Wednesday, June 23, 2021
Meet the ‘Professional’ Volunteer Who Made Olympic Trials His Latest Stop
Ernie Peterson is rarely a stranger in a new city for very long.
For him–someone who has been volunteering at sporting events throughout the world for almost 20 years–when he lands somewhere he hasn’t been before, it doesn’t take long to strike up conversations.
By the time he leaves, he has created many new memories and usually a few new friends–as has been the case this week volunteering in the media area for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Swimming in Omaha.
“Meeting people from all over is the reason why I volunteer,” said Peterson, who hails from DeLand, a small community north of Orlando, Fla. “All it takes is a conversation and you realize we’re all the same. We just live in different cities and sometimes different countries.”
While Omaha was his latest volunteer stop, Peterson said his first foray into volunteering began during the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.
He fell in love with the Olympics as a youngster while watching the track and field events on TV during the 1968 Mexico City Games.
So when he realized the Olympics may never be closer to him than when they were in Atlanta in 1996, he decided to make the trip north and west.
He drove up from Florida to attend a few events, sleeping in his car to cut down on his expenses, and saw two people on the bus headed to the swimming venue that intrigued him.
“I saw they were wearing Olympic volunteer shirts, and I asked them how someone becomes a volunteer,” he said. “They told me where to apply on the internet, so I did.”
It was six years later when Peterson scored his first Olympic opportunity, helping out with the snowboarding events at the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City.
Of course, several months before the start of those Olympics the 9-11 attacks on New York City and the Pentagon happened and security became stricter than ever.
“I had made it through the selection process before 9-11, but when that happened, we had to undergo a much stricter security process to get clearance to participate,” he said. “I made it through and worked the opening ceremonies before being assigned to snowboarding.”
He’s been hooked on volunteering ever since. Following Salt Lake City, he volunteered for the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino (Italy), the 2010 Vancouver (Canada) Games, the Sochi (Russia) Olympics in 2014 and most recently–and his first Summer Games–Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) in 2016.
He had hoped to make this first trip to Japan for the Tokyo Olympics this summer but COVID protocols have prohibited international volunteers from participating.
Even though he won’t get to work his fifth Games, he said his Olympic Trials experience this week in Omaha has more than made up for it. He also volunteered for Trials in Omaha in 2016.
“Omaha is such a genuine city with very genuine people,” said Peterson, who is now retired after 35 years as a property appraiser for his county but used his vacation to volunteer in the past. “Everyone makes you feel so welcome.
“When (Bonnie Ryan, Assistant AD at University of Nebraska Omaha, who helped with the volunteer search) asked me if I’d like to come up again for Trials, I jumped at the chance. Plus, I love the sport, so it’s exciting to be here and watch history unfold.”
In addition to multiple Olympics and Olympic Trials, Peterson said he has volunteered at two Super Bowls, 12 NCAA basketball tournaments (usually running the game clock) and the 2019 World Cup in Sweden – and spends his Friday nights in the fall working the chain gang (moving the down markers) at his local high school football games.
He’s created such strong relationships during his many travels through the years that the couple he stayed with during the Rio Olympics (his local Rotary club members connected them) invited him and his wife back six months later for their daughter’s wedding.
During one of his free afternoons during the Sochi Olympics (despite being told by the U.S. State Department not to leave the Olympic Village except on official Olympic business), Peterson decided to go to a nearby mall to look around.
“I was quickly greeted by two guys from the state department who told me to get back to the bubble for my own safety,” he said. “That was scary.”
Despite that harrowing experience, Peterson said his time in Sochi was fantastic. He had to change buses three times and travel more than an hour to get from the Olympic Village in the valley to the mountain where he worked media for the snowboarding and skiing events.
“I shared a small room in the Olympic Village with three other volunteers,” he said. “They were Russian but spoke English, and we struck up some great conversations.
