ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, July 18, 1996 TAG: 9607180023
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: N-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CHARLES STEBBINS STAFF WRITER
SOME people are frantically looking for Olympics tickets and crying when they can't get them.
But no tears are being shed by Daynor and Tamara Stinson.
They have almost ringside spots. And at no cost.
Both will be volunteer workers at Olympic events in line with their interests.
Daynor will be one of 10 course marshals in the road cycling races held in Atlanta and at the mountain bike racing held at the Georgia International Horse Park in nearby Conyers.
Tamara will be a volunteer at the Georgia Dome, where gymnastics and basketball will be held.
They are typical of an unknown number of others from this area who will be Olympics volunteers.
When they started looking for tickets in January to Olympic events, they did not think about volunteering.
"I thought maybe we could take a long weekend and see some of the events," Daynor said.
The idea of volunteering came about more or less accidentally.
A friend gave Daynor several Internet addresses related to the Olympics. It was through these that he came upon the request for volunteers.
Both Daynor and Tamara applied and were accepted. No special skills were necessary; they were just in the right place at the right time.
Being official volunteers has its advantages.
For one thing, they are a part of the behind-the-scenes activities including the dress rehearsal of the opening ceremony held Wednesday.
Also, they will have the opportunity to look in on some events other than the ones where they are volunteers.
In addition, there are the volunteer uniforms. Daynor has already picked up his and he figures they are worth between $350 and $400, all provided by Olympic sponsors.
"I got two pair of pants, three shirts, one pair of shoes, a hat, belt and a wristwatch," he said.
Tamara has not yet gotten her uniform, but she assumes it will be comparable to Daynor's.
And they can keep it all after the Olympics.
Housing in Atlanta does not come with the volunteering perks, but that won't be a problem for the Stinsons. Atlanta is Daynor's hometown, so they will stay with his relatives.
Daynor said he feels fortunate that he was assigned to the cycling races because cycling is one of his special interests. He has been cycling since 1985, mostly for pleasure but with some competition as an amateur.
He doesn't ride now as much as formerly and "not as much as I would like."
"But I still get out about once a week for a 20-mile ride," he said.
Tamara goes with him sometimes. They both have mountain bikes.
This is not the first Olympics they have experienced.
Both were in Barcelona, Spain, at the summer Olympics in 1992, and attended some of the events then.
In 1984 Daynor was in Los Angeles at the same time as the summer Olympics. He did not attend any of the events, but saw much of the Olympics hype.
Daynor, 37, a native of Atlanta, has been in the Roanoke area for the past eight years. Tamara, 29, a native of Connecticut and a graduate of Radford University, has lived in the Roanoke area for the past 12 years.
Both got time off from their jobs for the Olympics. Daynor is a manager at Wal-Mart; Tamara is a marketing manager for Junior Achievement.
LENGTH: Medium: 75 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ERIC BRADY/Staff. Tamara and Daynor Stinson will spendby CNBtwo weeks in Atlanta as volunteers for the 1996 Olympics. She will
work at the Georgia Dome where gymnastics and basketball will be
held. He will serve as a course marshal in the road cycling races
held in Atlanta and at the mountain bike racing held at the Georgia
International Horse Park in nearby Conyers. color.