Contact:  Rita Radostitz, Director of Communications
  Track Town U.S.A.
  Email:  [email protected]         
  www.tracktown.net
 
   FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
   Wednesday April 29, 2009

Eugene, OR.  Greg Erwin, Co-Chair of the Local Organizing Committee for Eugene 08, was honored last week by United Way of Lane County as the 2009 Volunteer of the Year.  Over the past four years, Erwin has spent more than 50 hours a week helping to ensure that Eugene regained its glory as Track Town USA.  He was the unsung hero of Eugene 08 and has stepped up again as Co-Chair for the LOC for the 2009 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships which will be held June 25-28th at Hayward Field.  "Without Greg, the Olympic Trials would not have happened," says Vin Lanana, U of O Director of Track and Field.  "Greg's work has not only transformed the track community in Eugene, it has transformed the state."

In addition to the honor, the Register Guard donated $1000 to the Oregon Track Club, the organization which nominated Erwin through the "Community Leaders Together" initiative.  At Erwin's request, OTC  will donate the award to support Committed Partners for Youth's Bolder Options program which matches at-risk youth with adult mentors who train for local running races with the youth.  "We are thrilled with Greg's generosity," says Susie Walsh, Executive Director of CPY.  "This donation will enable our mentors and youth to attend the Nationals and be inspired by all the amazing track & field athletes competing."

"So many people volunteered their time to make the Olympic Trials something special" says Erwin. "The National Championship meet will be another community event which wouldn't be possible without hundreds of volunteers helping.  It will be a great experience for the Bolder Options youth to see some of the greatest athletes in the country compete, and see our community in action supporting them."

The 2009 U.S. National Championships for Track & Field  and the 2009 USA Junior Outdoor Track & Field Championships will be held June 25-28 at Hayward Field.  Tickets are now on sale at www.goducks.com.  For more information visit www.tracktown.net.

A spectacular success

Giving three years of volunteer service to the ’08 Olympic Trials was worth Greg Erwin’s personal sacrifice.

By Linda J. Sellers
Special Publications

The people involved in producing the 2008 Olympic Trials at Hayward Field agree on two things: The event was a spectacular success, and it wouldn’t have happened without the dedication of Greg Erwin.

Greg’s involvement, which added up to about 60 volunteer hours a week for three years, was inadvertent — at first. “Really, I stumbled into this,” he says.

Greg had been a distance runner for the University of Oregon from 1978 to 1983, then got busy with career, family, and volunteering as a Kidsports coach.

In 2001, when managing an investment group with Smith Barney, he was asked to serve on the board of directors of the Oregon Track Club. “I innocently said ‘Sure,’” he says with a laugh. “A year later I found myself as vice president, then president.

You know how these things go. You go in, and if you want to make a difference, next thing you know you’re in charge.”

That was only the beginning.

In 2005, the UO hired Vin Lananna as director of track and field. The first time Erwin met Lananna, the pair talked about Eugene hosting the Olympic Trials. “With the help of lots of people from the community and from Nike, we quickly... Read More in the Register Guard Click here to download the PDF