"Very dedicated" was the phrase for a special couple who've consistently stepped up to the plate for every Burnaby Blues and Roots Festival, according to its volunteer coodinator Mona Lochan.
For the past 12 years, Nester and Joyce Slywka have volunteered for every blues festival. For Joyce, it's out of a passion for meeting people; for Nester, it's about listening to blues.
"I like the people. I get to talk to so many people," Joyce told the Burnaby NOW, while sitting beside her husband. "And the staff has been really good to us."
The now retired couple started their foray into the volunteering world when Nester was a marathon runner and Joyce would volunteer at the event.
From continuing their involvement with the marathon and the City of Burnaby, the two got into the blues fest. They both find the event's volunteering experience so agreeable they go back every year.
"If it's good we go back," Nester added.
For the past few years, the two have been on ticket duty at the gates.
"It's nice to meet all those people," Joyce said. "A lot of them are people we know."
For Nester, the noon to 6 p.m. shift goes by nicely since they implemented the new technology to simply scan the tickets for admittance, which also keeps track of how many people attend.
"It's a huge lineup," he said with a chuckle. "But we don't have to do the baggage check."
Joyce said she also enjoys the longer shift because four hours is too short, as you "just get going and then you have to leave already."
Since retirement, the couple has volunteered for more than 30 events - many of which they go back to every year.
"Once we retired, and as we volunteered, we got to know people in different areas," Nester explained. "We networked with other people. We got a lot of, 'Oh, if you went here you should volunteer with us.'"
Their list of 30-plus events includes the Deer Lake Symphony event, the Subaru Triathlon Series and the 2010 Olympics.
At the Olympics, "We were checking in all the volunteers," Nester said.
"Every volunteer that came had to go through us," Joyce added.
The husband and wife have travelled all over for their volunteering events, from Portland to Seattle to Penticton. The couple was also asked back to volunteer at the Pride Parade in Vancouver.
"We did crowd control of three to four blocks," Nester said of last year's event.
Joyce noted that every event provides a different experience too from the well organized, to the not so well organized.
"The Police and Fire Games was just a beautiful event," Nester added. "
But, every year, the blues and roots fest calls back for Nester and Joyce.
"I'm a blues man," Nester explained. "I play a little bit of guitar. Just a little bit. And when I do I play the blues."
