Welcome to National Volunteer Week 2022! We’re spotlighting First West Credit Union staff (affectionately known as First Westers) who generously give back to their communities through volunteering.
Today we’re kicking off the week with shared service colleague Tony, working out of the Valley First, a division of First West Credit Union region. And we’re introducing you to Penticton parkrun!
Penticton parkrun is a weekly, family friendly, fun 5K community event. Run, walk, jog, volunteer or spectate; how you participate is up to you! A native of New Zealand, when Tony moved to Penticton there weren’t any parkruns anywhere in Canada. His team of four (two families) contacted parkrun global who cleared the way with some insurance challenges. One step closer, Tony and his team jumped through a few more hoops and got their Penticton event approved. Fundraising began in earnest to officially launch Penticton parkrun.
With 133 events under their belt and counting, Penticton parkrun takes place every Saturday at 8 am at the Peach. It comes as no surprise; the volunteers are the glue. A well-oiled machine, a core group of about 10 volunteers keeps the event running each week. Tony is often one of those volunteers and has worn many hats from set/takedown to event timer to processing results to finish tokens and run director.
If you ask Tony why it’s important to volunteer, he’s pretty matter of fact. “It’s just great to bring something to the community that is free and has a low cost of participation,” he says. “Grab some shoes, register online and you’re good to go!” Tony is quick to share the volunteer spotlight, celebrating a fellow volunteer has run twice but has volunteered over 110 times! Did we mention Tony has volunteered around 100 times!
The course is always the same. In the neighbourhood? Come on out and give it a try! Kudos to you, Tony for your leadership in bringing Penticton parkrun to the community. You are leading well, and the community is stronger for it!
Today we’re kicking off the week with shared service colleague Tony, working out of the Valley First, a division of First West Credit Union region. And we’re introducing you to Penticton parkrun!
Penticton parkrun is a weekly, family friendly, fun 5K community event. Run, walk, jog, volunteer or spectate; how you participate is up to you! A native of New Zealand, when Tony moved to Penticton there weren’t any parkruns anywhere in Canada. His team of four (two families) contacted parkrun global who cleared the way with some insurance challenges. One step closer, Tony and his team jumped through a few more hoops and got their Penticton event approved. Fundraising began in earnest to officially launch Penticton parkrun.
With 133 events under their belt and counting, Penticton parkrun takes place every Saturday at 8 am at the Peach. It comes as no surprise; the volunteers are the glue. A well-oiled machine, a core group of about 10 volunteers keeps the event running each week. Tony is often one of those volunteers and has worn many hats from set/takedown to event timer to processing results to finish tokens and run director.
If you ask Tony why it’s important to volunteer, he’s pretty matter of fact. “It’s just great to bring something to the community that is free and has a low cost of participation,” he says. “Grab some shoes, register online and you’re good to go!” Tony is quick to share the volunteer spotlight, celebrating a fellow volunteer has run twice but has volunteered over 110 times! Did we mention Tony has volunteered around 100 times!
The course is always the same. In the neighbourhood? Come on out and give it a try! Kudos to you, Tony for your leadership in bringing Penticton parkrun to the community. You are leading well, and the community is stronger for it!