Panel Staff for 2009

[Kava]

Hey everyone! I'll have something up on the website later, but I thought I'd first put the word out here on the forums.

This last year in 2008 was the first year in a while that we had actual staff for the panels department, badge-checking the panel rooms and handing out opinion cards for the panels. We hope to continue with that for fanime 2009, but I'm going to need more staff!

Here's a few things to keep in mind....

-I don't have specific age requirements for most daytime panel work. Some panels do require a mature audience, and therefore require older staff to work them.
-I need at least a few people who will be arriving Thursday night or early Friday morning to help out with preparations before panels actually start.
-I need people who can work afternoon and evening shifts on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Panels take place during all of the major convention events such as Music Fest, Masquerade, etc.. and I need people willing to work during those hours. (Lots! This last year we had 5 panels going on simultaneously for some portions of Saturday & Sunday evenings.)

Last, but certainly not least, I am also looking for someone who lives in the bay area (silicon valley), to help me out more extensively with pre-con preparations for panels, sending out invitations, answering questions for panelists, and generally helping put things together. I might consider someone who lives farther away, but it'd be a lot easier to meet with them and work together if they were in this area.

If you have questions, or you're interested, just reply here or drop an e-mail to: [email protected]

[Steve.Young]

Well, If I'm not busy with SoS/Rovers or an event, I can help you out with whatever you need.

[Jerry]

Well, If I'm not busy with SoS/Rovers or an event, I can help you out with whatever you need.

Ditto here!
contact or Pm us anytime!

[BrightHeart76]

I live FAR away, but I'm willing to help any way I can.  I'm usually there by mid day Thursday so I can help with set up.  I have to say I'm not available on Saturday and Sunday...I schedule myself pretty tight those days, but I do stay thru Monday not leaving until Tuesday.  Let me know if there's anything I can do to help.

[Gwydion]

What kind of pre-con stuff are you talking about? I live in Hayward, which while isn't Silicon Valley, is somewhat close to it. I can't help during the con next year as I signed up for a table in Artist Alley, but I may be able to help beforehand.

[Kava]

Jerry & Steve: <3 I love you guys. I have a feeling people would kill me if I stole Rover staff at-con though. Want to help me pre-con with trying to recruit panelists and get organized?

BrightHeart: I'll keep you in mind, but since my heaviest needs fall on Saturday and Sunday, I always feel it's a bit unfair to take on staff which can only work during my lightest load hours. It means other staff have to work more hours on the days when all the big events are going on.

Gwydion: Pre-con, I need a team of people to help me get panels. I only moved into this area about 3 years ago now, so I don't have a lot of knowledge about who is in what field, what companies produced/were involved in which animes/games, who might be good for giving a panel on X, etc. I'd love to attend as many other cons as I can and steal some panelists from other places, but realistically I can't afford to go most of the time.

I also need a person to help me organize and coordinate internally, but I want that individual to help oversee things at-con as well as helping to organize pre-con.

Does that answer the question? If not, just ask something more specific and I'll do my best to answer. ^^

-Kava (Rena)

[Steve.Young]

I can help you with anything Pre-Con.

I'll send you a PM with my contact info.

[Jerry]

I can help you with anything Pre-Con.

I'll send you a PM with my contact info.

Ditto doing the same.

See! Asian work cheap! :)  2 for the price of one. :P

[Steve.Young]

Wait, we're getting paid?

Haha, we work for free for cool people.

[Shi_Musouka]

I might be available to help this year.

But I gotta check and see if I'll be able to attend Fanime this year first let alone staffing.

[banzuke]

I might be there on thursday and I can help if I have time

[Kava]

Thanks everyone! I'm sorry my replies have been so sparse. It's been a craaaaazy summer for me. I'll be getting back to everyone in the next couple of weeks as I get things moving. And yes... I still want more staff. ^-~

[Kava]

Okay! I have started sending out invitations (finally) sorry for the delay!

I don't mind having some people help out pre-con who won't be able to do a lot at-con, but please keep in mind that I may not be able to give you a staff badge if you can't pull any shifts at all at-con.

If any of the others of you are certain you're interested, drop me a PM with your name so that I can send you a staff invitation, and then I'll be sending out emails with information like, 'this is what I need done... who can do it?'

If anyone has any additional questions, feel free to ask those here!

[Steve.Young]

Okay! I have started sending out invitations (finally) sorry for the delay!

I don't mind having some people help out pre-con who won't be able to do a lot at-con, but please keep in mind that I may not be able to give you a staff badge if you can't pull any shifts at all at-con.

If any of the others of you are certain you're interested, drop me a PM with your name so that I can send you a staff invitation, and then I'll be sending out emails with information like, 'this is what I need done... who can do it?'

If anyone has any additional questions, feel free to ask those here!

I get my badge from SOS/Rovers. =)

Lets do this! Pre-con work for the win!

[Hiruna]

Sent and done~

[AnimeEmperor]

I've been drawn to the Kava side. x.x

[ahyoung]

Hey, this is my first year applying to volunteer. I would like to be somewhere on staffing, however, I'm only 16. Is panels a good department to start volunteering with? I have random skills and know splashes of different languages. I am avaliable for Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Friday(afternoon on wards for friday) Can someone help me out with how to get started? Also is going to all the meeting necessary becasue of SAT and other stuff its hard?

thank you~~
-ahyoung

[SOawesomeness]

Some departments have different standards and mandatory meetings. There are some departments that won't accept people under 18 (e.g. tech or SOS), there are some who would gladly accept you as a 16 year old.

Btw, "volunteering" and "staffing" is different. Although Staff are volunteers, there's a way to become staff and a different way to become a volunteer.

You can e-mail hr at fanime dot com and tell them what you're interested in, your age, etc. and they can tell you what departments you can work in. (:

[Kava]

If you've never volunteered before, taking a year to soak up how the con is run and learning a bit more about it, trying out different tasks through volunteers, is a good way to go rather than jumping immediately into a staff position which usually requires 20+ hours of work at-con.