Magic 2011 Prerelease Volunteers

By Jody Godard
 
 
 As I was typing an e-mail to my volunteers to say “thanks”, my mind kept coming back to the thought that most of the players  have no idea what these people do. So I thought I would share a bit with you all as well as thank my volunteers.

 If everything works well, judges and volunteers are really unseen, a piece of the scenery really. This Prerelease tournament was different for Sunmesa Events as we were going to open early—6:30am. It was a grand experiment and right now I am declaring it a success!
 
What you may not know is that opening at 6:30 am meant volunteers had to be there by 5 am (OUCH). The doors were to open at 6:30 am  we got the doors open ~ 6:35 am-- with around 40 people in line.  Our first flight of 32 players was seated at 6:52 am-- a Victory that started the day off well. Our last event finished about 11:00 PM and we had to cajole about 25 people out the door. Then clean up, pack-out and recap  ended about 1 AM. The hotel wanted out asap since they had a 600 person breakfast the next day in the space. That made it a 20 hour day running the prerelease.
 
Special Guests

Still it is the volunteers that make it all run.
 
Jon Hammer and Nichole Johnson, both Level 1 judges (aka L1) handled the bulk of the early registration very smoothly. I was pleased that we did not see lines of players backing up at registration- Good Job you two! We were down 2 registration people from the expected and players barely noticed any lag.
 
Jack Cummings, L1  was the flight judge for the first flight of the day, he had more done before 7 am than most people do all day! Setting up table numbers, helping with registration, sorting land, passing out product, giving player instructions, taking it all in stride!  And with that winning smile first thing in the morning. Thanks Jack!
 
Score keeping is never appreciated enough.  For  the players and the judges it is generally only something that gets noticed if it doesn't go well.  Let me tell you-- TO's always know.
 
Rich Beckett, L2  handled the early day score keeping with a minimum of problems. This is no small task to keep everything clean. We had no upload errors-excellent I know Rich would have preferred being on the floor giving rulings and looking at the new cards.  Thanks to Rich for being part of the team.
 
Nichole Johnson, L1 gave us an error free 2HG--- not an easy task. 2HG is very finicky and always a point of concern for me. I was completely confident that Nichole could pull it off and she did! Way to Go Nichole.
 
Megan Green took over the scorekeeping later in the day. She normally does the bell to bell scorekeeping. This event was too many hours so she "only" volunteered for 12 hours this time! With the calm, cool professionalism she always exhibits, it was all done. Every draft handed to her on paper, made it into the computer, the open dueling was in the computer as well as all the flights and she handled the bulk of the 2HG reporting for the second 2HG of the day as well. 
 
 
Brian Glenn, L2 did a stellar job of keeping all the flights moving, the Status board worked beautifully.  This board kept track of every current flight and judge at any given moment in the day. Every time  a judge came up and reported round times I was thrilled, it really helped  Ray, David and Brian keep things moving and plan out space for the next flights.
 
 
Paul MacAlpine-- one of my heros... here is a fellow that  arrived, immediately pitched in and kept the drafts moving seamlessly.... I know every judge  can run multiple drafts... and that is the easy part.. he did all the cashiering, judging and prize payouts.  And do you know what else he did? Kept the areas clean and never missed a beat.  Okay, well Hammer was registering faster that we could find space, but that is the kind of problem I want.
 
 
Another hero-- Vince Wongsuchit...He, of course, judged flights-- But also  this guy got our lunches! A judge that has helped us in the past and took on what he had no idea was going to be a gargantuan task- "the lunch run".   He kept his cool when things got a bit chaotic...and he has volunteered to learn to score keep. Yay Vince!
 
Jennifer Wong- the quiet one... She judged a flight, took  dozens of fabulous photos (made us all look good) and then took over Paul's drafts. She just slips in and out and never draws attention to herself-- but don't let that fool you she did a great Job. Thank you Jen.
 
Colleen Nelson- brought sound judging and a bit of fun to the prerelease with her cat ears (she says they were cat ears.  Thank You Colleen, your  energy and positive attitude are contagious.
 
