MOTM Registration
So, my gig at Meeting of the Minds in Key West is to be the Registration Assistant. Great job for a social butterfly since I get to see lots and lots of people as they come in to get their convention credentials and goodies.
Before we can start registration, though, there's a Goody Bag stuffing party on Wednesday. We line up all the stuff that goes into the bags (hats, koozies, paper ads, beads, bottle openers, CDs, lanyards, convention guide, etc.) on tables. A conga line forms with people first grabbing a bag then dancing by the tables as other folks drop the items in the bags. The bags are then delivered to a group of folks who stack them up in the back room.
Stars on the Water plays to keep the party going and there's a bar in the room so you can take a break and have a cocktail (sure, it starts at 9 AM but, heck, we're on vacation so why not have a beer?).
In addition to stuffing bags, there's also T-Shirt folding duty. I roped Dawnie into joining me for that. Even with as much practice as we got, I still don't think we could get jobs at The Gap.
Registration officially opens at 9 AM on Thursday. We had people lined up to the lobby of the hotel. I'm not sure why they all have a compelling need to get registered first thing in the morning when they could just come in around 1 that afternoon and not have to wait at all.
We had things well in hand and then the power went out. It was actually out all over the island. We were trapped in near darkness for a minute or two then the security lights came on. Registration continued and the power was back on in about 10 minutes.
Unfortunately, the A/C didn't come back on with the power. Aye, carumba! Imagine a ballroom with over 100 people in it in a tropical (think hot and moist) environment with no air circulating through it. Toasty. We sweated it out and they got it restarted but it didn't cool off until late afternoon.
We got through the vast majority of folks on Thursday. I covered the Friday morning shift and had a great crew (actually we had great crews the whole time but we were slow enough to chat on Friday). There was a bar set up outside the room so we had a couple of rounds. I told them, "What other job can you get where you're encouraged to drink?" That's my sales pitch to get them to volunteer next year.
Eva, the Registration Chair, took the Friday night shift and we both worked Saturday AM. On Sunday, we got together and packaged up t-shirts and badges to be mailed out to the no-shows.
If you're keeping track, I worked Wed-Thur-Fri-Sat-Sun on my vacation. I don't really mind it at all and I've got it easy compared to Eva's load. Someone's got to do it and I really like the chance to meet a lot of people. My homies have gotten used to me telling them, "I'll call you when I'm done with my shift".
Before we can start registration, though, there's a Goody Bag stuffing party on Wednesday. We line up all the stuff that goes into the bags (hats, koozies, paper ads, beads, bottle openers, CDs, lanyards, convention guide, etc.) on tables. A conga line forms with people first grabbing a bag then dancing by the tables as other folks drop the items in the bags. The bags are then delivered to a group of folks who stack them up in the back room.
Stars on the Water plays to keep the party going and there's a bar in the room so you can take a break and have a cocktail (sure, it starts at 9 AM but, heck, we're on vacation so why not have a beer?).
In addition to stuffing bags, there's also T-Shirt folding duty. I roped Dawnie into joining me for that. Even with as much practice as we got, I still don't think we could get jobs at The Gap.
Boxes and boxes of t-shirts to be folded.
The thing is, there were 3,650 people registered. That meant 3,650 bags were stuffed and more than that many t-shirts folded since some people ordered extras. Let me tell you, it was a lot. We got it all done in about 3 hours, though, with a lot of help from our friends.
The thing is, there were 3,650 people registered. That meant 3,650 bags were stuffed and more than that many t-shirts folded since some people ordered extras. Let me tell you, it was a lot. We got it all done in about 3 hours, though, with a lot of help from our friends.
Bags going three levels deep and about seven across.
Registration officially opens at 9 AM on Thursday. We had people lined up to the lobby of the hotel. I'm not sure why they all have a compelling need to get registered first thing in the morning when they could just come in around 1 that afternoon and not have to wait at all.
We had things well in hand and then the power went out. It was actually out all over the island. We were trapped in near darkness for a minute or two then the security lights came on. Registration continued and the power was back on in about 10 minutes.
Unfortunately, the A/C didn't come back on with the power. Aye, carumba! Imagine a ballroom with over 100 people in it in a tropical (think hot and moist) environment with no air circulating through it. Toasty. We sweated it out and they got it restarted but it didn't cool off until late afternoon.
Ball made out of labels pulled off the event badges.
We got through the vast majority of folks on Thursday. I covered the Friday morning shift and had a great crew (actually we had great crews the whole time but we were slow enough to chat on Friday). There was a bar set up outside the room so we had a couple of rounds. I told them, "What other job can you get where you're encouraged to drink?" That's my sales pitch to get them to volunteer next year.
Eva, the Registration Chair, took the Friday night shift and we both worked Saturday AM. On Sunday, we got together and packaged up t-shirts and badges to be mailed out to the no-shows.
If you're keeping track, I worked Wed-Thur-Fri-Sat-Sun on my vacation. I don't really mind it at all and I've got it easy compared to Eva's load. Someone's got to do it and I really like the chance to meet a lot of people. My homies have gotten used to me telling them, "I'll call you when I'm done with my shift".
