Mother-Daughter Volunteer Duo: “It’s What We Were Born to Do”
At the end of every year at Atlanta Track Club, after all the races have wrapped up, there is one last critical, welcome task: thanking the Club's extraordinary volunteers at the Volunteer All-Star Banquet.
This year's banquet took place at Monday Night Garage, where Atlanta Track Club ambassadors and long-time volunteers gathered to enjoy live music, drink a beer or two and celebrate each other for their commitments to the Club.
Chief among the awards bestowed is the Clarence W. May Jr. Award, named after a dedicated volunteer who made a significant contribution to the Club and community before his death in 2000. Since then, a volunteer who demonstrates these values and makes an impact in the community has been honored in his name.
This year's recipients are an Atlanta mother and daughter: Dr. Anne Bell, 68, and her daughter, Aundrea Lee, 45, who have been active in Atlanta Track Club since 2004.
"These two are always so welcoming and open to help out in any way they can, especially at large number pickups," said Korri Palmer, volunteer coordinator at Atlanta Track Club. "Everyone who interacts with them at our events loves them."
Service and philanthropy, the two would agree, is what they were "born to do," and is a trait passed down through their family. In addition to being hybrid runners and Club volunteers, both women are teachers (Dr. Bell in high and middle school and Lee an elementary school art teacher) and alumni of the Zeta Phi Beta sorority, where they spend countless hours volunteering.
Their journey with the Club began with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race after they moved here from Texas in 1993 and Lee, a freshman in high school at the time, heard positive race reviews from her peers.
"There was a cross country student in my advisement class who would always talk about the Peachtree and how they did that year, but that was about the extent of that," Lee said. "All I got from it was, if you don't know about the Peachtree Road Race, you don't know what's going on here in Atlanta."
When she decided to run the race for the first time in 2004 after being reminded of it by a distance-running coworker, Lee registered her mom and stepdad without feeling entirely sure they would be willing to participate. But once they received their acceptance into the race, all three took to the newly constructed Silver Comet Trail to train - where Lee and her stepdad were shocked to see just how dedicated Dr. Bell was to running.
"We didn't realize she could run like that," Lee said. "When we were running on the Silver Comet before the race, my stepdad and I would already start walking after three miles and she kept going. Needless to say, she completed the race comfortably. The Peachtree became one of the best things we'd been a part of since moving to Atlanta."
Dr. Bell reminisces on being competitive as a child, "one of the fastest girls in my school" growing up, and even holds onto a first-place blue ribbon she won as a young girl during a school relay race. Today, she enjoys running with fellow masters athletes in the community and finds joy in challenging herself by running with those faster than she is.
After first Peachtree in 2004, the mother-daughter pair dove into the Atlanta Track Club community by becoming members, and started volunteering in 2005 at number pickups and volunteer check-ins.
"I love motivating people, and I always knew since I was a little girl that my purpose in life was to serve," Dr. Bell said. "That, and running, has become my love."
Both Dr. Bell and Lee have been volunteering since an early age, with Dr. Bell's mom encouraging her to assist the elderly in her community when she was a child and Lee participating in March of Dimes and telethons growing up.
Both women said they were surprised at the honor when they heard their names called for the volunteer award.
"Atlanta Track Club blesses me by allowing me to meet and serve people in all walks of life," Dr. Bell said. "Whether I'm donating old shoes or greeting other volunteers who have become my family, there's nothing I wouldn't do for the organization, big or small, because it's done so much for me."
