Easter Egg Hunt

Radar1 - I can assure you my husband (qzpmal) was not the person you are speaking of, because only have 1 child. Admittedly we were late for the event, but it was disappointing that the Easter bunny had already left earlier than advertized. I'm not sure I truly appreciate your aggressive and condescending response, given the amount of service I give to our Community.

FWIW - In the past both my husband and I volunteered for numerous (Halloween Parade, Flix-n-the-Stix etc) community events. I made the assumption that we would be able to bring our child to one community event (that we didn't volunteer for) and he could enjoy the festivities.

Yes my husband initiated the post, because we were both frustrated with the series of events. Never did I think you would response in a very aggressive and dismissive manner. Your post chastised us and that is rather unfortunate. Again I feel your response is really inappropriate and not constructive. And reads that if we don't volunteer, we do not have the right to voice concerns.

 

I second T8erman's comments here. I know for a fact that qzpmal and his wife volunteered ALOT of their time to the community and NOT once have they ever demanded that the community give them accolades, etc. They enjoyed volunteering because its their way of giving back to the community.

Secondly, I would think they had other committments to attend to but attempted to partake into the activities for their kid.

I can attest to the fact that there are a lot of older kids that make the mad rush to grab as much eggs they could possibly make. I know this because my own daughter that was younger at the time only got 1 to 2 eggs at the time due to the fact that older kids jumped in with those large shopping bags to hog most of the eggs themselves. My daughter was a real trooper not to get very upset but I could tell that she was very disappointed so we had a separate egg hunt for her with her cousins which cheered her up. Since then, we've avoided going to the easter egg hunt because its gotten too big and out of hand at times. I also know that families from OUTSIDE of Broadlands community show up and want to partake in the festivities, which I don't really agree with but that's for the committee and HOA to deal with.

 

First off I'm not l

 

Let Me start by saying I'm not looking for accolades and I truly enjoy helping with community events which is why i have done ir and will continue to do it. I feel badly that any child was left out. I have watched time and time again as people jump on the forum and complain about the events. I struggle consistently with finding volunteers to help but never run short of people complaining about something that went wrong. The event was for the kids and the fact that a few children may have missed the Easter bunny is disappointing but not at all intentional. I did my best to try an ensure that everyone had a good time and that all the kids walked away with eggs. I'm not looking for a pat on the back I'm just saying just as you have the right to complain I have that same right to respond perhaps with a little more frustration than necessary. Since you have volunteered in the past you know how much time and energy is spent putting an event like this together so you can imagine how disheartening it is to hear someone complaining. I love the Broadlands and think I am so lucky to live in a place that provides egg hunts, kids carnivals, visit with Santa, Halloween Parades, Casino Nights, Mardi Gras. All of these events run by volunteers. Everything is not always going to go according to plan and sometimes I think maybe we could all just cut each other some slack. If my original response was to harsh I apologize I generally don't respond at all to the postings guess this just pushed some buttons I should have just let it roll off my back. Maybe next year you'll have a better experience, I hope so.

 

We have always enjoyed the Broadlands Events and THANK YOU to ALL of the volunteers for their time. In such a large community I can only imagine it is not a simple task...and then to be criticized after all your work. Ouch!

Again, per my earlier thread we attended this event and just wanted to clarify our point of view for what it is worth...

*The event started at 11am with the Bunny Parade from the Community Center.

*A few minutes later, maybe about 11:05am the "Under 5" group started the egg gathering which only took a couple minutes

*Following this, the "5-8 year old" group started which again only took a few minutes.

*I imagine most people would find it reasonable that an egg hunt only takes a few minutes? Yes, perhaps a maximum # of eggs per child could be imposed but then what would you do with the leftover eggs left lying there? Leave them for latecomers to find their own eggs as they arrive? I suppose that could be done but seems a little silly/unreasonable? As far back as I can remember egg hunts are done similar to what is done here in Broadlands. The mad dash starts and the eggs are collected in a matter of minutes. Yes, some kids can be greedy but this time I did not witness that thankfully. I'd say most people realize this is the type of event where showing up at the stated start time is critical to participation.

