Amid weather worries, The Big Event perseveres

Whether there’s a foot of snow or an abundance of sunshine, The Big Event will give back to the community, communications professor and The Big Event adviser Shaunda French-Collins says.

In the midst of dismal weather predictions, The Big Event staff has been working on job site back-ups in case heavy snowfall occurs. For some this could simply mean getting moved indoors, but other locations could see bigger changes. According to French-Collins, weather threats are no strangers to The Big Event staff.

“Threats are external circumstances, and sadly the one we always have every year is weather,” French-Collins said. 

Fortunately, several job sites are located indoors. Though liability restrictions limit Big Event volunteers from working inside private residences, public locations can be expanded and more volunteers can be sent to those sites.

“We can send more people to, say, the Friends of Pets job site or Consuming Fire School of Dance and Gymnastics,” French-Collins said.

For the largest job site, CSC’s football team, March’s storm wrecked wood chip delivery plans at Wilson Park, leading to a last-minute cancellation Tuesday morning. However, in less than an hour, Football Head Coach Jay Long, Associate Athletic Director Chris Green and French-Collins brainstormed a plan to send the team to all five city parks and pick up debris from this week’s storm. City of Chadron Park Superintendent Scott Schremmer gave the ok, securing the football team’s job site with the City Parks Department another year. 

“For the (Chadron) City Parks Department, it’s a blessing,” Schremmer said.

To French-Collins, the duo’s quick thinking showed commitment to The Big Event’s mission.

“What’s awesome is that people say ‘We’re going to give back, but it may just not be what we originally had in mind,’” French-Collins said.

As Big Event staff placed students at job sites Tuesday evening, French-Collins asked for volunteers to be “patient and flexible” when it comes to placements. 

“At the end of the day, there are ways for us to give back and say thank you to Chadron,” French-Collins said. “It may just not be the jobsite that you get emailed.”