Volunteers paid back with compliments

By JULIE CLAY
Staff Writer

They don't get paid to shuttle visitors to events at the Brass Band Festival, but one visitor last year was so grateful for the ride to her car she ``kept wanting to kiss me,'' said Northpoint Training Center volunteer Alan Long.

Long and about 20 other volunteers from the medium security prison offer their expertise with security and the handicapped shuttles to festival-goers.

The volunteers belong to the Lake Herrington chapter of the Kentucky Council on Crime and Delinquency, Inc. and have helped out the festival since it began.

Last year, the lots for handicapped parking were moved to Walnut and Maple, so organizers arranged for several four-person carts to help take people where they wanted to go.

The volunteers kept the airport-style shuttles humming all over the festival last year - working all Saturday and Sunday to drive elderly visitors and others to the festival and back to their cars.

``By mid-afternoon on Saturday last year, we started transporting anyone who needed it, not just those who were handicapped,'' said volunteer Tim Settles. ``They really appreciate the service.''

Northpoint spokesman Joe Rion said volunteering for the festival is now an annual tradition with the Northpoint employees.

Long agreed.

``I wouldn't miss it for anything,'' Long said. ``It's the way I wish things were all the time. It's so hot, but no one is losing their temper. Everyone is using their manners and they are all in good spirits.''

The volunteers said they hadn't had any major problems with security since they've helped at the festival, but recent violent events across the country have heightened their awareness of what to look for, Rion said.

``The worst trouble we've had was a couple of teen-agers trying to turn over an elderly gentleman in a port-a-potty,'' Long said.

Helping stranded motorists and lost children are also part of the job.

``Last year, a whole busload of seniors from Ohio lost their bus driver for an hour,'' Settles said. ``We found him at the corner of the stage, listening to the music and eating chips. He didn't realize we were in a different time zone.''

The volunteers also provide security for the hospitality room, where band members go to prepare or rest for the next show.

But the new shuttle service was quite a hit with both volunteers and those who were served by them.

``People are so impressed with Danville - your head is this big by the end of the day,'' Settles said, stretching his hands wide. ``They want you to come and visit them in their city. This year, I may get a notebook and put names and addresses of our visitors.''