When Heather Spicer began volunteering in 1998 with Operation Red Nose, the Christmas designated driver service, she had to rely on little more than her own memory to keep track of hundreds of new volunteers.
"I had every one of (their names) and all their phone numbers memorized. There was 208," she said.
Today, most people in a similar role would be lost without their cell phones. But Spicer even managed to memorize the birthdays of each of the volunteers, in order to later send them a birthday card.
Spicer is the longest serving volunteer with Operation Red Nose, which is entering its 20th season this year. The volunteer-run service, organized by the Rotary Club of Prince George - Nechako, in partnership with the Prince George RCMP and ICBC, offers a safe alternative to drinking and driving for individuals, providing pick-up and drop-off service for them and their vehicles during the busy, party-filled holiday season. Organizers say that they will ultimately need to recruit 350 volunteers in total to fill the demand for the service.
Volunteers are dispatched in teams of three, composed of a designated driver, who drives partygoers home in their vehicle, a navigator and an escort driver, who follows along and picks up the navigator and the designated driver after the individuals and their vehicle are safely at home.
All of the donations from passengers stay in Prince George and are used to fund local youth and amateur sports organizations.
Spicer has served almost every role within the organization and currently works in dispatch. For many years, she served on one of the driving teams.
"When we first started, it was mostly women that were driving and navigating and stuff. They'd go and drop the client off, they'd get a donation and they'd get a bouquet of flowers," she said.
Sadly, far too few patrons of the free ride service offer flowers to volunteers today.
"They don't do that anymore!" Spicer said with a laugh.
Spicer has no shortage of stories as a 20-year veteran. She recalls being excited one evening when she was dispatched to pick up the owner of a Jaguar.
"I was supposed to be the navigator and the driver said 'Oh good! I've always wanted to drive one of those expensive cars,'" she said.
"We got down to the car and he just said 'you drive it!' The front seat was held in with bolts. The door didn't close. It was pretty well banged up and it wasn't a new one. It wasn't an expensive one."
Spicer began volunteering with Red Nose after having worked with Prince George Search and Rescue. She had seen too many auto accidents and felt strongly about preventing drinking and driving.
"We all have a final goal that we would like to achieve. That would be to go a whole Christmas season without anybody drinking and driving," she said.
But Spicer said that she has stayed involved in the organization because "every night is fun."
"You never know what's going to happen. Every year, I have found something to giggle about for months afterwards," she said.
Karen Toombs, Operation Red Nose chair, took over the coordination of volunteers from several years ago. She said that Spicer's experience has made her a vital part of the team.
"It gives them the insight into the locale, knowing all the roads, communities and stuff. She has the lay of the land, basically," Toombs said.
Each December, the service gives about 1,000 safe rides home over nine nights of operation.
Toombs said that she still has over 100 volunteer spots to fill before tackling the New Year's rush.
"New Year's Eve is our busiest time of year. We actually need between 35-40 teams out on the road. We can have a call volume where we're backed up at some point where we have 15-20 rides that are just sitting in the queue waiting for the next available team," she said.
Volunteer shifts typically run from 7 p.m. to 3 a.m. throughout December, with rides starting at
9 p.m. Individuals looking for a safe ride home can call 250-962-7433 between these hours tonight and Saturday night, as well as Dec. 8-9, Dec. 15-16, Dec. 29-30 and New Year's Eve.
Individuals hoping to volunteer with Operation Red Nose can sign up online at ornpg.ca .
