Volunteer of the Month

Janice has been volunteering with Atlanta Track Club since the early 1990's. She started out just helping with the Decatur DeKalb 4 Miler, but over the years has been able to help with many other events. She usually volunteers for 3 or 4 events a year with Atlanta Track Club, and at least 3 or 4 other events outside of Atlanta Track Club. Thank you for all that you do for your community, Janice!

1. Do you remember your first time volunteering with Atlanta Track Club? If so, what event was it and what brought you back again?

I was volunteering for the Decatur DeKalb 4 Miler, and at the time many of the members of the YMCA (where I worked at the time) were runners and volunteers for the race. I wanted to support them. I ended up really enjoying the experience and volunteered for that event until 2019.

2. What is your favorite Atlanta Track Club event? Why?

My favorite Atlanta Track Club event was the U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Marathon, not only because we got to see some of the top runners, but also being involved in the process behind the scenes and the whole experience was so much fun!

3. What is one of your best memories from volunteering at any race?

Back when I used to bring my 2 daughters to volunteer at the water station at the Decatur DeKalb 4 Miler, they had so much fun pouring and stacking cups of water for all the runners! There was one year that they ran out of room on the table for the cups of water, and they decided to stack the cups on top of each other (this was before we had the cardboard to stack between the cups) to make sure that there were enough for all of the runners as they came by. I can still picture them standing behind the table with the cups stacked almost higher than they were tall, and it is one of my favorite memories.

4. What is your favorite thing about volunteering with Atlanta Track Club? What brings you back?

I am not a runner, but I enjoy seeing all of the runners, especially when we get to cheer them on, and how thankful they are for the volunteers during the events. There's just a great sense of community that makes everyone feel good.

5. Do you have a favorite volunteer assignment? If so, explain.

I really just enjoy being a Crew Chief! There are so many fun assignments, and I am just happy to be able to help wherever volunteers are needed. As a Crew Chief I love recruiting new people. I often have some of my volleyball players volunteer, and I feel like it's a good experience for them to have at such a young age, especially as an introduction to volunteering.

6. Do you do any volunteering in the community beyond Atlanta Track Club? If so, what other organizations do you volunteer for and why?

Once a week I donate my time by teaching an Active Older Adults class to seniors in Dekalb County, and I am an active volunteer in the senior exercise community. I enjoy helping to educate them about the importance of exercising to help them stay fit and mobile, so that they can stay active for the rest of their lives.

7. What do you do for a living?

I am one of the owners of Ace Volleyball and Athletics, a volleyball club that services beginner to advanced volleyball players around the East Atlanta area. I coach players of all skill levels, ages 8 and up, in addition to teaching senior aerobics classes in Dekalb County. I am also a volleyball coach at Druid Hills Middle School.

8. Do you have any advice or words of wisdom for any new Atlanta Track Club volunteers?

However much you put into your work as a volunteer, you get that much back and more!

9. Tell us something interesting about yourself - an interesting fact or story that will help us get to know you…

A lot of people don't know that I started coaching volleyball in graduate school over 30 years ago. When I moved to Atlanta in the 80's you couldn't even be a volunteer coach without being a school teacher, so I started my career in another field. After finding positions to coach as a side job for so many years, and using the relationships I made in those positions I was able to turn my passion for volleyball into a business that gives players and coaches a positive atmosphere to learn and grow through volleyball.