With more than 8,000 volunteers needed for this year’s Super Bowl at Ford Field in Detroit, Oxford residents Mary Reynolds and Christine Borg decided to pitch in and be part of the crowd.
Reynolds, 43, got the idea to volunteer a year ago after her sister-in-law said she was going to volunteer at the Super Bowl. ‘I thought that it sounded like something I’d like to do,? she said.
Reynolds then talked her friend, Borg, 37, into volunteering as a Hotel Ambassador during the weekend of the game.
‘Basically, we’re going to be representatives of the Super Bowl,? Reynolds said. ‘And answering questions for the visitors that come to Detroit.?
The women will be stationed in the lobby at a hotel in Pontiac, giving visitors tips on the best places to eat, sights to see and things to do.
There are 50 different hotels in the Detroit-Metro area at which ambassadors will be stationed.
In order to become a Hotel Ambassador, Reynolds and Borg had to attend two training sessions.
They even received uniforms with the official Super Bowl XL logo on it.
‘We all got i.d.’s with our name and we all had to have background checks,? Reynolds said.
In order to be a volunteer, Reynolds and Borg had to agree to two four-hour shifts. They will be working side by side the day of and the day before the big game.
But, according to Borg, being a Hotel Ambassador isn’t for everyone.
‘You gotta talk to people and want to be interested in that stuff too,? she said.
Although this is the first time Borg, a substitute teacher for Oxford and Brandon schools, has ever volunteered at an event, Reynolds is no stranger to lending her free time out.
She volunteers in the library at St. Joseph’s Catholic School in Lake Orion, at church and for Oxford/Orion FISH.
Reynolds even volunteered at the U.S. Women’s Open in 2004.
‘I try to volunteer in the community,? she said. ‘I think it’s very important for children to volunteer (too).?
Borg said she’s very interested in seeing how many visitors they’ll get in Pontiac who are attending the game but unfortunately, her and Reynolds will not get to set a foot inside Ford Field.
‘They said that right from the start,? Reynolds said. ‘No one gets into the Super Bowl.?
So the women may have to watch the game at home, but at least they’ll be making visitors feel like they’re at home.
‘You just have to welcome people to Detroit and be your bubbly-self,? Reynolds said. ‘Hopefully, (we’ll) make people feel welcome in Detroit.?