The Flame Flickers.

• Author: Kimball, Suzanne
• Position: Volunteers for Utah's 2002 Olympic Winter Games - Brief Article

Some businesses balk at volunteer time commitment

Banking on the successful Summer Games in Sydney as a means to ignite the Olympic flame within the hearts of Utahns, the SLOC has now shifted into high gear to recruit the 26,000 volunteers it needs to stage the 2002 Winter Games.

The committee is hoping its emotionally charged media campaign inviting Utahns to "Light the Fire Within" will invoke enough community pride to spur Utah businesses and their employees to answer the call. And while its "Team 2000" crusade is savvy and full of enthusiasm, the amount of time SLOC is requiring people to devote to the games may prohibit some Utah businesses and their employees from experiencing first-hand the warmth of the Olympic flame.

Volunteers are being asked to work eight to 10 hours any day of the week during the games for up to 17 days, which the committee points out is actually 11 business days. In an effort to make that time commitment more feasible, SLOC has been courting over 700 businesses, suggesting various time-off solutions for employees, including split shifts to volunteer at the Olympics and matching vacation hours (if the employee uses six days of their vacation time, the employer will match it with six more vacation days). It has even suggested that businesses shut down altogether during the games.

Iomega Corporation, O.C. Tanner and Harmons are whole-heartedly supporting the volunteer program, with some sponsoring employee contests with winners earning the entire 17 days off.

Other companies feel pledging that much time to the Olympics is excessive. Associated Foods was approached by SLOC, but declined to participate. "We cannot afford to let our employees go for that many days," says a company spokesperson. "The time commitment is just too steep, even with split shifts." Dirk Davenport, director of human resources at Sandy-based Ultradent Products, says his company would like to support the Olympics, "but letting the majority of our people go for 11 business days would be asking too much."

Hoping incentives will encourage businesses to volunteer, SLOC has launched its Rings and Medals Corporate Incentive Programs. Companies that contribute from 10 to 1,000 employees and/or a certain percentage of their workforce will receive incentives such as a thank-you note and plaque, access to purchase a limited number of Olympic tickets, use of SLOC vehicles, and the chance to witness "the...