Dear Maui Film Festival Supporters,
 
Thank you for your interest in supporting the 2008 Maui Film Festival at Wailea. As a volunteer candidate, you represent the face of the festival. We'll support you all we can so that you can enjoy the benefits outlined on the "NEED TO KNOW!" page on this website. Last year we utilized the services of about 250 volunteers. and will be seeking a similar number this year.

The Volunteer Management team will once again include Volunteer Manager, Keith Ranney (my 8th year), and Assist. Volunteer Coordinator, Danielle Furman, whom many of you met last year.

Changes in 2008

When the dust settles after the festival each year I tell myself that I have outgrown my organization system. I work really hard to make my interaction with each volunteer as personalized as humanly possible. It's what I love most about the job. Unfortunately, keeping up with everyone's changing contact information results in many wonderful volunteers falling through the cracks.

In an effort to avoid this and to bring you more fun volunteer opportunities in the future, I've created a new company called Art of Volunteering, llc, and a website at www.artofvolunteering.com, which is tied to a sophisticated registration and scheduling database server. The site is a resource for organizations who want to host an event. For volunteers, it's a place to see what events might be coming up in your area. As a registered volunteer you will receive email notices when an event matching your designated interests is added to the system.

The new system will take a bit for all of us to get used to. To help you get a feel for it, I've created a walk through tutorial which you can also access from the tab/button at the top of this page. Please take a moment to familiarize yourself with the new system. If you'd like to browse a list of volunteer activities before registering, go here and then click on "I would like to volunteer for this organization" at the top of that page if you want to register.

Registration & Scheduling are seperate processes. Your registration application must be approved before you will be able to see the list of activities available to you and create your schedule. This helps us continually monitor and improve the overall quality of the volunteer ranks. Each volunteer supervisor takes note of attendance and performance for each shift which is noted in each volunteer record. Those who fail to fulfill the responsibilities they are entrusted with will not have access to activities that require a higher rating in the future. (Note: ratings are in internal process and never shared with anyone.)

Volunteer Perks for 2008

Continuing with last years program, each 4-hour volunteer shift entitles a volunteer to two $10 movie tickets (which can ONLY be used for the June festival) - plus - one $10 Wednesday night film ticket, usable throughout the year. Festival passes will be available as early as 5pm on Wednesday, June 11th at the special volunteer "will-call" desk set up at the MACC, or at the volunteer check-in desk at the Celestial Cinema. In an effort to inspire completion of volunteer shifts, the Wed. Night film tickets will be issued at the end of each shift.

Mahalo's

Barry, Stella, the Rivers Family, and their extended ohana of filmophiles have put together an amazing schedule of films again for 2008. Keep in mind that I am only scheduling volunteers for the Wailea films and special event venues. The MACC has its own volunteer staff (under the direction of Naomi Tamura) along with its own training and orientation protocol.

To prepare for scheduling please familiarize yourself with the "NEED TO KNOW!" section describing the various jobs, what to wear, how you are "perked", parking, etc. Then look at the WORK SCHEDULE to determine how you can best serve, based on your interests and experience. If you have experience as a ticket taker or working in the merchandise booth, let me know as experience is preferred with these particular jobs. Then, review the Volunteer Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) and the main Maui Film Festival site.