Jackie and I both worked as membership secretaries and did event supports.

• Event support at Membership Drive Fundraiser
  • Assisting in setup of silence auction before the event
  • boothing at membership table, greeting visitors as they enter the gallery, and manage membership registrations
• Membership secretary
  • This position is ongoing throughout the term and is done at home
  • Entering new membership information from membership sign up sheets to the database
  • Flagging missing information on the database so that VABF staff can follow up
  • Deleting information that is entered more than once
  • Entering membership emails into MailChimp
  • Tracy forwards all the PayPal donation confirmation to us and we enter donor’s personal information into the database
  • Keeping the membership list updated before the fair
• Event support at Vancouver Art Book Fair
  • Assisting with setup of Project Space’s book sale booth
    • displaying the books on table and shelves
    • comparing the number of books with the inventory list
    • Label all the books with price tag
  • Filling up tote bags with freebies and handing them out to exhibitors
  • Front of house during the fair
    • Checking membership cards at the entrance during Membership Preview
    • Greeting and handing out free tote bags and pamphlet to guests at the door
    • Keeping track of number of guests entering with tally counter
    • Greeting people at the entrance of the gallery to promote the art fair and answer questions
    • boothing at membership table, explaining to visitors what Project Space is and encouraging them to register
    • Communicating with other volunteers to switch different roles
    • Take down
      • collecting all the lanyards from exhibitors and volunteer
      • assisting exhibitors to take down their booth
      • Putting all the equipments and resources into boxes
  • Feedback after the book fair
    • Provide one page of feedback and suggestions for VABF and our role as membership secretaries
    • Research on cash count sheets that can be used for next year at the membership table and exhibit tables at the fair

Hours breakdown (approximate):

Event support at Membership Fundraiser Drive (September 30th, 2016) – 4 hours

Event support at Vancouver Art Gallery (October 14-16th, 2016) – 22 hours

Managing membership list – 5 hours

Post-VABF feedback – 2 hours

Meetings x 3 – 2.5 hours

Our roles have slightly changed since the initial project plan. We did less than we expected. In our outline, we wrote that we will be assisting in the launching of the VABF Tumblr, as well as helping out at their November Open Studio. The goal to launch their Tumblr in November didn’t end up happening, so we were not given any instructions to assist them making it happen. We did not participate in the Open Monthly Studio due to busy schedules during the end of the term. We were told we will be contacted if any help is needed prior to the studio, but it never happened. We were both very busy because the open studio is on the Friday before the last week of the term, so we decided to contact them and let them know we will not be attending. Overall, we believe part of the reason that we did less than we expected is due to communication problems. Our main contacts, Lisa and Sarah, were not directly contacted by Christine, so they didn’t really know what our positions were before our first meeting. Although we told them our position ends at the end of November, they thought it ends after the book fair until we reminded them. Also, as a non-profit organization, they already have a large group of regular volunteers in charge of their social media platforms, photography, and assisting their events. Therefore, after the fair is over, our only job was to deal with the new membership applications that happened during the fair as well as providing some suggestions to the overall experience.

The membership secretary position is exclusive to the internship program. However, we still have strong interest in continuing to support the Vancouver Art Book Fair through volunteering on a regular basis. We have expressed our interest and was given different options (committees) including curating, fundraising, and marketing. We are both very interested in curating and getting involved in the Vancouver Art Book Fair from a different perspective.

• Time management
• Problem solving
• Leadership
• Teamwork
• Interpersonal communication skills
• Photography
• Google Spreadsheet

The skills we had utilized for the project includes problem solving, leadership, teamwork, and interpersonal communication skills. Our knowledge in Google Spreadsheet also helped us tremendously in our role as membership secretaries. As event assistants and membership secretaries, we are challenged with a wide range of different tasks, some that we may have never done before. Also, we were not familiar with the Vancouver Art Book Fair prior to this project, so communication skills and problem solving skills were very important.

While our personal skills has improved, we also earned some new skills throughout the project, such as exhibition set up and data entry skills. We also have better understanding of how a non-profit organization operates and had insights to the logistics of the planning of a global art event. Perhaps the most enjoyable and learning point of this experience was the mutual respect between our partners and us. Lisa and Sarah are always willing to answer our questions and concerns. They check on us regularly throughout the events and the overall span of the project. They also asked us to provide critical feedback on our roles as membership secretaries and the logistics of the fair. Their positive and open-minded attitude made our project very enjoyable and we will definitely learn from it.

Resume:

Event Assistant & Membership Secretary

Vancouver Art Book Fair, September – November, 2016

As an Event assistant, my role included performing ad-hoc tasks at event preparations and assisting exhibition set ups. During events, I was positioned at the front of house and was responsible for greeting guests and welcoming members at the membership table. The event assistant is required to have great communication and problem solving skills.

My job as a membership secretary is to reorganize and update the membership database on a regular basis. In this role I have utilized my organizational skills and attention to details.

 

Here is the link to the final suggestions we made for them : https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gAaXxgCK45oYXLgz98DQsxq80NbcvyjHyDh-DcmAvos/edit?usp=sharing

And here is the link for the cash count sheets (And they have already used this form for their monthly open studio event!) : https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1P6wYvbFEALE4XXhW-311pzqXn9Sp-PQw4EA8sAUzt8s/edit?usp=sharing

 

    

The Project Space Studio

The Main VABF Event at Vancouver Art Gallery (The VABF Booth)

      

Duties at the VABF event: Front of House Greeting and handing out free tote bags