some of these names are really quite creative. Our directors for example, the ones that actually organize the competition, the competitive aspect of the games if you will. Their names are Clark and Carol Poulson, but they're known as Bit Younger and Lil' Bit Younger. Yes. They also are joined by William Wadi, Dixie Avenger and Navajo Kelly, just great names. Yeah, I think that's a lot of fun. Second, 

Lil Barron  2:06  
Wait, what would your name be?

Kyle Case  2:07  
I haven't got one. Yeah, I need to I need to join the club. What would your name be?

Lil Barron  2:12  
I don't know... Diamond Lil 

Kyle Case  2:16  
That says probably available. And hasn't been taken, 

Lil Barron  2:19  
I just, like, just if I could shoot. 

Kyle Case  2:21  
Alright, so the second thing Diamond Lil Yes, is this is a shooting sport. Yes, so there are firearms involved, but you have to either use original or replicas of what would be available in the mid to late 19th century. So you can't just like seriously go to Walmart and pick up a pistol and go shoot can we actually shooting you have to use period guns. 

Lil Barron  2:48  
No, I didn't know 

Kyle Case  2:49  
Yeah No, that's true, and they're very, they're very strict about that. So you can use single action revolvers, single action means you fire one bullet and then you have to actually cock it un like semi automatic where you just pull the trigger on the bullets just keep coming. 

Lil Barron  3:03  
I had no idea 

Kyle Case  3:04  
Same thing with the rifles, you have to do like a lever action, I mean we've all seen movies right. Those are the kinds of arms that they shoot they're not modern rifle but now they may be modern replicas right replicants that maybe have maybe been manufactured in the 2020s, but they're replicas of these old fashioned. They can shoot, shotguns, but they're side by side double barrel shotgun so who wants to have to slide the shells in. It's just, yeah, it's just, oh my goodness, kind of a unique thing. Yeah, none of this automatic stuff, no semi-automatic, all old fashioned stuff. The third thing that I think is worth pointing out just just like every sport there's a uniform. And if you play basketball or, you know, softball, whatever your sport is you're gonna wear a uniform all the cowboy action shooting as a uniform. It's just that their uniform is period costume. Once again, so they're wearing clothes that cowboys and cowgirls would have worn in the 1800s the late 1800s, and they have to wear that when they compete, that you can't walk out there with cargo shorts and a polo shirt, you're not allowed to compete in that you've gotta wear your uniform. So we're talking, talking boots are talking spurs, we're talking high waisted pants with suspenders. Wow, all the real stuff we're talking 10 gallon hats. The women wear skirts, leather skirt. They go all out it is. 

Lil Barron  4:33  
Okay, I'm gonna go see it this year, 

Kyle Case  4:35  
I want to talk a speaking of going to see it, let's talk about the competition, so you'll know what to expect. Just a second on that you shoot what they call stages. Okay, so each stage is kind of a scenario that is created and built is supposed to make you feel like you're in the old west so for an example you might step up to a stage that looks like an old fashioned cylinder. Okay, so it might have like those swinging doors, you know, might have a couple of windows in it, and you're going to shoot through the doors and through the windows and you're gonna try to hit various targets. The targets are usually made out of steel plates, and they have a little ring, a little D, you hit them which is also kind of fun, because obviously in stages where you actually end up playing a song, or like Mary Had a Little Lamb if you hit the targets in the right order in the right or the right way, you can play a little song so, so these targets in this alone they might be like, you know replicas of a whiskey bottle or maybe some bad guys all dressed in black or something like that, but your job is to hit all the targets as quickly and as safely as you can. So this is, add five seconds to your time, so it's a time, and safety violations and other procedural violations and 10 seconds. So you don't want to, you don't want to be unsafe, it's worth focusing as well on the safety aspect. These athletes get that they're shooting firearms, right, they're very very safety conscious, they're very proud of their safety record they work hard to maintain that cowboy action shooting for us takes place on Monday, October 4 to Saturday October 9 at the Games, and if you've not yet registered now is the time to do that right, if you get taken you get that taken care of at seniorgames.net and if Cowboy Action Shooting is not your sport like Lil, or like diamond. Diamond look at that check this one it's just a ton of fun. The schedule is available once again at seniorgames.net and just, just a side as very welcoming they love to have people come out. Oftentimes people who go out just to spectate get an opportunity to shoot. So I mean depending on the time right and so right I wouldn't guarantee that but oftentimes they get the chance to shoot and this is a tough one. I do, I do the I'm in love right now. Excuse me diamond, diamond. So today's guest. Yes, one of our all time favorite. Yes, Susi Lafaele . She's a longtime volunteer longtime friend of the game. Yes, welcome to the show. 

