VIDEO: BOSTON MARATHON RACE DIRECTOR HIRED TO HELP RUN MASS COVID-19 VACCINATION SITES
WCVB
The race director of the Boston Marathon has pivoted his business to help bring an end to the COVID-19 pandemic, and thus save his industry.
Dave McGillivray owns DMSE Sports, which organizes and manages dozens of road races and outdoor events every year, including the Boston Marathon.
McGillivray's business had 35 events scheduled for 2020, but the pandemic forced all of those to be canceled or held virtually.
"I’ve been putting on events for 40 years and I always thought that our industry was bulletproof, that there’s no kryptonite in what we do," McGillivray said. "In good times and in bad times, the mass participatory industry has survived. All of a sudden, this pandemic comes along and proved me wrong, and it knocked us to our knees."
To help keep DMSE Sports afloat, McGillivray made a connection with CIC Health — which operates the mass COVID-19 vaccination sites at Fenway Park and Gillette Stadium — through the state of Massachusetts.
Now, McGillivray is running logistics for the mass vaccination sites at Fenway and Gillette, and his employees will be working alongside the health teams at those sites.
Charles Krupa
Boston Marathon Race Director Dave McGillivray poses Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021, outside Fenway Park in Boston. Since the 2021 Boston Marathon is on hold until fall, McGillivray has been tapped by the state of Massachusetts to run mass vaccination operations at Gillette Stadium and Fenway Park. (AP Photo)
"For me, the feeling is so good that the thing that knocked us to our knees is now the thing that is allowing us to do good: that we’re keeping people healthy, we’re saving lives and we’re even bringing our own industry back," he said.
McGillivray says vaccinations at Gillette Stadium, which has been fully online for nearly two weeks, are now going smoothly given the new challenges.
The mass vaccination site at Fenway Park, which had a soft launch on Friday, is set to come fully online Monday. The ballpark will begin administering 500 vaccines per day, eventually ramping up to 1,000 vaccines per day to residents eligible under the state’s vaccination plan, state officials said.
McGillivray expects his logistics work at mass vaccination sites to continue for about 6 to 8 months, as he keeps the possibility of additional future mass vaccination sites in mind.