Being A Pony Penning Volunteer

CHINCOTEAGUE -- Roe Terry intricately understands the annual Chincoteague Pony Penning from every angle.

Terry, a 34-year member of the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company, which owns and manages the herd of ponies, knows the importance of the event's tradition and cares deeply for the welfare of the animals.

As the company's public relations officer and media representative, Terry helps television and print reporters get access to the ponies and the volunteers who are so important to this week's activities.

The result is that Wednesday's 85th annual Pony Swim and Thursday's Pony Auction will get worldwide coverage and have a dedicated following of enthusiasts.

"It's a juggling job," Terry said recently from his decoy carving shop on North Main Street. "You've got to be diplomatic."

Terry also understands the impact of Pony Penning on Chincoteague Island. The event helps local businesses and restaurants. And the proceeds of the pony sale and annual Fireman's Carnival help the fire company.

Long after the ponies are sold and crowds are gone, the funding helps meet the operating expenses for firetrucks, ambulances and more.

"Chincoteague's very lucky because we have the ponies," he said.

This year has been no different from others. Terry has been in contact with a reporter from Europe who recently spent time on the island documenting the ponies, and a television reporter from Japan who is expected to attend the event.

Last year, he was particularly proud that Horse Racing Television came to town to film the event and produce a segment. And Terry enjoys recounting when Spencer Christian, the "Good Morning America" weatherman, interviewed him live on national television while the ponies swam in the background.

"You learn, through your trials, what to do," he said. Terry always gives credit to the volunteers and firefighters who came before him and thanks Donald Leonard for being his mentor as the company's public relations point person.

Terry's involvement with the event, however, lasts far more than one week. Caring for the ponies, organizing the swim and auction and preparing for the carnival is a year-round process.

He waves off attention and deflects the credit to all the dedicated volunteers in the fire company and Saltwater Cowboys who give their time and talents to make the event a success.

"Everybody does it, not just me," he said. "It's a tremendous amount of work."

Terry's background

Terry, 57, joined the Navy after high school in Chincoteague and then worked at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Terry and his wife, Monnie, have two grown children, Ryan and Irene.

For a decade, beginning in the early 1980s, he was a full-time decoy carver.

Terry has been a carver ever since he was 15. He credits a neighbor, Doug Jester Jr., with fostering a love of the outdoors.

"He took me clamming, fishing, hunting," he said of Jester.

After carving 5,751 pieces in a little more than nine years, he went back to NOAA as an electronic technician, saying he "decided I better get some retirement and health insurance."

Still, Terry enjoys carving -- he works 42 hours a week at his full-time job and carves another 20-25 hours a week behind his house in a shop where he shows and sells his intricate, detailed birds.

These days, Terry produces about 200 pieces a year and donates some of them to worthy causes like the new Chincoteague Island Library for fundraisers. He also gives 40 talks a year to groups like Elderhostel on carving and wildfowl.

Dedication to volunteering

It seems Terry likely won't get much carving done in the coming days as volunteers coordinate the swim and auction. He'll be speaking with the media and granting access to the swim site. Like many others who help with the event, he takes vacation time from work so he can volunteer for the storied event.

Volunteering is dear to Terry, whether it involves the Pony Penning, helping on a wintertime house fire or with any other organization. He bristles at people who complain about volunteers.

"Don't complain about your volunteers," said Terry, who keeps his firefighting gear in his pickup truck. "Be a volunteer."

That's exactly what people will see Terry and the other Chincoteague firefighters and Saltwater Cowboys doing, not only in the coming days, but all year long.

"It's a satisfying job because you're a volunteer," he said.

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