Susi Lafaele  7:08  
Thank you, I don't have a name for it. Right. We'll come back. Oh, yeah. Yeah, I don't want to be left out.

Kyle Case  7:32  
Susi, volunteered in a million ways for the games I'm curious if you ever had the chance to go out and see Cowboy Action Shooting?

Susi Lafaele  7:39  
Not at senior game, okay, but I have seen it before.

Kyle Case  7:43  
So you've seen it competed 

Susi Lafaele  7:44  
yes so our local club the Dixie desperadoes Yes, uses the Shooting Sports Park which is Yright next to where I work, but I do love the period costumes I think that's probably my favorite 

Kyle Case  7:57  
Yes, you know, everything is so cool the attire and they have not only do they have the requirement to dress up when they compete but they also have a very social aspect as well they have costume competitions and people will put hundreds and sometimes 1000s of dollars into their hand sewn rhinestones hats, Oh it's a mix up 

Susi Lafaele  8:21  
Don't they usually walk in the opening ceremony at any of our participants. And I know that they, they stand out as they are in their uniform.

Kyle Case  8:30  
Once again, you don't see them wearing cargo shorts, their regalia,

Susi Lafaele  8:38  
sometimes works in their favor because it's sometimes chilly in the evening we have our opening ceremony. So they're probably with their duster jacket and their hat, they're thinking, this is perfect. 

Kyle Case  8:52  
If you haven't had a chance to go out and watch can we actually shoot during the games, especially you really need to take it over tonight because it's something I've been to their socials. So yeah, oh yeah, great, but not the same as watching them shoot. I know I need to do that. This year, this year, no. Okay. Diamond Well, let's talk a little bit about volunteering. You've volunteered for years, I have. Tell me how you got introduced or decided to jump into volunteering.

Susi Lafaele  9:28  
I used to work at the St George Area Chamber of Commerce and JEFF HARDING would always want to put something in the newsletter about volunteering and I thought I should simulate here. I should I should really be part of this community. So a co worker and myself we we signed up, and we actually signed up to be shuttle drivers, that's how I started games with Dick and Norma groves, and we were shuttle drivers. I think it is by far the best. Don't let Derek, here we, I mean registration is great, but shuttle driving, that's where you meet a lot of the athletes, 

Kyle Case  9:28  
so yeah for sure a couple of things is just, just to add a little background there Jeff Hardy is a staff member. He is actually in charge of the volunteer effort at the games and helps recruit and train just make sure everybody's in the right place at the right time but our sports directors do most of that work, but he helps coordinate that for everybody, but the shuttle driving is really fun. Yes, and just again to reiterate, maybe a little background on that. Every athlete who comes to the games has the opportunity now. Now some people will drive their own cars. Some people will rent a car, but if you're not able to do that or don't want to I don't want to drive around familiar city whatever. We got you covered. Yeah, so we have a great service, we create a free shuttle service that allows athletes to get to and from the taxi center or their hotel to their sporting venue, we do have to limit it to sporting venues, we're not able to you know take it to Las Vegas. We have to stay focused on the athletic events, but it is a great service and many athletes take full advantage of it because they can listen to him it's intimidating to come to a new town and you're not exactly sure where you're going to find your way around. So there are shuttle services, Very very valuable and you enter the volunteer.

Susi Lafaele  11:26  
 I did The fun thing about driving shuttle, because I have a full time job, they're so flexible with my schedule so I would come and help on Sundays. You know when the Barbados team would come with me to take them to their hotel and get them all squared away or the global Cup teams were coming in we would drive them. One of my favorite parts of being a shuttle driver was that the 10k that

Kyle Case  11:59  
we do with the shovels drop them on

Susi Lafaele  12:03  
snow cannons, so that was one of my first experiences with the games was actually taking athletes out to the start of the finish line.

Kyle Case  12:11  
And it wasn't the year were washed out the road was. No,

but that's fun, you just, you're in a van with with athletes. I've driven athletes from Scotland and from the states of domestic Barbados Brazil, I mean you just get to meet these incredible athletes and I'm sitting there, driving, thinking, I really should join a gym at old man from Scotland, who's participating in track and field, and I'm like, okay, not sure about that. So you learn their stories you see how inspirational they are, and the drive, they have to come from a foreign country sometimes it's their first time coming to the States, or, you know, especially here to Southern Utah, and they just are so enraptured with our beauty here that sometimes as locals we forget that. Yeah, Right, and so it's another really cool eye opener. So, the being a volunteer has many, it's like 24. Besides like the fun aspect of volunteering and having that experience, or like I should be more thankful that we live here in southern Utah. Thanks for the remainder. You know, so, so every year I'm like, Well, who am I going to meet this year. And so it just continues on. And that's my, I'm still volunteering, now, now my role has changed a bit. I'm not shell driving anymore but I still get to meet athletes, I registration. 

