10 April 2010

Call for Jamboree Volunteers

Jamboree is more fun when you set aside a couple of hours to help. You know you want to be there, so why not be a part of the action! Volunteer now! No experience is necessary; we’ll train you for the job. Some jobs take brains, some take brawn, and others just take a willing smile, an interest in people and a volunteer’s heart.

Carma-Lu Thompson will be overseeing the volunteer army and she will be getting in touch with volunteers as Jamboree draws near. Send an email to Carma-Lu at clu5536@yahoo.com to let her know of the times, dates and tasks that interest you.

Volunteers who work at least four (4) hours on site at Jamboree will receive a $5 food coupon as a token of appreciation. Volunteers can earn one coupon per day.

Here's what we need:

Team Leaderships Roles:

1. Transportation Team Leader. Oversee the load-out from SCGS beginning at noon on Thursday, June 10. Arrange for truck (Uhaul or private trucking). On Friday morning, oversee the loading and return of both bus trips (Evergreen Cemetery and SCGS Library). Distribute and collect release forms. Serve as primary contact for Marriott parking staff. Oversee the load-out from the Marriott to SCGS on Sunday after 3:30 p.m.

2. Door Prize / Raffle Manager. Solicit door prizes from sponsoring organizations. Maintain records of door prizes donated. Organize the drawing and disbursement of door prizes at Jamboree. Oversee system of notifying winners. Sell tickets and encourage sales onsite at Jamboree.

3. Audio-Visual Equipment Team Leader: Place the correct equipment in each speaker's room. Assist in connecting the equipment; perform equipment and sound checks. Assure security of equipment.

Other Positions:

Conference Center Door Staff: Direct guests away from the convention center during Friday morning set-up hours. Provide directions to JamboFREE events. Serve as door guard for Convention Center. Open doors for exhibitors.

Pre-Registration Table: Greet attendees. Distribute registration packets, Pink Sheets, and name badges. Distribute printed syllabus to those who have tickets. Break open boxes. Friendly, cheerful, unflappable. Casual business attire.

Hospitality: Greet people and direct them to the appropriate registration line (pre-register or walk-in). Distribute and collect registration forms from walk-in registrants waiting in line. Give directions to lecture rooms, rest rooms, etc. Collect Jamboree evaluation forms.

Room Monitor: badge checks/take tickets, distribute / collect evaluation forms, estimate attendance at each session, photograph speakers and audience shots, and do room maintenance (straighten chairs, etc.). Notify Venue Manager immediately of any audio-visual, speaker, unsafe crowding, any problematic issues. May introduce speaker but this is not required. (Note to volunteers: We need at one monitor for each session and multiple monitors for large sessions. Volunteering as a monitor is a great way to be assured of a seat at even the most popular session. Check the lecture schedule and pick the two or three sessions that are most important for you to attend. Volunteer to be room monitor for those sessions, and Carma-Lu will do her best to assign you to the lecture your choice. It's the best way to be assured of a seat in a very popular class.)

Speaker Introduction: Read prewritten introductions of speakers. Stick to the script, short and sweet. Respectful and professional. Must be comfortable speaking in front of groups.

Ancestry.com Scanning: Primary onsite contact for Ancestry.com staff. Organize sign-up at beginning of each day. Ancestry.com has asked for volunteers to help run the digitizing equipment and there are volunteer positions open with Ancestry as well.

Tech Zone: Set up / maintain equipment, assist patrons with use of databases, keep time used by patrons, troubleshoot access. Assure security of equipment.

Data entry: Enter results of evaluation forms. Inform coordinators of serious issues.

We also need volunteers for:

SCGS Sales Table: Handles money. Runs cash register. Assists patrons with purchases. Maintains sales table. Sells speakers' books, SCGS items, raffle tickets, memberships.  Volunteers for the SCGS Sales Table should contact Jan Jennings at jantj@sbcglobal.net.

Genealogy World Round-table Discussions Contact Lin LaRochelle at mefinley@earthlink.net.

Registration Bag Stuffers - Show up at the SCGS Library on Saturday, June 5, at 10am for the annual assembly chaos of stuffing the registration bags. It's a great way to get to meet other volunteers and to get a sneak peek at Jamboree. It kicks off Jamboree Week in a rousing, fun, free-pizza-for-all, kind of way.

We Need You!

06 April 2010

"Getting The Most out of a Genealogy Conference" Webinar Available Online

SCGS hosted a very successful webinar, "Getting the Most out of a Genealogy Conference," conducted by George G. Morgan. The webinar is now posted online and is available for viewing.  Click on the image to the left and you'll be taken to the SCGS Videos page. Select the "Getting the Most" video and sit back and enjoy the presentation.


While the session uses Jamboree examples, George's points and suggestions are useful for attending any genealogy conference.  The last 30 minutes of the video is a Q and A session that pertains mostly to Jamboree.

While you're on the video page, watch the other great videos that have been filmed at past Jamborees. 

Huge thanks to RootsTelevision for hosting the video and to George for doing a fantastic job!