When
my boss asked me whether I wanted to become involved in the interviews for the
Weymouth and Portland Ambassadors my first response was “do I get a 2012 badge?!?”
During
2005 when it was announced that the sailing events for the Olympic and Paralympic
events would take place in Weymouth,
and Portland, Dorset County,
West Dorset, and Weymouth and Portland Councils all pledged
their commitment to make it happen. I
work for a partnership between West Dorset, Weymouth and Portland and Purbeck
Councils and was asked to become involved.
After 20 odd years working in a public facing part of the council I was considered
suitable to interview for the Ambassador positions.
Before
becoming directly involved I wasn’t too sure about the events of 2012. Would people want to come to the town just to
watch a few boats out at sea? Would all
the locals leave the area for two weeks to get away from the hubbub? Would the “20 years worth of road-works in
one year” throughout Weymouth
actually be worth it? I knew the
official bodies were committed to make it work, but did the residents of the
borough?
The
interviews took place in December 2011, and I wasn’t too sure what to expect: What type of person applies for this sort of
thing? Why are they interested? Do they really want to give up 10 days
(minimum) of their valued free time?
Would it be mainly retired people, young people, unemployed, working and
so on?
We
were given a 15 minute “from Hi to Bye” window for each candidate, and had to
ask up to half a dozen questions depending on the role the candidate required. Then we scored them on each question.
I
have interviewed many people for positions within my organisation and thought I
had seen pretty much everything over the years: the good, the bad, the indifferent,
but nothing like what I encountered during my interviewing days.
The
first lady I interviewed was finished within about two minutes; all questions
answered perfectly with enthusiasm I’d never encountered during an
interview. These guys weren’t getting
paid!! A few more interviews with the
same outcome; huge enthusiasm and willingness to get involved. It was pretty clear that the people who had
turned up all wanted to get involved in the once in a lifetime opportunity
which would be coming to town next year.
In
Weymouth on the first day I interviewed a wide range of people from a elderly retired
lady who was able to reminisce about the last time the Olympics came to Britain
to a young girl who was doing a language GCSE’s and wanted to become a language
ambassador.
My
second day of interviewing was at AFC Bournemouth’s ground and attracted many
students from the university. Because of
the cosmopolitan nature of Bournemouth
University I interviewed
people who came from all corners of the globe.
Again, I was blown away by the enthusiasm of the interviewees and the
range of languages. I interviewed a
student from a small village in the Ukraine who had recently come to
the UK
to study to an ex Royal Navy Senior Officer with a wealth of experience in
managing similar types of events.
Whilst
all candidates I saw were all good, I have to say I was inspired by some of the
younger applicants. Young people often
get bad press for being idle and not wanting to volunteer but this put paid to
that theory. It’s quite clear that a lot
of people in Weymouth
and Portland
who are looking forward to 2012.
Me?
Well I’m on 24 hour call during the Olympics for my own voluntary work which I
undertake for the Police and have had all leave cancelled from my day job - so
guess I will be busy. I am aiming to do
as much as I can to become involved. Oh,
I haven’t got my 2012 badge yet…
More
volunteers will be sought during 2012.
Please follow the link below:
Here’s
a bit more about the interviews from the local press
Mark
Payne
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