From a volunteer standpoint, that's, that's the best part of the whole thing is meeting the athlete exactly and creating friendships and relationships and so many of our volunteers have done just that. So many of our athletes come back year after a year and you know, we really appreciate longevity and endurance and many of our athletes do come back year after year and they, they look for familiar faces, right as you create these relationships and these friendships and I can just imagine in the shuttle getting the chance to get to that event, and drive around for the first time, beautiful area.

Susi Lafaele  14:27  
And what's fun is I was probably one of the younger shuttle drivers. So when you're sitting there kind of waiting at the Dixie center, okay, what's my next assignment you're sitting there too with other volunteers who have these awesome, amazing like, I'm like, oh, like you could be my grandpa. So not only are you meeting athletes from all over the world, but really you're meeting new friends here in southern Utah I

Kyle Case  14:54  
never would have met, like I never would have known Dick and Norma. You know those people that are the directors are over the different parts of you know sport. 

Lil Barron  15:04  
I love that because, you know, I joined some, you know service clubs and stuff and I said I've met some of my, my best friends, doing service and volunteering for different events and that's what you, that's part of the volunteer experience. 

Yeah, it really is. So you mentioned that your role has changed just to help with check in, talk a little bit about that process and how that's, you know, been different, but also exciting in a lot of ways. 

Susi Lafaele  15:33  
So it's exciting. Sunday, yes, it's always Sunday's are really part of my it's my favorite. I'm there all day at the Dixie center because I just don't like who's coming this time. Yeah, you know, Oh yes, basketballs happening this week. Oh wait, you know, and you can see you know like John Morgan came in. 

Kyle Case  16:01  
Yeah, who is the founder, the 

Susi Lafaele  16:02  
founder of the games and here he is this cute old man coming to check in. And I'm like, Oh, how fun, how often they usually bring a spouse right so you're there, check in, and you oh you're from California, oh you're from China, you know, or wherever they're from, and then you can have this interaction, not only with the athlete but usually they have a friend or a spouse or somebody that they brought with them. So then again you have this really cool interaction. This is my 17th year here, because we ask you a couple of questions, not a whole lot. Well, thanks for coming back, you know, like, That's awesome that you could do this for 17 years. I'm glad Canada. Yay, it's kind of all condensed you know I talks about being a shuttle driver and you only get five or seven athletes in your vehicle, but now I can see everybody

Kyle Case  17:02  
Everybody has to check in everybody waterways. So a couple of things that are worth noting. You know a lot of times I think people think when we talk about volunteering for the World Senior Games, there's this idea that oh I have to be an expert in a sport. No, that was the thing that I did so maybe it's not for me. Let me just reiterate that why you put me in social life, or socialist just ideas. But there are a ton of opportunities to volunteer so if sports are your thing, Right, if you love basketball of track and field swimming whatever whatever it is, there's an opportunity for you to get involved and to be connected or reconnected with that sports so that's that's fantastic. But as sports are not your thing, if you just got other interests or you just never got into it or whatever. These experiences these opportunities to meet right associates talking about you can do that in a variety of ways that you don't have to be an expert in. Now there's there's shuttle driving there's helping out at the Dixie center there's our gift shop there is, you know just greeting. Helping maybe set up the course but that is your sport or something like that so many many ways to get involved and

Susi Lafaele  18:24  
Not only many ways to get involved, but the flexibility, I mentioned that already. If you only have two hours. There's a time slot for you, I guarantee if you have a full time job to come and help for a couple hours after, you know, it's not like the games are going on till midnight. Right, so come and help from five to seven on a Wednesday night, maybe they help with volleyball or rugby a new sport you guys have this year I, you know, we're at check in, we always need people. So, so that's the great thing about volunteering with Senior Games is that you have two weeks of opportunities 14 days, and a plethora of hours of fun, and all the directors are not going to tell you no. Right, right. So if you can only be, you know what, I can only be it for this shift from three to seven instead of three to eight. Yeah, come on, come out and help.

