Volunteers set to bring All-Star Weekend to life

As the WNBA’s All-Star Weekend arrives in Indianapolis, some 750 volunteers are being deployed throughout the city to help pull off the event. But their work started long ago.

For some, it began in January with host committee duties, while others have hosted events to create excitement and awareness in the city and around the state about the weekend’s meaning and festivities.

IBJ spoke with some of the volunteers about their duties and the love they have for volunteering, especially during big sports events in the Circle City.

‘The spirit of what Indy represents’

Volunteer: James Duke

Longtime local volunteer James Duke is tackling a grab bag of assignments for the WNBA All-Star Game’s host committee, but his most visible contribution was his role as “hype man” for a quartet of public Zumba sessions staged during the weeks before the game. One took place at Indianapolis International Airport, where travelers heading for their gates paused to watch the workout.

“We had people coming through the airport, roller bags in tow, who heard the music, saw the crowd, and next thing you know, they’re out there doing Zumba,” Duke said. “We gave them shirts, water bottles, fanny packs and snacks. That’s the spirit of what Indy represents.”

Instead of actually participating in the workouts—which were at the airport, Morris Bicentennial Plaza and the Watkins Park Family Center—Duke worked the microphone, rallied hesitant potential participants (including dads and kids) and handed out game-related swag. The sessions were hosted by the WNBA 2025 All-Star Game Host Committee and the Centers of Wellness for Urban Women.

His contributions to the event won’t end with his Zumba work, however. This weekend, Duke will shift to more prosaic but equally important duties, drawing on decades of experience volunteering for everything from the NBA All-Star Weekend last year to 1987’s Tenth Pan American Games.

“I was just a little kid when I volunteered for the Pan Am Games,” said Duke, who, when he isn’t hyping Zumba gatherings, serves as supply chain director for Indiana University Health University Hospital. “Since then, I’ve just tried to make myself available whenever big events come up. I love my city, love making sure visitors have a good time, and I’ll go wherever I’m needed.”

One of the things he’s most looking forward to this time around is doing his volunteer work in warm weather, instead of the snow and cold he endured when the NBA All-Star Game took place in February 2024.

“I look forward to the good weather, for sure,” Duke said. “But also, just seeing Indy once again step up and show the world what hospitality looks like.”

He credits the WNBA All-Star leadership team with pulling together a truly inclusive celebration that reflects the whole state. But he said the fans and visitors really make things hum.

“It’s the people,” he said. “The energy, the excitement. Whether it’s someone flying in from out of town or a kid getting into Zumba for the first time, we’re all just here to help them have a good time.”

‘People are so excited and energized’

Volunteer: Michelle Bellamy

If you want to know what makes the WNBA All-Star Weekend tick, Michelle Bellamy can give you the lay of the land. As co-chair of volunteer services, she’ll spend pretty much the entire event making sure that hundreds of volunteers have everything they need to do their jobs—whether directions on where to go or T-shirts that identify the helpful hands to visitors.

“I consider myself an executor,” Bellamy said. “They know I’m going to do whatever it takes to get the job done and stay on point. I’m just dedicated.”

Her job this weekend includes overseeing volunteer check-ins, fielding questions, handling cancellations, and distributing gear and assignments. She’ll also help manage a volunteer lounge where workers can decompress with a beverage and a snack before, during and after their shifts.

It sounds like a lot, but Bellamy remains unfazed. She’s been doing this kind of thing for close to three decades, lending her time to events such as the Super Bowl, NBA and NCAA tournaments, Olympic swim trials and more. She’s a longtime volunteer with the Indiana Sports Corp. and also pitches in for groups such as Indiana Black Expo and its own marquee sporting event, the Circle City Classic.

Managing hordes of volunteers might sound as frustrating as herding cats, but Bellamy said the biggest problem she typically faces is that there are no problems. Or at least, none that amount to much.

“People are so excited and energized to be a part of events like this that we don’t really have problems with no-shows,” she said. “We have flex volunteers in case someone cancels, but honestly, it rarely comes up.”

A former Eli Lilly and Co. employee, Bellamy recently launched Silent Voices 360, which will focus on oversight and advocacy for senior care. But even though she’s got her hands full with her own startup, she still feels a strong drive to help out at events such as the WNBA All-Star Game. It isn’t the planning and logistics that attract her. It’s the people.

“Meeting new folks, seeing the guests come into the city, just being part of something big—that’s what keeps me coming back,” she said.

Her hopes for All-Star Weekend are pretty much the same ones she has for any top-tier Indianapolis sporting event.

“I just want everything to go smoothly,” Bellamy said. “I want people to have a great time and for Indy to show the nation what Hoosier hospitality is all about. That’s what I want them to remember.”

‘I absolutely love meeting the visitors’

Volunteer: David Starr

David Starr will spend most of All-Star Game Weekend in the lobby of the Hyatt Place hotel, just across the street from Gainbridge Fieldhouse, helping to organize and deploy the hundreds of local volunteers who provide the elbow grease that makes so many Indy sporting events a reality.

“I was asked to help out with the volunteer services group,” Starr said. “I’m basically welcoming other volunteers, checking them in, making sure that they show up and then getting them to the areas where they’ll be working. And if somebody from out of town has questions about the event and so forth, I’ll try to help answer those and guide them as best I can.”

Starr has made volunteering for one-off sporting events something of a second career since he retired recently from Roche Diagnostics, where he was in charge of supply chain planning.

“I did a lot of volunteering while I was still working,” he said. “I saw an opportunity to take some of the stress out of my life and focus my energy into a lot of different volunteer opportunities.”

