EVENT VOLUNTEER
GUIDE
THE BIG EVENT
Texas A&M University Presents:
The Big Event 2017
When: March 25, 2017
Contribution: I served as a staff assistant for The Big Event where my role was to go out and meet with the residents of Bryan College Station throughout the semester and asses the jobs they wanted students of Texas A&M to complete on this one day of service. On the day of the event, I got to pass out tools to all 20,000 students who participated and even got to go to a resident and help do yard work for her.
Reflection: The purpose of this event is to allow students at Texas A&M to simply say thank you to the residents of Bryan College Station through acts of service. As a staff assistant, I got to be a be a part of the big picture of this event and see how it all came together. I learned that starting early helps tremendously in planning an event at this magnitude and that you need a large amount of equipped volunteers to run the event.
Wine and Roses Festival
Messina Hof Winery Presents:
Wine and Roses Festival
When: April 22, 2017
Contribution: I got the opportunity to volunteer for the Messina Hof Wine and Roses Festival in the wine and chocolate pairing room. I got to help pair three chocolate truffles with four glasses of wine by placing the truffles on a plate and helping place the wine and chocolate at the tables we had set up for the private event.
Reflection: Located at the Messina Hof Winery Estates, this one-day festival gathers 3,000 guests to enjoy wine tasting, local vendors and artisans, pairing classes, the famous grape stomp competition and more. The festival had guests park at the local high school and get transported to the winery via bus and the signage for where to park was efficient for guests. The check-in process of this event from a volunteer basis was very effective. I got my volunteer t-shirt and personally got walked to where I would be serving. I learned that you need to plan ahead for an event of this magnitude and provide alternate transportation for your guests. I also learned that in order to serve wine one must have a liquor license, even as a volunteer. I would have been more helpful if I could have been able to pour the wine.
Fred Sutton's 19th annual golf tournament
Fred Sutton Real Estate Presents:
Fred Sutton's 19th Annual Golf Tournament
When: September 29, 2017
Contribution: This was my third year participating in this event. I arrived early to do registration where I got to meet the guests, give them the yearly gift, and a raffle ticket. We also place a box of balls, towel, and breakfast items in each cart for the players. I also got to set up the raffle prizes and transform the event space for the lunch and award ceremony.
Reflection: The purpose of this annual event is to bring together local dentist, lawyers, and other respected businessmen to provide networking opportunities over a round of golf. This tournament is completely for fun. There were free gifts at the check-in and a raffle that almost everyone took away a prize at. There was also an award ceremony to recognize 1st-3rd place, as well as closest to the pin and longest drive winners. I have taken away a new perspective on networking events and got to learn how to set up an event from the catering perspective.
Pegfest
Grace Bible Church Presents:
Grace College 1st Annual Pegfest
When: October 19, 2017
Contribution: I had the pleasure of coming up with the idea and got to put a team together to implement this event. I was a referee and got to announce in our dj booth what teams were playing. I also got to reward the winning team, the Dodge Fathers, the trophy.
Reflection: The purpose of this event was to bring college students who do and do not attend Grace Bible Church together for fun friendly competition. We announced this event at church and presented a trophy that would be rewarded to the winners and this helped build anticipation for the event. In this event, I learned that I needed to have to back up location in case of weather.
Park and Play Movie Night
Grace Bible Church Presents:
Park and Play Movie Night
When: November 5, 2017
Contribution: This event was completely my idea and I got to design the layout, create the concession stand and facilitate it, along with the photo booth. We hosted this event at the church and all funding and supplie used were provided by the church.
Reflection: The purpose of this event was to bring college students and families of Grace Bible Church together to have a fun and free family event. At this event, I learned that the timing of the event is very important. As you can see in the picture above, we planned the event at the time of sunset for our guests to be able to see the screen.
