Norwescon 25 Volunteers

Join Us for the Norwescon 25 Room Party
The Volunteers Lounge will be the place to be from 8pm to midnight on Thursday night of the con as the Volunteers department hosts the Norwescon 25 Room Party! All convention attendees are invited to join us for food, fun and music! This is the one and only time the Volunteers Lounge will be open to non-Volunteers, so come enjoy it and see how spoiled the Volunteers will be this year. Of course, if you sign up to be a volunteer you can enjoy this room and its amenities throughout the weekend.

Mrs. Peel, We're Needed
Every part of Norwescon is run by volunteers - people who hear the call of duty and know that even an hour of their time will enrich the con experience for everyone there, especially themselves. There are opportunities in just about every department to volunteer, and every moment of time given by volunteers is vitally needed and deeply appreciated.

Two Locations to Serve You Better
In addition to being able to sign up in the Volunteers Lounge, there will be a fully operational Volunteer Recruitment Station in the lobby ready to get you checked in and set up for all the shifts you can handle. There will also be general information about NWC 25's Volunteer Perks & Awards plan, as well as a couple of surprises. Be sure to stop by and see how easy it is to volunteer an hour… or twenty!

What Do You Get in Return?
In addition to the good feeling you get by being a part of something larger, the major benefits of volunteering at the convention include (but are by no means limited to):

  • The Volunteers Lounge where you can chill out, play games, watch TV, grab a few munchies, do a few arts & crafts, hear where all the fun is, and be appreciated. The lounge will have materials and supplies available for volunteers to turn their plain, old shoes into ruby slippers they can wear or display at the Volunteers Table in the lobby.

  • Volunteer tokens and awards. Between the Dealers Room and the creative minds of the Volunteers Department, there are some pretty keen material rewards for pitching in at Norwescon. Lots of details, including the Norwescon Discount Coupon lottery, are listed below.

  • A Volunteers Picnic in August, for all of the volunteers to get together and have absolutely complimentary food and fun. That's right - all volunteers are welcome to join many members of the ConCom for a barbeque that never fails to provide amusement and interesting memories. The NWC25 Volunteer Picnic location and details will be announced frequently and in several ways (including mail-outs) as soon as the location is definite.

Tokens
Volunteer tokens will be showcased at the party, but here's a sneak peek. Of course, as the theme is "In the Land of the Emerald City", The Wizard of Oz has influenced us (ya think!?).

The first token is a goodie bag - A cloth bag with a canvas shoulder strap in Emerald Green or Ruby Red will be given to the first 200 volunteers who complete one shift of volunteering. Second is a Diploma, third is a Heart, fourth is a Medal for Courage, fifth is a small pair of Ruby Slippers and, last but not least, a Hot Air Balloon.

Two Ways to Earn Tokens
There will be two ways to earn tokens this year:

  • The first will be by day. Each day you volunteer you will earn a new token. The first day you volunteer, you will earn the bag. Each successive day you can add to your stash! Some volunteers have already earned tokens by helping at the volunteer work parties. (One more session to go! Please join us!)

  • The second way will be by hours worked. Your Volunteers Head knows that some of you put in mass hours over a couple of days instead of a few hours every day, so for every 6 hours worked, you can earn a new token.

The Iron-on Volunteer
Be sure to bring your Vests from "Nor'VEST'con, and/or your t-shirt from last year. There will be iron-on transfers for you to embellish them with. You can be sure there will be a few surprises, too!

Lottery
There will be special awards given by lottery every day of the con. Each day, there will be five $20 membership discount coupons, and one free membership (free membership lottery is only for volunteers who have worked above a certain number of hours) given away. Another free membership will be awarded at the Volunteer Event on Sunday, as part of the general lottery joining the awards donated by dealers. More details on the structure of the award program will be available at the convention.

Double Credit
Hours worked Wednesday, Thursday before noon, any day between midnight and 6am, and after 6pm on Sunday, count double!

Pre-Con Volunteer Opportunities:
There will be one last volunteer work party prior to Norwescon, as well as an AOV training session and the famous Stuffing Party.

AOV Training February 23
The Association of Operations Volunteers (AOV), and Norwescon, is offering the popular "Volunteer Security Training Class" this month! This will be the full 8-hour training course, and will be the only time it is offered this year. The class is free, and all are encouraged to attend!

Where: SeaTac Double Tree Hotel (the Norwescon Convention site) - The hotel is located at 18740 International Blvd in SeaTac, Washington. Please phone (206) 246-8600 for directions. Note: Parking is pay, so please come prepared.

When: 9am to 5pm with a break for lunch.

Who Should Attend: All those individuals who are involved in any aspect of the security of special events, operations personnel, and anyone else who wants to understand the role and limitations of a volunteer security team. This class is also a great way to get all your team members (Volunteers and ConCom) on the same sheet of music. This then helps the event run smoother, and reduces liability. For more information, please email: (removed)

Also, visit the AOV website at http://www.theaov.com/

Volunteer Work Party March 2
NWC 25 volunteer work party at Keldas (Kelly Doran) in Federal Way, 2-5pm. For more information, email Becky Citrak at adonno@aol.com, or call her in Olympia at 360-456-7441. Refreshments will be served. Directions will be posted prior to the event, so check back! We'll be working on medals of courage and possibly also on finishing hot-air balloons, and perhaps a couple of other items.

Stuffing Party March 24
The Norwescon Stuffing Party will be held Sunday, March 24 at the SeaTac DoubleTree Hotel at 1p.m. The room should be Olympic 4 (double-check on the daily meeting boards throughout the hotel). Refreshments will be served.

Please join us for fun and games as we take pieces of paper, paperback books, buttons and coupons and marry them together to form the packets that everybody receives at Registration. The more people we have, the faster it will go. Be the first in your neighborhood to see what sort of goodies everyone will receive. Cop a button or two advertising the next big movie. We might even have the latest programming grids on the wall for your perusal.

If you have something to include in the packets, please be at the hotel at noon. People that wish to include fliers or coupons are asked to help with the stuffing. In the past, those that have brought material in late usually ended up in a corner of the room adding their materials to the packets that have already been stuffed. Not nearly as much fun as being in the conga line of stuffers. We plan to stuff 3000 packets, so plan accordingly.

If you intend to bring material, please contact transportation@norwescon.org and let them know what you are bringing.

Working at the stuffing party counts towards hours worked at the con. Norwescon volunteers receive perks like early seating at the Masquerade and are entered into drawings for many items donated by Norwescon dealers. The drawings take place early Sunday afternoon of the con. Please note: People attending the Stuffing Party will have to pay for their own parking. This year, we have had to pay $4 per car for our meetings at the hotel. We'll see if we can get it even cheaper for this event, however carpooling is advised.

Questions?
You can get more information on any of these events by emailing Volunteers Head, Becky Citrak, at adonno@aol.com, or calling her at 360-456-7441.

The Few, the Proud, the Nuts!
As always, Norwescon is totally run by Volunteers. There are no paid staff members, and damn few perks. They don't get free rooms, they pay for their memberships and they work their butts off. Join the Few, the Proud, the Nuts! Help make Norwescon work! VOLUNTEER!

Remember: every job at the convention is done by a volunteer. Help make Norwescon happen!

COME JOIN THE NORWESCON 25 TEAM!