The Importance of Volunteers

By Dan Nitzel, NOHVA Business Manager

          An organization like NOHVA depends upon volunteers to run programs and events.  Our very survival depends upon reliable volunteers to run chapters, perform trail work and help with events.  If you have been thinking about committing some time to volunteering, we can use your help!  We invite you to become involved in helping to keep existing areas to ride ATVs and dirtbikes in Nebraska, develop new places to ride, promote responsible use and educate other riders.  Not only can you benefit the NOHVA organization and our chapters, but to also provide a great learning experience for your self! 

          We always need help with our existing projects.  Our upcoming Summer Jamboree this year will need up to 50 volunteers.  Trail work at the Nebraska National Forest near Halsey will involve about 50 to 100 people this year.  Dozens more volunteers will be needed for work at the Alliance track, Flat Rock Riders track near Sutherland, and the new OHV park near Deshler/Hebron. 

For our newer projects, we need “self starters” who are capable of initially beginning a project with little direction, and being able to understand the “big picture” or the overall view or perspective of an issue or problem. 

          Just how do people become involved in NOHVA?  They volunteer and exactly what they would like to do and explain what they can do for the organization.  Every year dozens of people volunteer to become involved by saying “just put me to work”.  Simply putting people to work is not always as easy as it sounds.  Most of all of our volunteer duties involve a bit of training or familiarization to the job they have asked to do.  Sometimes the jobs are much more complex than they may appear from the outside and sometimes we don’t have time to explain what the job may entail. 

Some of those involved in volunteering will be team members and some will be team leaders.  New projects require team leaders, while our existing projects usually have someone who is already serving as a team leader.   

          When does NOHVA need volunteers?  We usually place an article on our web site or in this publication.  Sometimes, such as at our jamborees we depend upon people showing up at the tent and volunteering.  While this may seem confusing to some, we try to get people to volunteer before the event so that we can try to have all of our positions covered.  However, people who volunteer prior to the event frequently don’t show up for one reason or another, and there is where our walk up volunteers really help.

          If you are willing to volunteer for a job, check some of the articles asking for volunteers in this and future newspapers, find the project contact and tell us that you are willing to help.  Contact Dan Nitzel via email at danno@nohva.com or call 308-381-2143 and leave a message or contact a chapter officer.