Kyle Case  19:26  
And that's another thing that's worth mentioning, if you go to our website seniorgames.net then click on the volunteer tab, you can sign up according to in a variety of different ways you can say that, according to interest. So once again if sports are your interest or opening ceremonies or helping them in some other way, you can sign up by interest you can also sign up by day. So, you know, I work full time, and, you know, I've just got anything available, you can just click on that Wednesday, for example, and then it'll give you all the opportunities that are available on Wednesday and like Susie said somewhere within those opportunities. There's a chance there's, there's something that's going to work right. Something's going to work for

Unknown Speaker  20:05  
blind what's great too is I think it's for a variety of ages, too. Right. So, if you have a high school student who is bored and just needs, you need to get them out of the house come with them volunteer. I mean there's something for everyone. Right. So, you know,

Kyle Case  20:23  
The mission of the of the games is to foster worldwide peace, health, and friendship and volunteerism fits into that mission so well oftentimes we think about how that works within the sporting arena right, right, rightfully so. Right. But volunteerism fits there. So well as well so you see like you said, and we have athletes that come from all around the world. Many of them have strong and peaceful diplomatic ties with the United States but some don't and here's an opportunity to, you know, connect on a personal human level, outside of politics, you know, and that's how peace is going to happen is when we all realize that we're all just people. We all have goals and dreams and difficulties and families and, you know, we're all different, we're all the same. So you get that opportunity from a volunteer standpoint, we talk about the health aspect. There are just, we throw this word plethora out, but there really is an incredible unique health benefits that come that it's good for your heart, or for your brain, it's good for your, your longevity people who volunteer who give of themselves and live longer than those who don't. And so, you know that health aspect is there for sure. So your soul, it really is really early as mental health, physical health, it's all there. And then of course you talked about the friendship aspect. People come and you know you get a chance to make friends from all around the world. And then when they come back, like it's just so fun to watch the lights and their eyes.

Lil Barron  21:55  
I said I still have, so I probably started volunteering in '96 To be quite honest, that's what it was. And I said I still have people that come back, that I get to see, we look for, they look for you. And I said, I love that. Some have even moved here.

Kyle Case  22:14  
And yeah, so we've only got about 30 seconds to see any thoughts or a story.

Unknown Speaker  22:22  
You know I, I kind of already explained all my stories but I will say, and we've heard this before that the volunteers are the lifeblood of any event, an organization. And really I feel Senior Games and Kyle and Lil can correct me if I'm wrong but I feel like the volunteers help the Games we cannot do it without them. Right, so if you're looking for, you know, Kyle mentioned all the benefits. If you just want to meet new people, and really feel good and be appreciative of where you live, senior Gamestop in that sign up and volunteered, you'll forget all the crazy traffic. You'll forget all of that because you kind of are in this bubble of like volunteer service. So join us find Diamond Lil,  come say hi.

Lil Barron  23:10  
That's right. He's the one with the diamond era yeah something.

Kyle Case  23:18  
Thanks for joining. Thanks for your moments, Yes, yes, I meant for the long haul. Love that. So Lil. Wow, again just so important. The games can't happen without the volunteers about how many do you think we need about three, three. So let me just touch on a couple of things just to wrap this up here. We've talked about volunteering. Please consider it. Take a look. It's easy to do. If you want to be a volunteer, just like sushi is, you can do it right from our website again we've said it but let's say it again, Senior Games dotnet lil we just need the time. It really does take about 3000 people to pull off the games. There are opportunities like I said in sports is sports are not your thing, there are a bunch of other areas where you can help us out. You can register by day or by interests like I mentioned before, it's very easy to do and when you register to volunteer this year, you'll be entered in a drawing for a brand new eBike by charge bikes so there's another little incentive there. Also, I got mentioned again I mentioned every week but registration for the athletes is also available. Remember you can save $20 If you register before August 1 And that's just a few days away so take full advantage of that. Also remember the Registration closes on September 1 So just a few weeks away, don't, don't, you can check out all of the schedules the rules for dates as well as our updated COVID-19 plan, all of that is available at seniorgames.net Remember to tune in live next to me every Thursday at 5:30pm Mountain Time on AM 1450 or FM 93.1 For the husband World Senior Games active life. We of course take this live show we turn it into a podcast, and you can subscribe anywhere the podcasts are found. If you are listening by Podcast Take a moment and give us a rating or write a quick review, one of the best and easiest places to do that is that podchaser.com.com/theactive life. And you can find this on the shorter website as well once again, seniorgames.net so check that out today's inspirational thoughts, okay. Obstacles are what you see when you take your eyes off the goal. Until next Thursday, stay active.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai