THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 17, 1995 TAG: 9509150217
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY PAM STARR, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 137 lines
THE SOUTHEAST Tourism Society ranks the Neptune Festival as one of the 10 largest celebrations in the Southeast, and one of the 100 biggest in the United States.
For three weeks every September, visitors enjoy a dizzying array of events that include a triathlon, air show, surfing tournament, cheerleading competition, golf tournament, seniors' ball, sandcastle competition, boardwalk celebration, art and craft show, fireworks and a grand parade. This year's festival started Sept. 9 and will run through Oct. 1.
To pull off an event of this magnitude - an estimated 750,000 people will attend the dozens of activities - takes time, planning, coordination, teamwork, patience and the ability to change direction on a moment's notice. That's the job of Nancy Creech and Bill Center, the paid president and vice president of Neptune Festival Inc., the event's organizer. They stay busy year-round but gear into the maniac mode each September.
Nancy Creech, a statuesque woman with blond hair and a commanding presence, has been with the festival since its inception in 1974 and is informally known as the ``Queen.'' But she's the first to admit that there would be no festival without a dedicated corps of 2,000 volunteers.
Unpaid festival workers spend countless hours behind the scenes preparing the celebration. Some consider the festival their second job, or a means of socializing with others of similar interests. And many use vacation days from their jobs and work nights and weekends to pull off the three-week party.
They're the ones inside the souvenir booths, hawking T-shirts, posters and Poseidon pins. They organize and oversee the concession stands, art show, beer sales, hospitality suites, competitions and tournaments. On Boardwalk Weekend - the last and biggest weekend of the festival - volunteers often arrive early in the morning and finish long after the last party-goer has left for the night. And rarely will you hear a complaint.
Simply put, said Creech, the Neptune Festival is the volunteers.
``No way could we do this without them,'' Creech said last week from the festival headquarters on Kings Grant Road. ``The festival is of, by and for the citizens of Virginia Beach. They are the best, they really are.''
And they are loyal. Last year the City Council voted to change the summertime events contractor from Virginia Beach Events Unlimited, of which Nancy Creech is president, to Cellar Door Productions of Virginia. VBEU had run the Neptune Festival for 21 years. Concerns were voiced then in impassioned speeches before the council that the festival volunteers wouldn't return this fall, even though the Neptune Festival wasn't part of the new contract awarded to Cellar Door.
None of those fears has been realized.
``We have more volunteers this year than we've ever had,'' said Creech. ``There are no hard feelings at all.''
Without the volunteers, added Bill Center, the Neptune Festival wouldn't have the same economic impact on the city. The celebration brings in more than $500,000 in direct taxes and turns over $10 million to the local economy. It also generates more than 15,000 hotel room nights.
``The volunteers are a great bunch of people,'' said Center. ``They're very outgoing and are interested in the city.
``This festival could not possibly exist without volunteers.''
Beth Kellam heads her own full-time business, Kellam Financial Management & Estate Planning Services. But this year she also has worked, gratis, 15 to 20 hours a week as chairman of the Neptune Festival Auxiliary. The 78-member auxiliary, all wives of past kings or tritons, handles the souvenir booths and T-shirt sales. They meet monthly year-round to coordinate their activities and frequently serve as the official hostesses.
``Once you become involved, you're always involved. I think the festival is important to our city image - it's worth putting in the long hours,'' said the tall and dark-haired Kellam. She started volunteering six years ago, after daughter Meredith served as a member of the Royal Court. Husband Hank Kellam Jr. served as a Triton in 1991. ``The best part is the people. There's a tremendous amount of camaraderie - everybody rallies together.''
And the worst part?
``The time that's involved, because of the short staff they have,'' she said. Creech, Center and secretary Pat Trowbridge are the only paid staff members of Neptune Festival Inc. ``Everyone's working harder but that's not necessarily a bad thing.''
No volunteers work harder than the dynamic duo of Stan and Carolyn Belson. The Belsons have been donating their time and energy for eight years as volunteers and as chair and co-chair of concessions. Carolyn is a fifth-grade teacher at Sparrow Road Intermediate School in Chesapeake, and Stan owns BelMarc Advertising. Stan, a glib speaker whose accent betrays his Brooklyn roots, said they became volunteers after seeing an ad in the paper.
``I called the number and the person told me I would get a free T-shirt and parking space,'' recalled Belson with a hearty laugh. Last year he was awarded special tribute for his service. ``I thought, what a deal. It takes a lot of time but we just love it. It allows us to be together and work together.''
As concession head, Belson must field hundreds of calls from eager vendors across the country and decide how many to choose, and what kind of food (this year there will be 60 food booths and five non-food booths). He meets with city services personnel beforehand, draws a schematic of how each booth will lay out and marks the assigned spaces right before Boardwalk weekend. That previous week, in fact, Belson takes off work to devote his entire time to setting up the concessions.
``My business is at the Oceanfront - why not help out?'' Belson said. ``It's really a lot of fun and runs amazingly smooth. Carolyn and I jokingly say that when we retire it would be fun to get a soda dispenser and travel the festival circuit.''
The most popular and best-attended event is the sandcastle classic, which Donna Tate has chaired for the past six years. A technical support coordinator at The Virginian-Pilot, Tate spends many hours getting businesses and individuals (local and national) to enter the competition. She said the sandcastles are ``amazing,'' and are part of why she returns year after year.
``I am totally fascinated by what can be accomplished in two to three hours,'' said Tate, who has been volunteering for 12 years. ``Half the day is absolutely back-breaking labor for them, then they sculpt the rest of the day. It's a very unique group of people.''
Volunteers have many things in common, explained Bill Center. They like working behind the scenes and want to have fun. They are also proud of the Neptune Festival and the distinction it brings to the city.
``You won't find many introverts among the volunteers,'' he said. ``The volunteers are willing to do anything - they just want to be involved.''
NEPTUNE FESTIVAL SCHEDULE/ 16 ILLUSTRATION: Staff photos by CHARLIE MEADS
Color cover photo
[Nancy Creech]
Bill Center, vice-president of Neptune Festival, Inc., left,
discusses plans for the festival with volunteers Don Dahlman, vice
chairman of the Poseidon Pin committee; Margaret Dahlman; Lee Bandy,
chairman of hospitality suites; and Beth Kellam, chairman of the
auxiliary.
Nancy Creech, right center, joins some of her army of volunteers.
Creech has been with the festival since its inception in 1974 and is
informally known as the ``Queen.''
Nancy Creech, left, and Mindy Hamilton, chairman of the Royal Court,
go over the festival schedule, which started Sept. 9 and runs
through Oct. 1 with an awards ceremony.
by CNB