Unique Rewards of Volunteering
Vancouver, B.C – David Eng volunteers at a dozen community and sporting events each year. To do this, he often wakes up early, works in the cold (and sometimes rain), takes on important responsibilities, and often fields angry comments from pedestrians who are reluctant to make way for the athletes. Regardless, David is undeterred. Volunteering is satisfying and uniquely rewarding.
Urban runs, marathons and cycling races would not be possible without the efforts of volunteers, who register participants, monitor results, ensure safety, and more.
It was at the Great Trek half marathon in October that David helped to avert a potential disaster. “I was an advance lead cyclist meaning I ride ahead of the lead runner surveying and ensuring the path is clear. I recognized that the traffic cones were not in place where a few thousand runners should switch sides. The road closure was only half, so traffic would be coming. The first runner was only a few minutes behind me. I asked the marshalling volunteers to help set up cones and it was done just in time.”
Left-right: David, Carol, Karen, and Helen
In addition to contributing to his community, David enjoys spending time with other volunteers and his friends. He frequently enlists Carol Song to join him at events and, this autumn, he recruited two more friends, Helen Lee and Karen Lee. He treated them to lunch with his Sutton Spirit prize.
“It’s easier when you volunteer with your friends,” David says. “Getting up early isn’t such a big deal when you know you’ll have fun. If people on the sidelines are cursing, as a team, we sort of deflect the bad words that are thrown at us,” he says with a laugh.
On Thanksgiving Day, David, Carol, and Helen were advance lead cyclists in the Granville Island Turkey Trot. Everything ran smoothly, and at the end, one of the sponsors, Rackets & Runners, had a contest to hit a pickle ball into a basket.
“Little did they know that back in February, Helen had got me into pickleball, so we had been playing for the last eight months. So of course, it was easy for us to hit the pickleball into the basket and win a small prize. It was a moment of spontaneous fun.”
To connect with David, please visit www.DavidEngHomes.com.
Sutton is a 100% Canadian-owned and operated company with more than 6,500 REALTORS® in over 200 offices nationwide. To find out more about Sutton, visit www.sutton.com. To learn more about Sutton Spirit, visit www.suttonspirit.com.
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Sutton Group – West Coast Realty Inc.:
David Eng
604-561-2885
david.eng.realtor@gmail.com
Sutton Group Realty Services Ltd.:
Maria Castro
604-691-1689
stories@suttonspirit.com