This weekend, athletes will converge on Eagle Lake to participate in the Gator Bait triathlon, but none of it would be possible without the support from community volunteers.

Heather Butler and Ana Clark are two of the volunteers who dedicate much of their time leading up to the event to make it such a success.

“We have a great community and we have so many incredible things going on here,” Butler said. “We can’t have those if we don’t have people volunteering and helping out.”

Butler helped organize the inaugural Gator Bait when it was an open water swim.

Many participants used the swim as a test to prepare for competing in triathlons. Based on the feedback Butler received, she worked to transform the event into becoming its own triathlon.

“Many suggested that [Eagle Lake] would be a great location to do a triathlon and so we just took it from an open water swim to a triathlon,” Butler said.

Butler is excited to get to feature Eagle Lake through the event. She considers it one of the most beautiful places the county has to offer.

“We’re able to take people from all over Mississippi and bring them into Warren County and show them a hidden gem of Warren County and the beauty of Eagle Lake,” Butler said.

She spends six months of the year sending out letters and coordinating with sponsors, volunteers and the highway patrol to make sure it goes off without a hitch. Currently they have 204 participants signed up and 100 volunteers working the event.

Volunteering is important to her because she wants to be an example for her children. She is involved with Rotary, the Vicksburg Convention Center board and is the donor investment chair for the United Way.

“I believe that one of the best gifts I can give my children is to show them that if you want to improve the world you’re in you have to take a part in that, and I firmly believe that,” Butler said.

When she is not volunteering, Butler is the clinic administrator for Merit Health River Region. She is not a Vicksburg native, but her husband William is, and she started volunteering to get involved with the community and meet people.

“To me I get the value of helping, watching something grow, knowing that I was able to help something succeed and also to meet new people,” Butler said.

For her, the community needs volunteers to thrive.

“We’re not going to have events that bring people into our area and showcase our city unless people here are volunteering and helping those things grow,” Butler said.

Butler and Clark both got involved with Gator Bait because their children have been swimming with the Vicksburg Swim Association for years.

Clark agreed with Butler, that being an example for her family is important to her. She wants her children’s experience in swimming to be the best it can be and she gives what she can to make it possible.