Giving back Dogwood Festival Director Carrie
King has a saying. “We throw the biggest
party in town,” she said. “But we don’t do what we do without the
volunteers.” More than 200 of them, to be exact.
The festival’s board of directors leads the way, working year-round all the way through the actual weekend of the festival. Local students and teen youth groups volunteer in order to fulfill community service hours. Families volunteer. Friends volunteer together. Even entire companies volunteer.
Debbie Godwin has volunteered
the past three years, following in the footsteps of her mother, a former board member. She says it’s a great way to get to know your neighbors. “I just love it,” Godwin said. “The Dogwood Festival is something people enjoy and look forward to each year.” Admittedly, some volunteer duties
are not exactly glamorous. Tasks range from helping direct festival goers to unloading the ice truck to working back stage. Over the last four years, Gail Pittman has passed out flyers, kept an eye on the stage, and manned the information table. “I enjoy the arts. This is my way of helping out,” she said.
Pittman initially volunteered with
her son Jay as a way to beef up his college application. She said she has stayed involved because she enjoys it so much. Carla Supples is serving her second
term on the Dogwood Festival’s board of directors. This year she is serving as treasurer and volunteer co-coordinator. “Volunteering is a wonderful
way to get a feel of Fayetteville as a community,” Supples says. “One never knows who they will get to meet and work with. It is a way to give back to our community and have fun at the same time.”
- Mike Ryan
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