We are thrilled to honor Linda, an Odyssey of the Mind volunteer who has been making a big difference behind the scenes for NorCal students for over 20 years.
Linda has been involved with Odyssey for over two decades. She got started as a mom supporting her son’s Odyssey, and like the rest of us, she was hooked by the Odyssey experience! Linda has been supporting students for 20 years at Regional Tournaments, Qualifying Tournaments and State Finals. In fact, she hasn’t missed one!
Over the decades, Linda has come to focus her passion for volunteering on Spontaneous. Linda volunteers for every Spont Day, which helps prepare teams to solve Spontaneous problems on tournament day.
On competition days, Linda is a jack-of-all-trades, helping anywhere with anything! According to Spontaneous Problem Captain Cathy Parker, “If you haven’t set up a Spont competition, this may not sound like much, but believe me, it is! In a big tournament, over 225 teams to go through Spontaneous in one day. There are thousands of toothpicks to count, hundreds of pieces of 6’ string to be cut, paper clips to sort…the list goes on and on.” Linda never seeks the limelight, and her quiet impact is extraordinary.
Linda goes out of her way to make herself available when needed and does it all with an unflappable positive attitude. This includes coming a day early to help with site setup. Sometimes, going above and beyond means taking time off work to transport supplies and props — and she will travel up to nine hours one way to do so.
Linda helps create a fun working atmosphere for any task. She is terrific at handling last-minute changes, always with the teams in mind. Linda’s steadiness and her problem-solving skills have contributed year after year to the fun that tens of thousands of California kids have experienced.
Outside of Odyssey, Linda is a recently retired elementary school teacher and GATE Program coordinator. On the weekends, she’s been a scheduler for a Marin hospital, getting to work at 4 am on Saturday and Sunday mornings.
California North Odyssey of the Mind created the Janis Dewar Distinguished Service Award to recognize adult volunteers who have demonstrated exemplary selfless dedication to the program, creative problem-solving skills, outside-the-box thinking and a desire to share their experiences with others.
Interested in volunteering for Odyssey of the Mind? Contact our Volunteer Director!
