JoAnn Woodhall and Michelle Babiuk are next in our Olympic Memories series where we revisit the 2010 Winter Olympic Games! JoAnn is Transportation Demand Management Officer and Michelle is a Planner with TransLink.

JoAnn: What did you do as an employee during the 2010 Winter Olympic Games?

Like Paul, I was a Host during the games as well as well as helping downtown Vancouver business reduce car traffic for Olympics.

What did you love most about your Olympic experience?

I was thrilled to attend one of the competitive events and watch Canada compete in short track speed skating. As a member of TransLink’s Olympic team.I was granted some special opportunities, like attending the dress rehearsal for the opening ceremonies, meeting Simon Whitfield at a fund raising dinner, and working under the amazing leadership of Mike Madill and Doug Kelsey – two superb visionaries.

And most amazing was that I had the privilege of passing along our experience and lessons learned to my peers working on the London Olympics traffic reduction plan, which ironically included a gentleman that 25 years ago, was one of my coop students when I worked in Ontario.

On a personal level, the best memory was working at Waterfront station during the men’s hockey final. Being in such a historic place with my workmates – to feel the roar of the crowd when Sydney Crosby shot the winning goal – it still brings tears. Even today, wearing my Olympic jacket, a businessman walking to work struck up a conversation to tell me he was a volunteer and found it to be the best experience of his life. I love how the Olympics brought our community together – as a workplace at TransLink, and as a resident of this great place to live!

Michelle: What did you do as an employee during the 2010 Winter Olympic Games?

I was a host working at Waterfront Station. It was an interesting place to be because so many different transit modes meet there and people are arriving from all over the region.

What did you love most about your Olympic experience?

While working as a host, it was great to see so many people who hadn’t used transit before or who hadn’t used it in a long time trying it out. Many people said that they were surprised at how convenient it was. Also, TransLink’s wayfinding team was piloting new maps and signage at the station so seeing how people used them was interesting. On the Olympics front, I enjoy watching a lot of curling.

Thanks JoAnn and Michelle for the interview! To read more about what JoAnn did during the games, check out our post about why she deserves a medal of her own.