The Springfield CVB would like to congratulate Ms. Sam Elliott for being nominated for a 2013 Gift of Time award as presented by the Council of Churches of the Ozarks and the City of Springfield.

Ms. Elliott was nominated for the distinction by Shelly Grauberger, marketing coordinator for the CVB.  Her nomination letter is as follows:

Dependable.  Loyal.  Skilled.  Organized.  Friendly.  Conscientious.  Hardworking.  Precise.  These are just a few of the words I would use to describe Sam Elliott.  Sam has been a volunteer for the Springfield Convention & Visitors Bureau for 9 years.  She is exceptional in our mailroom and recently worked on a special project which involved packing boxes with an item, taping them closed, and labeling addresses and seals.  She has so much experience that she divided the 300 plus packages by zip codes making adding the correct postage much easier for us.  That is just one example of the help Sam provides for the Springfield Convention & Visitors Bureau.  She routinely stuffs, seals, and labels our visitor inquiry mailings which can be more than 1,000 pieces at a time.  She is willing to do any job to help. Just the other day, after completing an entire mailing, I found her breaking down boxes.  I told her that she didn’t have to do that and she replied, “It needs to be done so I might as well do it to save others time.”  Sam also works hospitality tables for our groups and conventions.  She impressed the National Street Rod Association so much that they request her every year to work their registration table.  Just since the beginning of 2013, Sam has worked 50 hours for the CVB.

Sam is a very busy lady.  She volunteers for Ozarks Public Television, working the phones during pledge drives and helping each month with mailings.  This year, she has already volunteered 28 hours with OPT.  She also donates her time to an organization called The Bag Ladies, who provide children in crisis situations a variety of comfort items in their own personalized bag; something small, something special, something they can call their own.  She has helped to collect items and sewn bags.  She volunteers for Friends of the Library and helps with sorting, boxing, and setting up for book sales. So far she has volunteered with them about 5 hours this year.  She is an active member of a garden club that is responsible for watering and upkeep of the gardens at the Springfield Art Museum.  She participates in money maker projects to raise funds to purchase new plants, flowers, and other gardening supplies to make the garden enjoyable for the community.  She regularly receives calls from the Retired Senior Volunteer Program to work mailings at different organizations and has volunteered in that capacity approximately 5 hours this year.

In her “spare time” Sam enjoys working in her own garden, line-dancing and Bunco parties. Sam says she also enjoys making new friends through her volunteer work.  When I asked Sam why she volunteers she said, “I don’t have the money to donate to charities, but I do have time and I feel that the least I can do is give my time to the community.”  Sam Elliott truly exemplifies the meaning of the gift of time.

Ms. Elliott has faithfully served the CVB for more than nine years.

In addition, the CVB would like to congratulate Dave and Karen Duncan, also long-standing CVB volunteers for their Gift of Time nomination for their volunteer work at Juanita K. Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts.

In total,  nearly 80 CVB volunteers serve more than 8,100 hours per year for the bureau. Their work includes fulfillment services, staffing the Springfield-Branson National Airport Information Center, welcoming visitors at convention/event hospitality tables and much more. For information about volunteering with the Springfield Convention & Visitors Bureau, please contact Shelly Grauberger at 417-881-5300, ext. 118 or email sgrauberger@springfieldmo.org.