TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Super Bowl Volunteers Pick Up Their Gear

Tribune photo by JAY CONNER

Linda and Bob Phillips of Tampa were among the volunteers gearing up today in Tampa.

ADVERTISEMENT

By KEITH MORELLI | The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 15, 2009

TAMPA - Linda and Bob Phillips are no strangers to volunteer work. They volunteered to help out the last time the Super Bowl visited Tampa in 2001. And they were in line this morning to pick up their uniforms for this year's event.

Both will be stationed in the NFL Experience, the interactive zone on the south side of Raymond James Stadium over the days prior to the NFL championship game on Feb. 1.

Bob Phillips, 66, tells several stories about his experiences the last time in just a few minutes and bubbles over with enthusiasm about this year's work.

"We had a lot of fun," he said, recalling his stint eight years ago.

His 67-year-old wife was more reserved.

"We did it in 2001," she said. "We enjoyed it very much."

In all, the league needed about 6,400 volunteers, each outfitted with polo shirts and windbreakers and hats, said Jennifer St. John of Tampa, who is the director of volunteer services. She held the same post here in 2001.

Volunteers mostly come from Tampa, but some come from as far away as South Florida, she said.
"It's a lot bigger this time," she said.

Recruitment for volunteers began in April and because of the response, enough had signed up by September, she said. Since then, people have been turned away.

About half the volunteers will run the NFL Experience, overseeing the games and other interactive activities, along with the autograph lines. Some will be placed in local airports to greet arriving flights and help people get to where they want to go. Others will be stationed in local hotel lobbies to assist tourists.

Tampa Bay Super Bowl Host Committee spokeswoman Amanda Holt said that over the next three days, the committee will hand out about 3,000 uniforms and handbooks to volunteers. The rest will be distributed beginning next week.

Reporter Keith Morelli can be reached at kmorelli@tampatrib.com or (813) 259-7760.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT