(Aug. 31, 2017) “Volunteering keeps me going. I’ve had MS for 24 years and if it wasn’t for the volunteering, I would not want to get up and go,” Lori Giampa said during a Berlin Town Council meeting on Monday night. “But it does. It makes me go.”
Giampa was one of several Berlin Welcome Center volunteers honored during the annual Volunteer Spirit of Worcester County ceremony last Thursday. Also recognized were Janet Benner, Cassandra Brown, Betty Tustin, Kim Fraser, Mary Raley, Carolyn Connelly and Bill Burke.
The Town of Berlin honored those volunteers on Monday. Along with staffing the Welcome Center, many also lend their time to the ambassador stand on Main Street.
“We had nominated our Welcome Center volunteers because they just don’t get enough credit sometimes,” Economic and Community Development Director Ivy Wells said. “Thank you for doing everything that you do. I really appreciate it.”
Wells joked the volunteers meet “all kinds of different people” and regularly field some pretty strange questions.
“Do you have a bathroom? What makes Berlin so cool? How did it get the name Berlin? Is this free? What’s good to eat? What’s good here? What should I see here? What should I not miss? Did you get to meet Julia Roberts?” Wells said.
Mayor Gee Williams said the volunteers help put the town “in a rare league.”
“When people come here they have a very enjoyable … experience, and it’s because of these ladies and Bill that that happens,” he said. “They don’t just give them information – they give them a good memory.
“You’re giving [folks] an experience that they will treasure, remember and, hopefully, repeat,” Williams added.