I had lunch at a Chinese restaurant today and this was my fortune: "You
never hesitate to tackle the most difficult problems". Well, that about
sums up my experience last weekend at the San Jose Grand Prix. I had no
idea what I was getting into when as a board member of the San Francisco
Region of the Sports Car Club of America I volunteered to find 100 people
per day to do Pass Control at the SJGP. I really didn't even know what Pass
Control was.
I asked Barry Chafin, Solo 2 Promotions Chief, to setup a WEB site to
register the people I needed. Then the fun began: The hours changed, the
job description didn't exist; we didn't know who to go to for information.
And who wanted to work for 3 days in an unknown job in the hot sun. At
first we required SCCA membership, but could not get enough people. Then we
required 3 days, but couldn't get enough people. So we dropped the
membership requirement and just tried to get people to come. That must have
done the trick as we got over 150 volunteers.
The week of the race came and the details finally were revealed. We had all
kinds of challenges: moved registration, not enough blue locks, not enough
wrist bands, not enough parking passes, not enough guest passes, hats that
were taken away. But we got through it all.
For the people that tried to work, but could not register or park or got
lost with my sometimes hard to follow directions, things will be much better
next year. Please come back. For those that did work I thank you so much
for the experience. It was one of the most mind-altering experiences of my
life. Three days of intense problem solving with some of the most
cooperative people I have ever worked with. Everyone was dedicated and
although we did not have all of the people that we were asked to bring, we
pulled it off without a single person hurt in the no man's land area and few
really confrontational incidents.
I want to thank everyone for their dedication, the long hours that they put
in and the hard work that they performed throughout the weekend. I
especially want to thank those people that helped keep the troops fed and
hydrated with backpacks full of water taking many laps around the course.
The crossings were run like experienced crossing guards would have without
any reported problems. The voice of Bryan got me exposure that I never
expected. Thanks Rob and Bill!
In closing I just want to say that you were all awesome!! All the workers
that I talked to had many great things to say about the experience.
If you want to be on the list for next year just reply to my email and tell
me the days you worked and the location.
Next year will be an example of what you can do when you know the mistakes
that were made and what to do to correct them. For starters we will have
our own registration team, a great registration place and all the necessary
passes.
Let us all know your thoughts and experiences.
Thanks again.
Bryan
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