Olympic Size Social Media - Going for the Gold!

by Mary Kate Smither, Vollmer Public Relations Dallas

Last month I was lucky enough to attend the XXI Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada. Not only had I never attended the Olympics before, but this was also my first adventure as a solo traveler. I can truly say that it was one of the most exciting and intense experiences of my life.

From the beauty of Vancouver to the people from around the world that I met each day and the exhilaration of seeing some of the most thrilling sporting events I will ever enjoy, it was amazing. As a huge hockey fan, there is no better moment in life than gearing yourself up with a U.S.A. T-shirt, American flag and very loud cowbell and cheering on your team to a 5-3 win over Canada in Canada!

Because I was traveling alone it was even more important to me to stay connected to the world around me as well as the world at home.  I also wanted to grab onto this once-in-a-lifetime trip and make it the richest, fullest experience possible.

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Months before I even left for my events, I began following the Olympics on Facebook and Twitter, as well as the pages of some of my favorite athletes I hoped to see like Apolo Anton Ohno and Lindsey Vonn. I signed up for text alerts that notified me about progress on Olympic construction and that helped me plan my daily transportation adventures.

Before I arrived in Vancouver I became a part of the Olympic experience. Even my local hockey team, the Dallas Stars, which I follow avidly on Facebook, provided updates about our players attending the Olympics. By the time I boarded my plane to Vancouver I was ready to jump into the Olympic fray full force.

During my stay, I kept in touch with family members, friends and my colleagues here at Vollmer primarily through social media. I made sure to post photos and details of my experiences, from the electrifying U.S.A. hockey win over Canada to watching Apolo grab the bronze and hanging with the Aussies at freestyle aerial skiing. Since I've returned home, I've run into more people who have mentioned to me how much they enjoyed my daily updates and how they enhanced their own Olympic experiences.

I loved every minute of the Olympics, including the challenges of long lines and crowds, and I will never forget the way it made me feel to cheer on my country and soak it all in every minute of each day I was there. Social media simply added another layer to those experiences and allowed me to share my enthusiasm with my family and friends.

Four Olympics in Four Different Decades

by Vollmer PR guest blogger and 4-time Olympian Ruben Gonzalez
Listen to the podcast with Ruben on Vollocity Live!

Funny how dreams are born.

About two years ago , I was speaking at an event in San Diego. One of the other speakers told a story about a group of people who broke a world record by building a house in under three hours. His story got me thinking about breaking world records. I had competed in the 1988 Calgary, 1992 Albertville, and 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics. Three Olympics, each in a different decade.

When I got home, I contacted the International Olympic Committee to find out if anyone had ever competed in four Olympics, in four different decades. They said it had never been done in the Winter Olympics.

Then I started getting excited. It was February 2008 -- 20 years to the month since I had competed in the 1988 Calgary Olympics as a 25-year-old. The question was:Could my old body still handle the brutal sport of luge? I had not taken a luge run in six years!

Well, I decided to find out.

I flew to Salt Lake City and took a few luge runs. I felt better than ever. Older was good! I felt more confident and more in control of the sled as it barreled down the track at more than 80 MPH.

I contacted the International Luge Federation to find out what I needed to do to qualify for the Vancouver Olympics two years away. Their answer floored me. They said, “We won’t let you slide in the World Cup Circuit. Number one, you’re too old and number two, you’ve been away from the sport so long that if you get hurt, we’ll look bad.”

I told them, “You can’t do that! At least, give me a chance to prove myself.”

They said, “The new Olympic track in Whistler, Canada, is the fastest in the world. Up to now, only the Canadians have been training there. In a few weeks, we will open the track for 10 days to allow the lugers from every other team to take 24 practice runs. Come to Whistler, take your 24 runs, and afterwards we’ll talk.”

I went to Whistler. And they were right. The track was fast. Really fast. Ninety MPH and up! Everybody was crashing. Even the Olympic champion crashed. I didn’t crash once. I didn’t break any speed records ( but I didn’t break any bones either).

After the Whistler Test, the Federation said, “Welcome back.”

Next I had to race in five races and earn enough World Cup points to be in the top 40 in the world. Doing this was just about the hardest and most stressful thing I’ve ever had to do. Learning new tracks and racing people with 10 times more experience than what I have. But I kept plugging along.

Three months before the Olympics, I thought my chances were 50-50. But I kept training and making adjustments to my sled, and slowly I started moving up in the standings.

I’ve been a professional speaker for eight years. I travel a lot, but I’ve never travelled as much as I did in the last three  months. Three trips to Europe and seven trips in North America. Doing whatever it took to keep the dream alive.

Three weeks before the Olympics, I still didn’t know if I was in. I felt confident but anxious nonetheless.

About once a week some corporation or another brings me in to speak to their people about how to develop an unstoppable spirit that leads to success. A couple of nights ago, I was speaking to several hundred sales people in Minneapolis. I was telling them how you have to take action on your beliefs. Your actions show what you believe. You need to jump (take a chance) and the net will appear.

I told the salespeople how, even though I still didn’t know if I was going to the Olympics, I had already purchased my airline tickets to Vancouver. They looked at me like I was crazy. Well yesterday, I got the news. I made it by the skin on my teeth. I jumped and the net did appear!

On February 12,^, 2010, when I march into the Opening Ceremonies of the Vancouver Olympics, at the age of 47, I’ll become the first person ever  to compete in four Winter Olympics, each in a different decade.

Will I win any medals? Maybe not, but who knows? Maybe I’ll make the cover of the AARP Magazine!

Chase your dreams, fight for your dreams, refuse to quit, and make your life an adventure!

Listen to the podcast with Ruben on Vollocity Live!

Ruben Gonzalez is an Olympian, an award-winning keynote speaker and the author of “Becoming Unstoppable.” Ruben speaks around the world about making bold decisions and taking action to create long-lasting success. To watch his powerful video, visit www.OlympicMotivation.com.  You may also contact Ruben at 832-689-8282.

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Grumble Grouse Gold

by Helen Vollmer, VOLLMER Houston

Ah, the Glorious 12th!

At least that’s what today is called in the UK as Red Grouse season begins. In listening to NPR this morning, it would appear that this is a huge economic deal in rural areas of Brittania as hunters take to the field to stalk field birds. I think for the rest of us, we should take a more literal approach to the term Grouse Season and use it to complain about more frivolous but still newsworthy items.

For example, where is the news coverage during the Olympic Games? While I’ve been a total couch potato watching Michael Phelps rack up his well deserved medals, I periodically have been searching , mostly in vain, for real world events. Come on, news media—something HAS to be happening in the world that deserves more coverage. Also on my grouse list—on a more mundane level—is why Americans don’t get more vacation time. Has anyone else out there tried to find anyone doing business in France lately? If the EU can all go to the beach in Torremolinas for the month of August, why not us?

One more grumble before I let someone else take the mantle of Grouse Season. Coming from a South Texas hunting family, I think all you anti-gun folks should thank hunters for helping to keep game populations under control. You folks living in Austin who have deer munching your gardens know what I’m talking about. Hunting—whether its deer or grouse—is a great sport if done responsibly. The rule in our home is if you kill it, you clean it and you eat it. And as for sport—oops, it brings us full circle back to the Olympics again—anyone been watching the shooting events?