The Round Table is a weekly column Contributed by Bret A. Sims, WKNG Radio

“There is nothing stronger than the heart of a volunteer. With it beats the spirit of service, generosity and compassion…and the health and well-being of our community, our country and our world.” KOBI YAMADA


Most of the time when we think about volunteering we think about Habitat for Humanity or missions or other things on a much greater scale but the bottom line is that serving as a volunteer in any situation requires selfless sacrifice by a few so that success can be enjoyed by many.

For as rich as this community, country is it isn’t the money that makes it go round it is the hours of “free” money that makes it happen. It has been estimated that if you removed volunteers from our society that there wouldn’t be enough money in the world to replace the hours and work generated to keep the infrastructure in place and ultimately it would come crashing down.

You might not be aware of it but the national average for volunteers across all programs is 3 percent of the people are the only ones that step forward for the masses.

Walking into the castle you might take for granted the people who put out the signs and cones or possibly the people manning the front gate and ticket office. Throw in the volunteers that move the merchandise from the spirit shop down to the stadium or possibly all of those serving you food and drink at the concession stand. You have people on the field providing help to the coaches, players and officials. You have people in the press box broadcasting the game or doing the PA system and let’s not forget about the photographers that post great pictures. At the end of the night you have people taking care of the trash in the stands and parking lot.

So for a few hours on a Friday night when people fill the stands to watch a football game I would hope that you would take a moment to tell one of those people that you appreciate their efforts because without them your entire experience would be a let down.

Imagine showing up at the stadium and buying your ticket, stepping inside the gate to find the concession stand and spirit shop don’t exist. Walk around the corner and up into the stands where you have no pregame music or announcements, no commentary during the game and no guide to let you know who the players were. I think it is fair to say that Friday night’s wouldn’t be as special.

I take my hat off to all of you that volunteer in any capacity because without you we wouldn’t have the type of systems that make this country so great. So thank you for your selfless act of service and know that your efforts don’t go unnoticed.