Janet Flynt
Spring 2018
Two large MOSE events occurred during the semester that I interned. The first was the Tour de Houston bicycle ride which had approximately 2,500 riders. It was held on Sunday, March 18 beginning at 7:30 a.m. Riders could choose to ride 20, 40 or 60 mile routes though the city. The ride began and ended at City Hall in downtown Houston. After the ride the bicyclists enjoyed food and drinks provided by the sponsors in the plaza surrounding City Hall.
This was a very fun event to work. The riders seem to have a great time and were very proud when they finished the ride. They enjoyed grabbing a cold beer and some food as they parked their bikes and the weather was perfect for sitting in the grass around the reflection pool. The large ad towers and start/finish line banner provided a good backdrop for photos. Because the riders finished the race over a span of several hours, it wasn’t too crowded on the plaza at any one time. It was also the type of event you could do with a group or as a solo rider. Tour de Houston is a recommended training ride for the BP MS 150 bicycle ride from Houston to Austin, so a lot of riders were there to get ready for this ride coming up in April.
The duties that I did for Tour de Houston included working at packet pick-up on Friday and Saturday before the race. The packets consisted of a ride “bib”, safety pins and a ride map. I also worked at packet pick-up on race day. After the riders left, I helped the sponsors set up their booths. For the remainder of the time I did a variety of duties. I sold t-shirts, helped ice down drinks and worked at the lost and found booth. Toward the end of my shift I unloaded and hauled coolers to storage, picked up trash and helped break down tents and tables.
Tour de Houston Presented by Apache Corporation was a great event to participate in. I was absolutely exhausted at the end of the event, but I was so proud to be a part of such an amazing production!
The second event that I worked on during my internship was Family Day in the Park. This event was held on Saturday, April 14th at Sylvester Turner Park in Houston. The purpose of the Family Day event is to provide a fun, free, family-oriented event for the citizens of Houston. The event was held from 2 pm to 6 pm and featured 3 stages of entertainment, games, train rides, face painting, moonwalks and food and drinks.
I did a variety of things at Family Day in the Park. I helped the volunteers check in as they received their assignments, loaded sodas into coolers, taped table clothes to tables, and monitored the game area to ensure that there were enough volunteers to assist the children as they participated in the various games and activities. Finally, I helped control lines at one of the face painting areas.
This event was a success even though the weather threatened to curtail the participant's enjoyment. The day ended up being very sunny, but it was a good reminder that event planners have to be prepared for all sorts of weather contingencies. The people who came to the park to participate in the festivities seemed to really enjoy themselves and appreciated that they didn't have to pay for the food or drinks or entertainment. I think that they would have liked the event to go on past the ending time which is a sign that your event was a great success!
These were both great events and I am so pleased and proud that I was able to be a part of them!