Long-standing volunteers looking to pass torch

Jeani Cunningham was enjoying the entertainment at Arlington Heights' Frontier Days when she saw festival volunteers in their traditional red shirts and decided to get involved.

That was 25 years ago, and the Arlington Heights resident is still volunteering. This year, she serves as co-chairwoman for the fourth time.

Frontier Days started in 1976 when then-mayor James Ryan asked 75 volunteers to put on an event for America's bicentennial.

"It was so well received and they had such a good time doing it that they decided to do it every year," said Donna Jonas, now the festival's marketing coordinator.

This year, Frontier Days runs from Wednesday, July 1, to Sunday, July 5, at Recreation Park, three blocks east of Arlington Heights Road along Miner Street.

Three of the original volunteers are still part of a core group of participants, many of whom have been helping for 20 to 25 years.

"It gets in your blood," Cunningham said.

Jonas said volunteers come back year after year because helping put on the festival for the community proves enjoyable and rewarding.

But the committee is looking for a new generation of volunteers to help out. One of them, Ann Marie Gunn, said there are only a few under 30. Many of the most committed volunteers have been with the festival since its early days and are looking to pass the torch to a new, younger group. Jonas said Frontier Days needs younger generations to step up because it is put on solely through volunteer work.

"We always encourage people to become a part of making this happen every year," she said.

Anyone interested in volunteering should attend a meeting at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, June 18, at North School Park at Arlington Heights Road and Eastman Street. Volunteers are asked to work a minimum of two hours.

"If they came and did something and see the community coming back, they'd come back," Cunningham said.

Gunn began volunteering at the festival in 2004 after graduating from college. Her sister now also helps out at the festival. Gunn said she enjoys interacting with different people and sharing her love for the event.

"There are people who are willing to do things because they enjoy it and because they want to, not because there is a price tag attached to it," she said.

Families are a big part of the volunteer base, and some families now have three generations giving their time. Cunningham's 81-year-old mother from Des Plaines volunteers, and her kids helped out when they lived in the area.

Jonas said more than 500 people help with Frontier Days yearly, some putting in 20 hours a week the entire year.

"We have a good community and we have a phenomenal group of volunteers ... who want to give back to the community," Jonas said.