What is it like to Crew?

So, this past weekend I crewed at the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. The Avon Walk for Breast Cancer is a 39.3 2-day walk to raise awareness and funds for research for Breast Cancer. My sister walked the year my mom died in a 3 day 60 mile walk, that eventually became this walk. My sister walked for about 5 years. My dad decided to walk with her in 2005 and I decided to crew. I do not believe that I could walk that many miles without hurting myself. The first year that I crewed, I was on the Information Services team. This was not enough for me. Basically this team gives out information, I was bored. The next year I was on the Traffic and Security Team. I felt cool. I got a walkie talkie and we controlled all the traffic in and out of camp. Maybe I should back up and explain some more about the walk. The walk officially begins Friday night at Event Eve. This is where we check in, turn in money and the crew meets for final instructions. The next morning there is Opening Ceremonies (which I got to see for the first time this year). They stretch with the walkers and have some speakers. Then the walk begins. The walkers walk 26.2 miles on the first day. Then they get to camp, Wellness Village. Wellness Village is a city. There are tents for sleeping, sponsors tents (shopping and whatnot), food, medical services, showers, entertainment and fellowship. Visitors are allowed until a certain time. Then it is lights out and everyone (or most everyone) sleeps in tents. They wake the next morning, shower, eat a yummy breakfast and continue on the walk for another 13.1 miles. Then they arrive at Closing Ceremonies, more speakers and crying.

Back to what I was saying, after Traffic and Security, I was excited to crew again. I loved that team and would have happily returned. BUT, I was asked to be a Team Leader. What is a team leader you may ask? A team leader is in charge of a crew team. We have to attend extra meetings throughout the year and we are the go to person. So, now I was in charge of Quick Stop D, a stop on the route! WAIT! I have never been on the route before! And now I am in charge! You must be crazy, Kelley! We made it through, I learned what to do and asked a lot of questions. My team also volunteered to work at the Download Lot on Day 2, since our stop was so far into the walk that we were not needed on the secon

d day. I will get back to Download Lot later.

So, let me explain to you my past weekend's experiences. So you can get an idea of what it is like to crew and to be a crew team leader.

The work really never stops. After last year's event, we had a final team leader meeting, a debrief. A few months after that monthly team leader meetings begin for this event.

Friday, I had to be at Event Eve early, because I have to check in before the 4pm Team Leader meeting. So we arrived in Santa Barbara about noon. We checked in to hotel and explored the area for a bit. I got to the Event Eve location about 330, checked in and rushed off to the Team Leader, not before I picked up my Event cell phone and walkie talkie and tshirts. Then we had our Team Leader meeting at 4pm, an all Crew meetin

g at 5pm and individual team meetings at 6pm. We finished up about 7pm. Then we rushed off to dinner and to bed! We had to leave the hotel at 530am!

Saturday, I arrived at Opening Ceremonies, grabbed some breakfast, and met up with my team. We got to stay and watch Opening Ceremonies for a bit and then we had to walk to the Upload Lot to pick up our event car and Cargo Van. We drove to our stop and set up. We had to set up 2 pop up tents, 6 tables, several chairs and our decorations. We had to wait for the water and ice to be delivered and then we set up our gatorade and water for the walkers. Once the walkers began arriving at our stop (around 1130am) we were helping them until 3pm. Then we had to clean up our spot, make sure there was not trash left behind and we were out of stop by 330pm. We drove to Wellness Village and checked in. There we w

ere given a job until 6pm. We had dinner then and set up our tents to sleep in. I had a Team Leader meeting at 8pm. After that I went to bed. I was exhausted!

Sunday, we had to be up and ready to go by 7am. So, I got up early, showered in a truck, took down my tent and my dad's and ate breakfast. We were then assigned to cheer for walkers as they were leaving camp. After that, we helped take down the tables and chairs in the dining tent, picked up our lunches and were off to the Download Lot. We volunteered to work there for the 3rd year. The Download Lot is just that, a lot. All the event vehicles return to this lot to unload all the event supplies. This includes but is not limited to: trash, water, snacks, gatorade and water coolers, ice chests, tables, chairs, signage, bins of supplies (toilet paper, gloves, counter clickers, ice scoops, etc), and the vehicle itself. We were in charge of facilitating this. We told the people were to park, where to put their stuff and we helpe

d to clean the stuff and organize it. We worked here for several hours without taking a break. Finally, it was time to go. Most people could take a shuttle to Closing Ceremonies but we decided it would be better to drive our own car, so we had to walk to our car and then drive to Closing Ceremonies.

Why would someone chose to Crew?

Crewing is rewarding, we are the backbone of the event. Of course, the event could not take place without walkers, but it could not take place without crew members either. We work hard to support the walkers in any way that they need it. There are a lot of crew teams: Medical, Traffic, Security, Rest Stops, Quick Stops, Bus Liasons, Youth Crew, Moto Safety, Signage Teams, Water and Ice Teams, Bike Teams, Pack up, Set up, L

unch, Sweep, just to name a few. I crew because I am not in shape to walk. I crew in memory and honor of my mom. I crew so my nieces do not have to go through the loss that I have had to deal with.

I hope that this has been informational for you. If you are interested, you can sign up now to Crew next year in Santa Barbara at www.avonwalk.org

My Team with Dave, the Download Lot Master and Amazing Forklift Driver/Dancer!