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5 minutes with: Reg Tiangha – Metro US

5 minutes with: Reg Tiangha

Reg Tiangha is one of the many volunteers who help the Calgary Stampede be as successful as it is.

How long have you been a Stampede volunteer?
I’ve been a volunteer for about four years since February.

Why did you get involved as a volunteer?
I’m a born and raised Calgarian and all my life I’ve grown up in Calgary and I’ve seen what the Stampede has done and I thought, “It’s pretty cool.” The volunteers look happy when they’re interacting with the public and I thought it would be cool to be a part of that … It’s just a lot of fun.

What has kept you coming back as a volunteer?
The work you do has a positive impact on the community and with the public and you can see it in their faces. It feels like you’re doing something relevant, that you’re part of something greater than yourself. It makes you feel good, really, it does when you volunteer and you give your time and you see it reflected back in people’s smiles and such. It’s a great feeling.

What’s your favourite part about Stampede?
My favourite part about the organization is they treat their volunteers very well. We put in a lot of time and effort outside of our own time and they recognize that. They’re very flexible with the volunteers needs … Your volunteer experience is what you make of it and you can do as little or as much as you like. It’s just a really great organization to volunteer for. In terms of the festival, the food is my favourite part. There’s always something wacky this year and every year. I look forward to trying as many as I can. For example, there’s cricket pizza this year with actual crickets. Apparently it’s served every night at 7 only because that’s when they get their supply. And alligator pizza as well with alligator meat … But the food at Stampede on the midway is my absolute favourite — I love those mini doughnuts.

What’s one thing about Stampede that only the volunteers would know?
As a volunteer you get perks. There’s a volunteer lounge, a place where volunteers can rest up in between working events.