NE US: track event volunteers, "open house" at track events

[Brett Dikeman]

At 1:21 PM -0400 4/14/03, Douglas Frank wrote:
>Not to flame anyone or divert this thread, but in my experience the
>track employees at Lime Rock do not treat flaggers particularly well,
>which is one reason I quit flagging.  When I was an SCCA member, other
>flaggers I knew who worked club races at the Glen (I never flagged
>there) reported that the Nascar folks who run the place these days tend
>to treat club workers rather rudely also.

 From what I've seen of the Watkins Glen team in action, 'Uncle Bill'
Terry, who runs F&C when we're there, treats his staff with what can
only be described as complete respect, right down what are normally
blunt radio communications; everything's please-and-thank-you.

At NHIS, one of the SCCA flaggers the region hired last year was well
acquainted with several office staff, and both sides greeted each
other like only old friends would.

When working with both tracks(I haven't worked with Lime Rock yet),
I've always found them polite and helpful.

To sum it up, sounds like some folks just have personality clashes- it happens.

>Basically at either track, if you're a corner worker, you're dog sh*t.
>But heck that's true of the SCCA in general.  FWIW.

  Far as I know the club has good working relations with all the
tracks it attends, but mostly you'd be working with the club, not the
track...and speaking personally as someone who has thrown a lot of
time into the club in the last year or so, the people who make the
NEQ tick are like an extended family- everybody takes care of each
other.

There are lots of ways to help out in the club- there's always a need
for people for tech inspection, guiding lost souls, running
exercises, you name it.  If you're taking the day off or we're doing
a weekend event, I can think of a lot worse places to be than hanging
out at a track with us :-).  You're up early, you work your butt off
most of the day, it can be hot, it can be rainy...but at the same
time, at the end of the day, seeing the ear-to-ear grins on student's
faces, hanging out with your fellow workers on someone's porch
recounting the day, events past, and just generally screwin' around
talkin' about cars or otherwise...makes it all worthwhile.

Brett
--
----
"They that give up essential liberty to obtain temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - Ben Franklin
http://www.users.cloud9.net/~brett/