By Julie D’Aloiso
The Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad (CVSR) is a non-profit that relies on the support of over 1,800 volunteers for the regularly running train rides and special events like The Polar Express. Each year they honor their volunteers at a Volunteer Appreciation Dinner where they present one volunteer with the Volunteer of the Year award.
At this year’s ceremony, Sagamore Hills Resident Doug Pearson received the award for 2018 Volunteer of the Year for his outstanding efforts in going above and beyond for the organization and the passengers. In addition to receiving the award, he also received the Akron/Summit CVB Zenith award for Volunteer of the Year. Doug is just one example of a regular citizen doing an outstanding job in the community.
Doug has been a volunteer with CVSR since winter 2012. It all started when he volunteered with CVNP in 2011 as a permit monitor where he helped the Park Rangers monitor events in the Park that required special permission. He was looking for additional volunteer hours and the Park recommended volunteering with the railroad.
He has held various positions with CVSR since 2012. He started out as a Trainman. Later he became a Conductor Assistant, a Brakeman, and has been currently a Conductor since 2015. He have also served for two years as Vice President of our volunteer organization.
When asked what was his most special moment as he said “I think my most special moment was being selected as Volunteer of the Year. It was a tremendous honor and a wonderful surprise. Other special moments would involve the Polar Express and the many joyous expressions of the kids on the train to the North Pole.”
If you know someone who is interested in volunteering, Doug said “We are always happy to have new volunteers join us. We will orient you and help you become comfortable volunteering your time and talents on the train.”
If you are interested, you can fill out an application at https://www.cvsr.org/volunteer/. The next volunteer training session is broken into two parts. One classroom session and then one on board training session. The next orientation date is June 18 and 22. For questions or more information about volunteering contact Volunteer Coordinator, Sherri Lemley, at slemley@cvsr.com