RTPS Scholarship Banquet
Texas A&M University Presents:
RPTS Scholarship Banquet 2018
When: April 19, 2018
Contribution: This event meant a lot to me because I was in the class that got to plan, implement, and put on this event for our major. I also got inducted into Rho Phi Lamba and got a scholarship, so during the event itself I got to enjoy all the hard work that went into planning it that semester. I attended class regularly and went to the mandatory meetings with our advisor to make this event the best it can be. I came up with the donut wall idea and helped with the theme and takeaways.
Reflection: The purpose of this event was to recognize students who were being initiated into Rho Phi Lambda, honor those who received scholarships, and show appreciation to distinguished professors in the Recreation, Park and Tourism Sciences field. In planning this event, I learned how important it is to be in constant communication with the planning team, sponsors, and volunteers. We had a few miscommunications with what volunteers were to wear and what they needed to do during the event. I believe that if we would have planned a training session prior to the event we would have resolved any issues that arose.
KITE FEST
Texas A&M University Presents:
RPTS KITE FEST 2018
When: April 29, 2018
Contribution: I volunteered for Kite Fest and noticed that there were multiple entrances into the park where the event was so I took it upon myself to serve as a greater for the event at the south entrance. The event was comprised of food vendors, crafts stations, a petting zoo and much more. By serving as a greeter, I got to welcome guests into Kite Fest and explain the layout of the event while also being hospitable and answering any questions that arose.
Reflection: The purpose of this event was to provide a fun free family event for the community of Bryan/College Station Texas. This event was super successful and the weather was perfect. My favorite part of the event was seeing how happy the children were to make their own kite and then get to fly them. This event has taught me that coordinating a large event takes many volunteers and sometimes you do not think of simple tasks like greeting your guests and explaining the event. I also took away that vendors will cancel on you last minute and you have to keep going and not let this affect the overall success of the event.
Denton Bible Church Presents:
Sports World 2018
When: June 25-29th, 2018
Contribution: I got asked to volunteer for Sports World at Denton Bible Church as a runner. Sports World is a Christian based sports camp for children aged 6-12 that incorporates sports, competition and the gospel all while competing for the red and blue team for the overall most spirited award at the end of the week. As a runner, I was in charge of running errands and helping out with anything needed in order to make the event successful. Another part of my job title was to pick up the staff lunch from catering companies and set it up/take it down each day.
Reflection: The goal of this event is to provide children with an outlet to play sports, learn about the gospel, all while having fun and incorporating healthy competition. What I learned from working Sports World is that as a runner I have to be willing and able to drop everything to go do something for the betterment of the event. I learned that children will forget their lunch, so I took it upon myself to fix this and provide lunches by purchasing Lunchables to accommodate these children.
Fall Launch
Grace Bible Church Presents:
Fall Launch 2018
When: August 29, 2018
Contribution: I volunteered at this event for Grace Bible Church that promoted community and helped equip students to find and follow Jesus. The theme of the event was fall football and I got to help with the planning and implementing of games. The event had over 200 students from all ages and we provided snacks, games, and a raffle drawing from prizes. I was a facilitator of this event since I helped plan it; it was enjoyable to walk around and enjoy the event I helped plan.
Reflection: The goal of this event was to introduce students to other students and help provide an avenue that they can get involved at Grace Bible Church. The event had food, games, a message, and booths that provided students with more information to get involved. What I took away from this event is that you need the volunteers to wear matching shirts. This helped so much when students had questions, they could find someone in a volunteer shirt and ask them.
texas reds
festival
Downtown Bryan Presents:
Texas Reds Steak & Grape Festival 2018
When: September 29th, 2018
Contribution: I signed up and volunteered for the Texas Reds Steak & Grape Festival working at the children's crafts booth. Here I got to help facilitate the craft of making an owl out of paper and be silly with the kids who were at the booth.
Reflection: The goal of this event is to bring the community together through fun, fellowship, steak and wine. What I learned from this event is that you need to plan a craft that all kids can do. I would recommend having all the shapes cut so kids are not using scissors, or pick another craft for this event in the future.