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Show THE PARK RECORD www.park record.com WEDNESDAY, MARCH 1 4, 200 1 Profile. A-ll Volunteers extraordinaire offering services to Park City Old Town resident John Roberts and his wife are seen giving time to some of their favorite causes by Jay Hamburger OF THE RECORD STAFF John and Dianne Roberts' business card is simple. There are no flashy graphics identifying identify-ing their company. An e-mail address is nowhere to be seen. Same with a fax number. Really, there's not even a recognizable recog-nizable company they are part of. But two words say what the Norfolk Avenue couple does. The business card reads 'Volunteers Extraordinaire,' a description for the two that fits quite well. They are among the most recognized people on the volunteer circuit in Park City, which always seems to bring out Parkites to help a cause. "What we try to do now is we try to do everything together. We volunteer together. It's kind of like a twofer - you get both of us," said John Roberts. His volunteer resume is quite extensive exten-sive but he talks especially about two causes that the two help, both of which involve animals. Roberts said he enjoys working with Friends of Animals, a local organization that works to place unwanted unwant-ed animals in homes rather than destroying destroy-ing them. Since they live in Old Town, Roberts said taking the animals in would be difficult. diffi-cult. Instead, they try to help find them homes. He is pleased with the success of Friends of Animals. "It's an incredible organization. Normally 75 percent of the animals that are brought in to a podnd are put down. Less than 20 percent of the animals brought into (Friends of Animals) are put down," he said. Roberts says more than 700 lives are spared annually by Friends of Animals. And, each year, Roberts spends a week volunteering at the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, which is a Kanab facility that houses hundreds of animals, including upwards of 750 dogs, another 750 cats as well as horses donkeys, pigs and rabbits. Perhaps the largest volunteering effort is coming next winter. The Roberts are two members of the volunteer volun-teer army that's expected to work during the 2002 Winter Olympics. Roberts holds an upper-echelon position in the Salt Lake Organizing Committee's vol unteer hierarchy. He was appointed the team leader for volunteers working Deer Valley Resort's aerial competitions during the Games. Roberts said the duties include overseeing oversee-ing about 40 volunteers who are working the aerial contests. "I feel very confident we have the right people," Roberts said. He's already had a practice run. He and Dianne worked as volunteers during the freestyle World Cup at Deer Valley earlier this winter. Roberts' volunteers at the aerial competitions need to ensure the snow is in good condition for the athletes. ath-letes. "The idea is to have the hill the same for every jumper. Basically, try to have perfect conditions for every jumper," he said. "It's a resource intensive job and you need to have your volunteers trained and know what they're doing." A duty, he said, is to help competitors with a soft landing, aerating the snow by chopping it between jumps. Roberts admits that his duties during the Olympics are closer to a real job than his other volunteer efforts but decided to help with the Games anyway. "What we're trying to do is volunteer for the things around town that are episodic and we can be close to people, close to the action but not necessarily part of the management structure," Roberts said. Insurance - in the East Roberts' volunteering efforts followed fol-lowed what he describes as a "pressure-cooker" "pressure-cooker" type career in the insurance business. Roberts, who is 54 years old, was raised outside Philadelphia and went to college at the University of Maine. He moved to Florida for a job in the insurance insur-ance industry but eventually made it back to Maine, where he worked for a disability-insurance firm in Portland. He spent his career with Unum Corp., which was one of the largest disability insurance firms in the world. Roberts lived in Maine starting in 1977 and retired in 1995. Maine, he said, is nice but did not offer the allure of other spots. "We're more mountain people than we were boaters. So, it didn't have a whole lot of attraction for us for the sailing," sail-ing," he said,,. ,. t Plus, he said the native species were not all that desirable. "Maine, it's pretty and everything but the mosquitoes will carry you away. It's great to be able to go out here at night and have dinner outside and walk uptown and not get eaten alive by mosquitoes," mos-quitoes," he said. "You don't think about that until you live in a place for a while and then move someplace that doesnt have bugs that bite. You can enjoy the outdoors a lot more." The Roberts started vacationing in Utah in the 1970s, first skiing in Alta. The skiing conditions were significantly better to what they were used to in Maine. They actually owned a property in Sugarbush, Maine, but decided skiing in Utah was a better choice. In the mid-1990s, they started coming to Park City regularly and bought a condominium. con-dominium. They planned to retire in Park City, which, Roberts said, was a more active community than where they were living. He said Park City residents are more politically active than those in other spots he has lived. "You'd go to a town meeting and the only people there would be the developers. develop-ers. There wouldn't be anybody else there. There's no involvement in the community, really. Park City's people are so involved," he said. Roberts is seen sometimes at Park City government meetings. He says the Park City Council is responsive but is limited in its ability to accomplish some things. Old Town, he said, is a good place to live but does have some downsides, down-sides, such as parking and the Browning Ferris Industries trash cans that have angered many others in the neighborhood. neighbor-hood. He praises the different types of houses in Old Town. "We kind of like the funky nature of Old Town. You've got a great mixture of high-end real estate and little shacks and that's kind of nice," Roberts said. How would you run it? The Roberts got further involved in Park City through their volunteering. Besides animal causes and the Olympics, they are seen in other volunteer circles. They have helped the city with its City Park host program, which is a volunteer vol-unteer organization set up in City Park to give out information. They have also volunteered for the Sundance Film Festival, the Park City Art Festival and KPCW. "This town has a lot to offer. One reason rea-son it has a lot o offer is because it's a STEPHEN ZUSYIPARK RECORD Norfolk Avenue resident John Roberts left the Insurance industry and moved to Park City. He and wife Dianne now volunteer for numerous local causes, such as Friends of Animals, and winter-sports events. Besides volunteering, the Roberts like touring the West, especially southern resort community and a lot of the resort events are run on volunteers and if you didn't have volunteers, what would we do," he said. "How would you run a World Cup event? How would you run the art festival? You couldn't do it." He said volunteering is a good method to be involved in Park City's events. "What we've learned is maybe the best way to experience these events is not just to go to them but it's to give something back and also experience them as a volunteer. vol-unteer. I think it's more fun," Roberts Utah and the numerous national parks that are in Utah and the surrounding states, in a motor home. Skiing remains a draw. He clocks about 100 days per year. "I'm proud to say I'm a ski bum. I'm living my life in reverse. I started work one day after I got out of college. So, I'm just kind of living my life in reverse," he said. "It's better to do that way, though, because you have a little bit of money." Which also allows the Roberts to work without pay for their favorite causes. GREATEST SHOW ON SNOW Hk . mm mWm, The Ultimate fHHHH WmWWWWWWmmWhJrBFmw mm mm Driving Machine" r1 ah jmmmmw MkiAmmm HH Throw wmmmmmmmmmW mm L4mm mmWMn yjamms. WiVwH BMW Aerial Assault P DON'T SETTLE FOR LESS: WWM BR t Largest selection of qualify lodge pole furniture for entire V-J V PJ Lw iJf hcose. Over 1 50 items available in over 1 2 styles and stains. Lndg Pole JmM BRr Stan All beds are precision made by experts wirfi tfte latest '. 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