How to stamp out the joys of volunteerism

When volunteers gather to support the endeavors of others, it can be a time of warmth, good will, a celebration of the human spirit - and a power struggle or two.

At 3:45 a.m. on Oct. 15, volunteers were making their way in the darkness to the grounds of the King Kamehameha hotel in Kona, Hawaii.

It was time to do some stamping.

This particular gathering of volunteers, of which I was a part, made up a small portion of the 5,000 unpaid helpers at the most recent Hawaii Ironman triathlon. Our assignment on that very early morning was to use large stamps to ink each athlete's number on a very specific portion of both of their upper arms. The numbers had to last through a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike and a 26.2-mile run.

It was a new process. In previous years, the volunteers inscribed the numbers freehand with a permanent marker. And it turns out that 5 a.m. - when the athletes started arriving to be marked - is an ill-advised time to wade into uncharted territory.

I had attended a short athlete-stamping introduction session with two friends the afternoon before, as we missed the earlier group gathering. We learned the intricacies of how much ink to put on the pad and how to smooth it out with a small piece of cardboard; we received conflicting advice on the rolling vs. one-quick-motion stamping techniques; we practiced stamping onto a sheet of paper, a surface which has nothing in common with a human arm.

In short, we learned nothing we couldn't have figured out in five minutes the next morning.

There were two stations at each long table with two people at each station. Those manning the other station at our table turned out to be troublemakers.

Without asking for permission, a mother committed the sin of bringing her teenage daughter - who had not been officially registered as a volunteer - along to help. This threw off both the two-volunteers-per-station strategy and the psychological equilibrium of those in charge.

The woman heading up the registration forces for the Ironman, of which we were a part, was a bit flustered by the turn of events, but eventually said the girl could stay.

A few minutes later, the woman who was second in command came over to make her thoughts known, evidently unhappy with the last-minute addition. She actually asked the girl in an accusatory tone "if she had any experience doing this."

(I think it would be safe to say that it's a rare person who has experience stamping numbers onto the arms of unusually fit people.)

In the end, the girl was allowed to stay and she and her mother proved a competent team. The friend of mine who was displaced by the teenager found another station to work at, so all was well.

This poor friend had suffered through other indignities during the week. She had been helping register athletes throughout the week, and one day wore her volunteer's T-shirt from a previous year's race.

The shirt featured the name of a sponsor no longer with the Ironman. No fewer than five people took her aside at different times to inform her of her grievous lack of judgment. In displaying the name of a previous sponsor, she was lacking the proper amount of respect and thankfulness for the current sponsor. What a scandal!

So it wouldn't have been surprising if she hadn't participated wholeheartedly in the morning's stamping volunteer morale-boosting exercise. As we gathered in the center for last-minute stamping instructions before the athletes started arriving, I couldn't help but joke to my stamping teammate that the meeting seemed a bit like a pep rally.

Then as we turned our backs and were walking back to our stations, the crowd of volunteers erupted into a loud and synchronized cheer - "Registration, registration, registraton!"

Even within the ranks of volunteers, the dark side of humanity cannot always be suppressed.

Reporter Heidi Gaiser may be reached at 758-4431 or by e-mail at hgaiser@dailyinterlake.com.