“One of the guys has visited me in Florida, and I have gone back to visit him. It really showed me that we are all the same no matter the differences our governments and countries might have. Sports have that impact.”
For him–someone who has been volunteering at sporting events throughout the world for almost 20 years–when he lands somewhere he hasn’t been before, it doesn’t take long to strike up conversations.
By the time he leaves, he has created many new memories and usually a few new friends–as has been the case this week volunteering in the media area for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Swimming in Omaha.
“Meeting people from all over is the reason why I volunteer,” said Peterson, who hails from DeLand, a small community north of Orlando, Fla. “All it takes is a conversation and you realize we’re all the same. We just live in different cities and sometimes different countries.”
While Omaha was his latest volunteer stop, Peterson said his first foray into volunteering began during the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.
He fell in love with the Olympics as a youngster while watching the track and field events on TV during the 1968 Mexico City Games.
So when he realized the Olympics may never be closer to him than when they were in Atlanta in 1996, he decided to make the trip north and west.
He drove up from Florida to attend a few events, sleeping in his car to cut down on his expenses, and saw two people on the bus headed to the swimming venue that intrigued him.
“I saw they were wearing Olympic volunteer shirts, and I asked them how someone becomes a volunteer,” he said. “They told me where to apply on the internet, so I did.”
It was six years later when Peterson scored his first Olympic opportunity, helping out with the snowboarding events at the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City.
Of course, several months before the start of those Olympics the 9-11 attacks on New York City and the Pentagon happened and security became stricter than ever.
“I had made it through the selection process before 9-11, but when that happened, we had to undergo a much stricter security process to get clearance to participate,” he said. “I made it through and worked the opening ceremonies before being assigned to snowboarding.”
He’s been hooked on volunteering ever since. Following Salt Lake City, he volunteered for the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino (Italy), the 2010 Vancouver (Canada) Games, the Sochi (Russia) Olympics in 2014 and most recently–and his first Summer Games–Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) in 2016.
He had hoped to make this first trip to Japan for the Tokyo Olympics this summer but COVID protocols have prohibited international volunteers from participating.
Even though he won’t get to work his fifth Games, he said his Olympic Trials experience this week in Omaha has more than made up for it. He also volunteered for Trials in Omaha in 2016.
“Omaha is such a genuine city with very genuine people,” said Peterson, who is now retired after 35 years as a property appraiser for his county but used his vacation to volunteer in the past. “Everyone makes you feel so welcome.
“When (Bonnie Ryan, Assistant AD at University of Nebraska Omaha, who helped with the volunteer search) asked me if I’d like to come up again for Trials, I jumped at the chance. Plus, I love the sport, so it’s exciting to be here and watch history unfold.”
In addition to multiple Olympics and Olympic Trials, Peterson said he has volunteered at two Super Bowls, 12 NCAA basketball tournaments (usually running the game clock) and the 2019 World Cup in Sweden – and spends his Friday nights in the fall working the chain gang (moving the down markers) at his local high school football games.
He’s created such strong relationships during his many travels through the years that the couple he stayed with during the Rio Olympics (his local Rotary club members connected them) invited him and his wife back six months later for their daughter’s wedding.
During one of his free afternoons during the Sochi Olympics (despite being told by the U.S. State Department not to leave the Olympic Village except on official Olympic business), Peterson decided to go to a nearby mall to look around.
“I was quickly greeted by two guys from the state department who told me to get back to the bubble for my own safety,” he said. “That was scary.”
Despite that harrowing experience, Peterson said his time in Sochi was fantastic. He had to change buses three times and travel more than an hour to get from the Olympic Village in the valley to the mountain where he worked media for the snowboarding and skiing events.
“I shared a small room in the Olympic Village with three other volunteers,” he said. “They were Russian but spoke English, and we struck up some great conversations.
“One of the guys has visited me in Florida, and I have gone back to visit him. It really showed me that we are all the same no matter the differences our governments and countries might have. Sports have that impact.”