First Senior Games Volunteer Honored

Games need 3,999 more to help

Being the first official volunteer for the 2007 Senior Games is an honor to Melvin Greer.

As soon as Melvin heard about the 2007 Summer National Senior Games — the Senior Olympics presented by Humana — he called to see how he could help. Melvin's wife, Joan Reihm, is the deputy mayor of Louisville, and she steered Melvin toward the Senior Games. Joan knew the event would be a worthwhile endeavor.

Melvin has been coming to the Senior Games office every Thursday since March. He helps with anything the Senior Games staff throws at him, whether it's putting stickers on brochures, answering the phones, or collating information to be distributed to the community.

In his former life, Melvin was a professor of philosophy at the University of Louisville for 32 years. He has an undergraduate degree in history and a Ph.D. in philosophy. Melvin came to Louisville for a teaching gig and has never looked back. After he retired, Melvin began to serve the community through volunteerism. He has helped seniors learn about computers, assisted with a senior newsletter and helped seniors during income tax season. Melvin prefers volunteer opportunities where he can be useful and helpful to others. He says, “It is important to have something beyond your immediate, personal needs, and make a contribution to someone else's needs.”

Preparing for the Senior Olympics provides a great avenue for Melvin's desire to help others. And during the actual event, Melvin plans to help in any way that is needed. The Senior Games will need 4,000 volunteers to help the event run smoothly. With some 817 events taking place over two weeks, the opportunities are endless. Melvin hopes to help with Volunteer Check-In, or serve as an Information Booth volunteer so he can help athletes easily navigate through the event.

Melvin says he admires the people who are competing in the games, and he likes watching activities that people learn early in life and can continue to perform over a lifetime. The 2007 Senior Games is filled with wonderful examples of dedicated “older” people who have done exactly that, plus the ones who have learned a new athletic skill later in life.

The Senior Olympics will draw some 12,000 athletes, 15,000-20,000 spectators and 4,000 volunteers. It will be a compassionate community of friends, family, athletes, volunteers — all of whom will gather to witness athletic competition at its finest.

For more information about the 2007 National Senior Games, or to register to volunteer online, visit www.2007seniorgames.com and click on “Volunteers.”