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About JeniferHometown: Wetumpka, Ala. |
Q&A with Jenifer Glover
This longtime Wheelin' Sportsmen coordinator has "amped up" volunteer power for the program in Alabama. Her efforts made some shocking changes in her personal life too.
NWTF: How long have you been involved in the Wheelin' Sportsmen program?
Jenifer Glover: I first volunteered for a catfish roundup, then an Ultimate Team Up hunt, before Wheelin' Sportsmen became an outreach program of the NWTF. Those first events hooked me, and I've been involved ever since.
NWTF: The Elmore County Chapter won the Wheelin' Sportsmen NWTF's Best Fishing Event Award at the 2010 NWTF Convention and Sport Show. What made that event a success?
JG: Our volunteers. They work hard to get sponsorships and make sure we have all the supplies we need. Most of all, they make sure all the participants are enjoying themselves at the event. The volunteers make the event.
NWTF: It's not always easy to host Wheelin' Sportsmen events. How do you still end up with great volunteers?
JG: Some of our volunteers have been involved for six or seven years. If a volunteer doesn't return, it's usually because they can't get out of a previous obligation.
Over the past five or six years, we've incorporated Boy Scouts in our volunteer base, as well as students from Auburn University at Montgomery. They get credit for helping us. In turn, we're touching more people and getting new volunteers every year.
NWTF: Why do you think it's important for people to experience a Wheelin' Sportsmen event for themselves?
JG: I'm big on volunteering … whether it's with the NWTF or another organization. The Wheelin' Sportsmen program is a great volunteer opportunity for anyone who loves the outdoors. You give just a little bit of your time, but it makes a big difference for somebody.
NWTF: What impact does this volunteer spirit have on the participants?
JG: Look at the pictures from our events and see the smiles on their faces. That says it all to me. Watching a participant walking around for 30 minutes showing everyone the 4-inch fish he caught, that's what it's all about. It shows you made a difference in that person.
I see a gentleman every Friday night at a football game, and the first words out of his mouth are, "When are we going fishing?" It makes you feel good that you're affecting someone's life in a good way.
NWTF: What have you personally gotten from volunteering with the Wheelin' Sportsmen program?
JG: If you told me 12 years ago that I would eventually own a gun, I would have said you were out of your mind. Growing up, my main outdoor activity was softball. Now we have four people in our family who hunt — two of my three children, my husband and me. If it were not for Wheelin' Sportsmen and the NWTF, my children probably would not be involved in hunting or other outdoor activities. It's been a great experience for my entire family.
—Melanie Swearingen