While Norm Bottenberg’s event may try to scare you — it comes from a good place.
Volunteering is more than a hobby for the Sammamish resident, whose career in service dates back nearly 60 years.
A 10-year member of the Rotary Club of Sammamish, Bottenberg will serve as chair for the 13th annual Nightmare at Beaver Lake, opening Friday at Beaver Lake Park in Sammamish. The event runs Fridays through Sundays from Oct. 14 through Oct. 31. This year marks the third time Bottenberg has chaired the all-volunteer event, which serves as a Rotary fundraiser for local charities.
While overseeing construction in the weeks leading up to this year’s Nightmare opening, Bottenberg was quick to say, in a phone conversation with the Reporter, what it was that kept him coming back as a volunteer.
“It’s the people. That’s the value of volunteering; you get to get involved in a variety of different things that may not be open to you as a vocation,” he said. “There are great rewards there. You only get out of life what you put into it as a volunteer. I’ve gotten much more out of it than I’ve put into it.”
Bottenberg’s first stint at community service came as a high school Red Cross water safety instructor. He graduated from the University of Washington with a bachelor’s in education and taught shop class at Lake Washington High School for four years. Bottenberg left teaching to work at Red Cross, where he worked for 32 years as a director of health services. He also volunteered for over 30 years in various capacities with the National Ski Patrol and for 10 years as a Special Olympics ham radio communicator.
Bottenberg said volunteering is important to him because it keeps him involved with the community and, as a retired person, gives him something to get up and do and feel good about.
“I’ve always found pleasure in my volunteer experiences and you keep repeating them because it’s fun. You meet great people and you do great things,” he said. “It’s not so much a tangible reward as an internal reward. I guess it’s like a runner’s high without running.”
Volunteering also presents its own set of challenges, which can ultimately be rewarding. With ‘Nightmare,’ Bottenberg and his team are tasked with designing different haunts every year. He said “there’s a great deal of satisfaction” in meeting those challenges.
“I’d like to think I’m making the community a better place, that I’m helping people and giving them pleasure and satisfaction, currently through ‘Nightmare,'” Bottenberg said. “We need to make our world better and safer and this is one way I can contribute. And I would encourage [others] that they get involved in the community. Involve yourself a little bit and see if you like it.”
Nightmare at Beaver Lake tickets are available at the event and via BrownPaperTickets. Ticket prices range from $12-18. For more, visit www.NightmareAtBeaverLake.com and www.SammamishRotary.org.
