It’s less than 79 days until kickoff to Indianapolis’ debut in the national spotlight as the site for Super Bowl XLVI. Pam Rosenberg, the Art Center’s Director of Operations, was one of the 8,000 volunteers selected from among the 13,000 who applied. We asked Pam to share her experiences in a series of blogs.
Becoming a SUPER volunteer
As soon as it was announced that Indianapolis had been awarded the 2012 Super Bowl, I knew that I was interested in volunteering. Along with travel, volunteering around the community is something my husband Larry and I love to do (and we are raising our daughter to do, as well). As a breast cancer survivor, the Komen Race for the Cure is always on our calendar (April 21 in 2012!). The Super Bowl not only showcases our community, we’d be meeting people from all over the country and the world, kind of combining our two hobbies. It was too good to pass up.
Although our volunteer experience has only just begun, it has already been fascinating. We were introduced to plans for the Super Bowl at a volunteer kickoff at Conseco Fieldhouse in September, complete with celebrities and entertainment. You could feel the excitement starting to build.
Last Friday, I took the online Super Service training course so that I and the other 7,999 volunteers will be up to speed on how to provide Super Service. It covered general information about Indianapolis, our hotels, restaurants and attractions, details about the Super Bowl and logistics, plus some general safety information. I’m practicing saying “Have a Super day!” and responding “It’s my pleasure” to people who thank me for stuff. Also, I liked the concept of the 20:12 rule—we are supposed to make eye contact with people within 20 ft. and greet them within 12 ft.
The next step is coming in December, when we all attend in-person training sessions.
It is exciting to be a part of such a huge civic effort. Even though the volunteer slots are filled, there are still ways for everyone in Indianapolis to get involved. One way close to my heart is the Indy’s Super Cure Initiative. I know how important it is to support research into the causes and treatments for all types of cancer. I urge all women to consider donating tissue to the world’s only breast tissue bank. Donating is easy and actually fun – there was a free smoothie bar and great “swag bags” when I donated! Here’s the link to donate tissue https://komentissuebank.iu.edu/donation?action=welcome . Or you can always donate by texting CURE to 27722 to donate $10 to the Komen Tissue Bank.
I hope you’ll check back to the Art Center blog in the coming weeks — I’ll be updating my experiences throughout the volunteer process and hopefully giving everyone a taste of what it is like to be part of such a huge event. And, as I learned to say in my training, Have a Super Day!
So as everyone knows, in just about three weeks downtown Indianapolis will go CRAZY with Super Bowl visitors and events! It is really exciting to see the preparations as the city gets ready for the big day. Those of us who are volunteering are getting ready, too – we had a big training session in mid-December to go over more of the details. Just imagine figuring out where 8,000 volunteers are going to park! I can tell you that there are several sites around downtown that we’ll be able to park at and then get shuttled into the heart of the action. 