Though helping to supervise a huge corps of volunteers scattered all over downtown doesn’t sound particularly relaxing, Starr loves it and likens it to serving as an ambassador for Indianapolis. It’s a feeling echoed by the hundreds (sometimes thousands) of volunteers who’ve helped run everything from the 10th Pan American Games in 1987 to this year’s WNBA All-Star Game. And Starr’s professional experience with logistics makes him a valuable commodity.

“It’s like in business when you hire temporary workers and you find one that works out pretty well,” he said. “You keep bringing them back, and maybe, they become full time at some point.”

He said volunteering works the same way.

“You want to make sure that you have people who represent your city well and give visitors a great experience,” he said. “I absolutely love meeting the visitors from out of town, welcoming them into the city and being able to show them a good time.”

He’s also happy that the WNBA All-Star Game happens at a warmer time of year than the NBA All-Star Game—which he also volunteered for when it came to Indy in February 2024. One of his duties was standing outside in the cold and snow, helping out at the temporary basketball courts.

“I met a lady from California who was dancing in the snow because she’d never seen it before,” Starr recalled. “She wanted me to take a video of her so she could show it to her family. It’s small things like that which can make the event more enjoyable for visitors, and for me also.”

Scavenger Hunt gets Hoosiers excited for game

Volunteer: Noelle Szydlyk 

While most of the hundreds of All-Star Game volunteers will be posted downtown or at fan events, Noelle Szydlyk spent the weeks before tipoff zigzagging across Indiana, handing out clues and hyping hoops history in spots as far afield as South Bend and Evansville.

She did so while coordinating the WNBA All-Star Scavenger Hunt, a statewide outreach effort designed to spotlight Indiana’s deep ties to women’s basketball. Participants who signed up online received daily trivia clues, sometimes twice a day, about Indiana-born female hoops stars, iconic teams or Indiana Fever standouts. Each clue was tied to a physical location, and whoever showed up first at that particular spot and answered that session’s trivia question correctly won tickets to All-Star events.

“We wanted to celebrate 25 stories and 25 locations and really shine a light on Indiana’s role in the history of the sport,” said Szydlyk, who helped organize the hunt’s numerous stops. “Some clues are basketball-related. Others are tied to sponsors or community centers. We’ve done Kroger stops, high schools, The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, you name it.”

On the day of each of the more than two-dozen hunts, participants gathered at a designated location—often a surprise until shortly before the event—where an emcee welcomed the crowd with music, trivia and giveaways. First place received tickets to the All-Star Game or the Friday night skills competitions. But even second- and third-place winners didn’t go home empty-handed.

As director of sports tourism and event planning for the Indiana Destination Development Corp., Szydlyk is uniquely suited for the gig. She also worked on countless sports events during her previous work at Indiana Sports Corp. and keeps a long list of small-town contacts she’s developed during her career.

“I’m an empty-nester now, so I’ve got the time to pitch in,” she said. “And this is just fun. This project was a great fit because it took us all over the state. It’s about getting communities excited and giving them a reason to feel included in the celebration.”

Szydlyk is also on the planning team for the All-Star Bounce event, during which some 2,500 kids will dribble basketballs through downtown. It sold out in just 48 hours.

While quick to admit she wasn’t a huge WNBA fan before the current rush of interest, she said that’s definitely changed.

“I’ve gone to a Fever game, and it was so fun and so fast-paced,” Szydlyk said. “I’m already telling more people to go. The energy is incredible. This whole experience has made me a fan.”

‘I’m passionate about promoting Indianapolis’

Volunteer: Nancy Canning

When Nancy Canning retired from a long career in nonprofit marketing, she quickly transitioned to a new “job” as a volunteer-at-large for various Indianapolis events.

She is working with fellow volunteer services co-chair Michelle Bellamy and others to make sure the roughy 750 volunteers at WNBA All-Star Weekend are trained, outfitted and caffeinated, and know exactly where they need to be.

“Right now, we’re packing uniform kits—shirt, hat, all that,” Canning said. “We’re open for business at headquarters from Wednesday through Saturday of game week.”

Headquarters will be the lobby of the Hyatt Place hotel, across the street from Gainbridge Fieldhouse. From there, Canning and her team will dispatch volunteers to sites around the city, ranging from downtown to Indianapolis International Airport to various fan venues. Her crew will also keep a lounge stocked with snacks and water to help volunteers recharge during breaks.

Canning’s no stranger to this kind of logistical challenge. She’s worked on Indianapolis events since the Super Bowl in 2012 and, before that, held convention and tourism roles in Ames, Iowa (home of Tyrese Haliburton’s alma mater, she’s quick to point out), and Terre Haute. Now retired, she volunteers full time to support events that spotlight the city and boost the local economy.

“I’m passionate about promoting Indianapolis and showing visitors what we have to offer,” she said. “I want people to leave with a good impression and come back for a meeting, or with their family, or just because they had a great time here.”

Her work for the WNBA All-Star Game started long before tipoff. For months, she’s helped suss out the volunteer needs of various committees, built volunteer registration tools with Indiana Sports Corp. and helped match volunteers to shifts that fit their schedules. She estimates more than a thousand people signed up to be considered, which was well beyond the number needed.

“That’s what I love about this city,” she said. “People want to be involved. They show up, they do the work, and they take pride in being part of something bigger.”

Canning is especially excited about the timing of this event. With women’s basketball surging in popularity and Indiana at the heart of it, the game feels particularly meaningful.

“The Caitlin Clark effect is real, but the truth is, Indianapolis has always cared about women’s sports,” she said. “This is just our chance to show the world.”•