Cory Donnelly gets set for the next ringette game at the Coliseum. 250 News photo

Prince George, B.C. – Two things are certain at this early point in the sporting and cultural event known as the 2015 Canada Winter Games: the two-hour opening ceremony Friday night was a spectacular show rivaling, perhaps, a little Cirque display that rolled through town at the beginning of the year.

The other certain and readily apparent thing is that there are extremely polite and helpful people in green Games volunteer jackets wherever you turn, no matter which venue one is attending, doing a very commendable job.

Cory Donnelly is one of the four thousand or so people who put their name forward to try to help make the games successful. The grade 11 College Heights Secondary student says “I am an usher at the Coliseum for the ringette games and I’m just helping with the spectators and what they may want to know. I know the venue pretty well.” She adds, “I’ve been practicing my French because we have two languages here, which is different.”

Cory says she is working the first week of the games, until next Friday, putting in six hours a day. Asked how she got the idea to volunteer she says “I saw a sign and I actually really like volunteering, so I was really excited that we were having it here this year. I wanted to be involved in some way so I decided to volunteer. It’s like a once in a lifetime experience so that’s pretty exciting, and I like seeing all the different provinces and territories here participating. You get to see what the country has to offer.”

Cory says once her volunteer job is done she’s going to take in the games and cultural events. “I’m going to see the women’s gold medal (hockey) game and I personally know two speed skaters, so I might go and see some of their events. I didn’t get to attend the Opening Ceremonies but I’d like to attend the Closing Ceremonies.” After listening to her interviewer’s rave review of the opening show, she figured seeing the closing would be “awesome.”

We asked this articulate volunteer for her opinion on what holding the games might mean to her city. “I think it’s huge to have it come here because Prince George, for being B.C.’s central city, is not widely known I find. So I think it brings interest here and it may open us up to new ideas so that we can improve our city. As well it brings people from other provinces to B.C. so they can learn about B.C. as well as Prince George.”