Mesquite Senior Games Picnic Appreciates Volunteer Efforts

By BOBBIE GREEN

The Progress

A small army of volunteers were honored and appreciated on Sunday November 20 at a special picnic held by Mesquite Senior Games (MSG) and sponsored by TDS at Hafen Park in Mesquite.

Nearly 60 people attended the event which included volunteers along with their families and friends. A total of 33 of the attendees were the volunteer workforce that puts in long hours to make the Mesquite Senior Games events possible.

MSG Volunteer Coordinator Beth Caplinger said that she has just instituted a new program to better track volunteer hours for the organization.

“I have tracked using, using the old method to show a minimum of 850 hours by our volunteers,” Caplinger said. “But with our new program we will have an even more accurate accounting of our volunteer hours.”

A long list of awards were presented to the group. Headlining this list were two Volunteer of the Year awards. The first went to Brenda Yocum, the organization’s “digital goddess” who has updated the MSG website and made it more functional. The second Volunteer of the Year award went to Diane Minor for the time she spent using her graphic arts skills making posters, swag tags and promo items for the various events. MSG Director Amy Bradshaw talked about how appreciative she is of these two women for their valuable help in streamlining MSG online and print platforms.

Volunteers Sharon and Shelton Rakefield were also given special recognition at the picnic. This couple has served as MSG volunteers for twenty years now. They work as the BBQ grilling chefs at every event. The Rakefields were surprised to each be given a chef’s hat and their own aprons.
“This was an appreciation picnic, so the Rakefields were not allowed to cook,” said Caplinger. “The MSG Board members did the grilling and serving to all the volunteers today. This is their day.”

TDS supplied the food for the picnic. TDS and other local businesses also donated door prizes for a drawing.

Zack Robison of the Mesquite Department of Athletic and Leisure Services supplied the grill, coolers, and ice for the event.

Bradshaw praised Caplinger for the work she does in coordinating volunteers. She noted that Caplinger is relatively new to MSG.
“She got involved a little over a year ago and has been a blessing!” Bradshaw said of Caplinger. “She has jumped right in helping organize our events and is doing a wonderful job.”

“We are really looking forward to our spring games beginning in March,” Bradshaw added. “ We have applied for, and received, some grant funding which will help us to get bigger and better.”