Little 500: Behind the scenes

Jonathan Purvis won't race in the Little 500 Saturday. He won't have a chance to be on the winning team, and he won't hear anyone cheering for him at Bill Armstrong Stadium.\nBut with some help, he will do about everything else imaginable.\nAs associate director of the IU Student Foundation and coordinator of the Little 500, Purvis organizes Little 500 and everything it involves. He's the one in charge of ironing out every detail and coordinating who does what.\nIn short, he does all the work fans don't know about.\n"Fortunately, we have lots of help," Purvis said. "We have a membership of over 300 students, and we do have a small professional staff, not to mention just countless community and University volunteers and alumni volunteers.\n"Luckily, I don't have enough free time to sit back and feel overwhelmed."\nThat's because Purvis's free time this time of year isn't free time. It's more time to work on race activities.\nIUSF works on Little 500 all year, director Heather Anderson said, but that work gets more intense as the race grows nearer. The foundation forms six committees, each of which has a particular task.\nThe committees -- alumni affairs, pre-race, special events, students and scholarships, marketing and Little 500 cycling committee -- handle various tasks, from advertising to awards ceremonies and everything in between.\nThe student volunteers who form the committees have two chances to join the IUSF. A call-out meeting at the beginning of the fall semester invites juniors and seniors to join, and a similar meeting at the beginning of spring semester invites sophomores as well.\nAnderson said the IUSF gets other volunteers throughout the year, when some students contact the foundation and ask to join.\nShe also said that she, Purvis and assistant director Erin McCauley take pride in seeing all of the volunteers help put the races together.\n"The feeling for all of us is incredible," Anderson said. "From my perspective, the neatest thing is seeing how proud our students are of their accomplishments. They're running events and organizing volunteers.\nThe riders also appreciate the work IUSF does.\n"When it comes down to race time, they're out there more than we are," junior Acacia rider Kevin Vanes said. "There's always going to be people saying they don't do enough or there are other things they could be doing. But as far as getting ready for the race, they do a good job.\n"We're kind of out there doing our thing, and they're out there to help us. It's nice to know they're there if you need them"