*The Broadlands Newsletter basically states that the if the weather does not cooperate Peter Cottontail will take a seat in the Community Center from 11am-12:30pm. It really does not say that he will be at the park for photos until 12:30pm. I guess that is all up to interpretation.
We have been to the egg hunt here in the neighborhood on at least one rainy day in the past and it takes much longer to wait in the long line, sit on the bunny's lap and collect a few eggs. However, this year the weather was great and the bunny led the parade at 11am, started the egg hunts and then stayed for photos. Our family arrived at 10:50am and left about 11:45am and I would say most of the people were gone by then. We had plenty of time to do the parade, the egg hunt, photo with bunny, chat with neighbors/friends and have our daughter play a bit on the playground. I guess perhaps the bunny should have stayed until 12:30 if advertised, in case people only wanted to avoid the crowd and run up at the tail end of the event to grab a photo but maybe the coordinator thought it was pretty slim chances that anyone else was going to come once it was cleared out?

Newsletter advertisement (page 5):
http://www.broadlandshoa.org/fileshare/files/24/2012/03MAR12.pdf

*Finally, I honestly did not see anyone with "shopping bags" at this egg hunt! My daughter received 20 eggs and gave 4 of those away to a little girl (who was younger than 5 and not even in her group). My daughter's had a small basket to collect eggs and the 16 she went home with was more than last year but who knows exactly why: Maybe because she is older and faster this year (age 7)? Maybe there were more eggs this year compared to last year? Maybe a combination of all as well as the fact that we really thought there were a lot less people there compared to the past 7 years we've attended. It was not crowded at all and there were plenty of eggs.

Take a look at the attached photo of the egg hunt in progress. It is from the 5-8 year old hunt. I did not notice anyone being super aggressive hogging all the eggs, it was not crowded and did not see any "shopping bags".

Anyway, thank you again to ALL volunteers for your generous time and efforts here in the neighborhood. It is a wonderful community and I would hate to see any of these events cancelled due to lack of volunteers if people decline to step up due to criticism. I guess you can never please everyone.

 

It's been long time since my kids were young enough to do the egg hunt here, and a longer time since they did it. I just think it's interesting feedback and a shame that people are pointing and counting up volunteer hours as a point of argument. Feedback is: set expectations correctly in your advertising, easy enough. Also, think about maybe distributing the eggs in shifts so they're not all out at the beginning and all gone within minutes. Also, nonfood items in some (maybe this was done and the allergic child just didn't pick the right eggs?). The teen should be there the entire posted time, for sure, even if he's bored - aren't teens generally bored anyway? If the timeframe was too long then that's an improvement to suggest for next year. But some people will always interpret the published window as the actual available time and show up toward the end of it, and they should get what was advertised. Suggesting that kids bring or borrow real easter baskets will cut down on how many will fit before they start rolling out. If you put out a request for spare Easter baskets to provide the ones who don't have one, I'd send over two we're not using. A suggested limit will also help, but it would be nice not to have people upset that a child picked up 8 and not 6 or whatever. For me the biggest issue was how fast it was all over, with the bigger kids having a far better experience than the littler ones. I like the different starting time for the little ones, that's good - was it published?

These are ideas that can improve next year. And you shouldn't have to be a volunteer to have an opinion about the event. Thanks to all of you who give your time for the community!

 

Hi Everyone!
I am guessing there might be a need for a coordinator for this event next year, or at least some volunteers.
Something to start thinking about?

 

After reading this thread one would have to be crazy to get involved!! :scaredeyes:

 

PD- I felt that way once after reading the forum complaints- I've been volunteering on events committees for 6 years. it was pretty disheartening.

but, when you are at an event that you helped to plan, and the people there are so happy, grateful and effusively complimentary to the HOA and the committee- you forget the kernels of negativity that are sprinkled in here. I've even recommended to other committee members that they don't come here regarding our events, unless they have a VERY thick skin.

it's miniscule- the number of negative opinions on this board, vs. the positive feedback and thanks that we receive as volunteers. we sometimes DO get constructive criticism that helps us to improve events, not just nastiness and whining.

it's really easy- a SMALL time committment and fun to plan these events. you should try just one- ONE that you are interested in for yourself or your kids, and you'll see that it's worth the few hours of your time that are requested.

off my :sbox: and onto a gorgeous day!

 

Thanks Redon1!! Thats good to hear and changes my perspective!!