Vancouver cityscape at night. Colorful city night with skyscrapers and marina with boats.
Call for Volunteers: IABC/BC Hospitality Task Force
Volunteer roles come in all shapes and sizes – sometimes you are the invisible, but organized coordinator behind the scenes, the charming front-person, or the brainstorming mastermind, connecting crazy ideas to actual events and opportunities. In just seven months, the 2019 IABC World Conference comes to Vancouver and to the very best IABC chapter in the west. To make magic happen, we need all of these volunteers and more; we need you.
You can check out the official call for volunteers, but the highlights of what you need to know are this:
Who’s who in the zoo?
All “on the ground” conference work is coordinated through a Hospitality Task Force, which will be co-chaired by the effervescent and fabulously-shod duo of Laurie Dawkins and Jennifer Wah. Combined, they have much of the alphabet after their names, and more than 20 years’ experience in attending and planning IABC conferences, inspiring volunteers, and making the impossible possible. (Remember the Mounties from 2006?!)
What are we recruiting for?
Three key volunteer positions will report in to Laurie and Jennifer, each with their own sub-committee. These volunteer positions include: Volunteer Coordinator, Hospitality Coordinator, and Dine-Around Coordinator.
What are the benefits to you?
Being one of these coordinators is a big job. With chapter pride and world bragging rights on the line, you need to deliver and make the experience of volunteering alongside you memorable and rewarding. In exchange, you’ll receive a complimentary regular conference registration.
The commitment
Coordinators need to commit ASAP and be “all-in” until mid-June 2019. If you’re interested, please apply by Friday, November 23rd at 4:00pm PST.
Don’t have that much time to offer?
There are other slightly lowkey ways to be part of conference fever. We are also looking for volunteers to help staff the conference registration desk, host the on-site hospitality and dine-around tables, serve as dine-around hosts and hospitality guides, plan and host the infamous Canada Party, and be involved with the Gift of Communication program. Some, but not all, of these roles offer volunteers a complimentary regular conference registration. (Please see the official call for volunteers for details.)
How does this intersect with our local IABC chapter?
Wherever possible, we are looking to integrate conference volunteering with support for our local IABC/BC chapter. This means you may be asked to give a few hours of your time to help support chapter activities – in addition to the conference – between now and June 2019. Please keep this in mind should you raise your hand for the conference roles.
In closing
Whether you take on an official volunteer role or not, know that as the conference draws closer, there will be countless ways to show your support and prove that Vancouver, BC is the very best host city and home to the most vibrant, fun-loving IABC members and communicators the IABC world has ever had the privilege to meet!
Laurie & Jennifer
