United States Eventing Association

USEA Volunteer Committee Recaps 2021 and Shares What is to Come in 2022

This video was originally aired during the VIP Open Forum on Friday, Dec. 10 at the 2021 USEA Annual Meeting & Convention in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

The USEA Volunteer Committee Chair, Bonnie Kibbie highlights the work of the Volunteer Committee and the success of the Volunteer Incentive Program (VIP) in 2021. Updates include EventingVolunteers.com progress updates and usage statistics, volunteer educational video projects, volunteer rewards programs, and organizer practices/care of volunteers.

Fun facts:

• The Inaugural Maryland 5 Star utilized Eventingvolunteers.com to coordinate the efforts of over 630 volunteers at the first-ever five-star competition at Fair Hill in Elkton, Maryland.
• The Volunteer Medal Program began tracking volunteer hours from 2017 to present day and in 2021 two volunteers were awarded Silver Medal status and 12 were awarded Bronze Medal status. Read more about this program and the awards given in 2021 here.
• Funding was allocated for a new program which is still in the works, the Volunteer Achievement Program. Kibbie shares more details about this program in her presentation below.

About the USEA Volunteer Incentive Program

Volunteers are the lifeblood of our sport, the unsung heroes, and the people who make it possible to keep the sport alive. In efforts to recognize the dedication, commitment, and hard work that volunteers put into eventing, USEA formed the Volunteer Incentive Program (VIP) in 2015. In 2017, an online management portal was designed for volunteers, organizers, and volunteer coordinators at EventingVolunteers.com (available as an app for iOS and Android).

Volunteer incentives include national and area recognition, year-end awards with ribbons, cash prizes, and trophies, a top ten USEA Volunteer leaderboard, and a Volunteer of the Year award which is given to the volunteer who tops the leaderboard by accumulating the most volunteer hours over the USEA competition year. Click here to learn more about the USEA Volunteer Incentive Program.