Scott Slomann, was not feeling well after an auto accident but made it through his shift in style. Scott was also one of the earlier crew and as any who volunteer for that shift know.... you never know what tasks may be thrown your way. Scott, Thanks for your willingness to learn all things judging.
 
Rolando Olivas. I was so pleased to see him at 5am sharp. Rolando had helped with our NQT in Nevada and did a great job. Brian Glenn has been mentoring him towards his level 1 and we can expect to see him test at an event soon. His can do attitude was a real bonus at 5am and throughout the day. He stepped right in when one of our flight judges had to call in sick. I know he was not expecting to judge a flight himself, but did a great job. Way to Go Rolando!
 
 
Phil Thorson, L2 came in and judged the 2HG. He brings quiet assurance to the players that if he says it, it is correct and well thought out. Important in a 2HG where there is so much discussion about how 2 players teaming up use their cards.
 
Natasha Lewis, L1 Chris Beidenbach, Pete Huber, Alex Chaudry, John O’Donnell--- What do they all have in common?-- They were the late night workers, the fresh faces at 5 o'clock when the rest of you (okay us) were toasted.

They brought energy back on to the scene when everyone else was too tired to think-- Thanks for volunteering for the least favorite schedule!  It allowed us to be open longer and still have good judging at the end of the day. These 5 never let down, their smiles and talents were evident until the last ruling made, the last prize given, the last box packed. And to kick it all off Chris managed to win a Fat Pack from Channel Fireball’s giveaway
 
Clean - up is always difficult..Many thanks to
Natasha, Chris, Pete, Alex, John O,David Z, Ray and Megan for being there until the very end.
 
Jon Hammer has shown real talent in crowd control and keeping things moving, so I asked him to help with admin duties this time. Jon was our information man. He answered questions, took registration for flights, 2HG and drafts, while maintaining the Open Dueling and keeping in close contact with the scorekeepers. Thanks for really great work keeping it all moving Jon.
 
Kelvin Young-- He kept the promo boxes and prizes moving, that makes him one of the crowd pleasers of the day. He also answered a thousand questions for our players, being up on that stage immediately means they think you know things- and Kelvin does. Thanks Kelvin
 
Vidi Wijaya - This guy knows his game.  He has top eighted at several events and qualified for San Juan.  We were lucky that he was available and willing to help. Any flight he runs always goes smoothly as it is his second nature to understand the game and players.
  
David Zimet I am grateful to him for driving up from San Diego to help with this big show. David was working the day as an Executive Officer (XO) - he took over the status board from Brian and also helped register folks once Jon’s scheduled hours were completed. His calm demeanor and ability to quickly assess what is needed by the players and what resources we have to make things happen helps keep the train on the tracks. David's versatility in moving from one task to another and his ability to efficiently delegate and work closely with Ray in all things make him an asset to any event.
 
Ray Merz, L3 our HJ from Las Vegas, NV. Why do we bring him all the way from Las Vegas?  At the end of the day he told me he didn't have anything to do all day. That everyone else did their jobs and he didn't really have anything to do... well he may not know it, but here is what he did all day. Kept every judge on task, coordinating between the scorekeepers and the flight judges, preparing product, controlling product, event tickets and cash. He gave guidance to the XO, scorekeepers, flight judges, players and helped control breaks. He made announcements, tracked down owners of lost and found, found space for events, directed the moving of table numbers, answered a hundred questions from players, judges and yours truly. Why do we bring him in? Because he does it all so naturally that at the end of the day, he has made it a better event and doesn't even realize what he did.
 
Speaking of Ray, one of the most important functions for him and our level 2 judges is to be available to anyone interested in becoming a certified judge.  If  you are interested in becoming a judge contact us through the website.

I’ve save the last thank for the end because it’s the most important to all of us.

Thank you to all the players joined the  2011 party at the Radisson. We pull out all the stops at a prerelease  because of you. We want you to enjoy yourself in a way that only happens 4 times a year. And for those hours at the prerelease, win or lose we want you to forget your troubles and enjoy your friends.

Thank You So Very Much!

Jody

PS: Hope To See You at Scars of Mirridon on September 25th!