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May 7, 2007
Vol. 8 Issue 19
The GOOD, the Bad, and the...
For close to 20 years I’ve had the fortune, and yes, misfortune to come across a lot of people in my work with the many tourism and trail organizations in the Western UP. It’s a spectrum of people more colorful than a rainbow, and much more far-reaching.
When you’re in a volunteer-run organization, you get the chance to really see where people’s “heart” rests. Whether they are in it for financial gain, a requirement of a government position (elected and non-elected), or they are a part of the organization simply because of the LOVE for the area, the people, and/or the activity.
The GOOD people you find are those that are INVOLVED. Whether it be the Chamber, Mi-TRALE, snowmobile club, Rotary, Lions, Little League, hockey, senior citizen groups, church groups, and the list goes on and on. It’s amazing as to how few GOOD people do the volountary work of so many, and yet get so little recognition. You won’t hear these GOOD people grumping over a cup of coffee at the local diner; they are too busy trying to find ways of helping others. You won’t see these GOOD people coming up with the “I don’t have the time” excuse when volunteers are needed. You won’t see these GOOD people taking from others ... but GIVING to others.
I’ve been fortunate enough to be around some very GOOD people in the chamber, tourism association, snowmobile clubs, Lions, and Mi-TRALE. They are at the meetings and at the events. They are working behind the scenes. What they do benefits so many people, yet so many people take them for granted ... until they are gone.
Then I have had to tolerate those that do not get involved, those that reap the benefits of the GOOD people, while they sit back and do nothing. As hard as it may be for many to believe, I have seen firsthand how little some people do ... when the work being done by GOOD people actually BENEFITS those that are not so good.
Allow me to give some examples which I am quite familiar with. First one deals with what this column is all about ... the off-road motorsports community. In both Mi-TRALE and the snowmobile clubs, I have seen the work done by volunteers that have no direct benefit whether one ATV rider or snowmobiler ever visits this area, or one ATV or snowmobile is ever sold. What may be surprising to many is that many of these GOOD people DON’T EVEN RIDE an ATV or snowmobile! They do it to help our area.
Another example is with the many events I have been involved with. I saw how hard so many people worked in making the Copper Peak Snowmobile Hillclimb one of the biggest events in the Western U.P. Few of these people snowmobile ... they do it to showcase one of the Western U.P.’s biggest treasures ... Copper Peak. I saw how hard so many people worked at this year’s United States Snowmobile Association Pro Star Series Ice Oval and Sno-Cross Races ...Village of Ontonagon DPW, Hockey Association, Sandy Baker and her family, businesspeople, snowmobile club members, and my wife. Even though the weather was not cooperative, I saw it again for the MASTERS Circuit Drag Races.
I’ve seen the same dedication when it comes to the ongoing work that Mi-TRALE is doing. Special people ... GOOD people, doing so much, with so little. You’ll see it again this year as the club continues to put up signs on roads and trails. You’ll see it at an ATV/Truck XTreme Challenge.
Then I see how appreciative many people are of all the work. Whether they show appreciation through attendance or event participation, through membership, or through investing an hour or two in volunteering on a project or event.
However, I’ve also seen how some people simply want to reap the work of others, while doing little to nothing. I think we all know of people that sit back and do nothing. I call them the “bad” people.
Then we have those that steal, lie, and cheat, those who wait for just the right time to do dastardly things. I call them ... well, I’ll let you figure that one out.
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