January Volunteer Update RI 2010 Montreal
Posted by Danielle Filteau
January/February HOC Volunteer update
Happy 2010 to everyone! This is the year of the convention! It seems much closer now, only 6 months to go. The projections from Rotary International show that we are on target and could expect up to 20,000 people. Just want you to know that we're on Facebook. Look for a group called "HOC Volunteers for Montreal 2010". It's a way to ask questions or share observations in an informal way.
The assigning of tasks has not started yet, since the database is not ready to do that. Once we start, you will receive a message, generated by the website, that you will give you your suggested task. You will need to accept or reject. If you reject, another message can come shortly afterwards. If you can do more than one shift, contact hoc-volunteers@rotary2010.com after you have received your first assignment.
Some of you are leaving notes about specific times that you want to volunteer. We cannot guarantee that you will get the exact time or location that you want and have specified. Anyone from outside of District 7040 will have first chance at time slots during the convention. Anyone from District 7040 should be prepared to accept time slots in the week before the convention, and especially on Friday, June 18, Saturday, June 19 and Sunday, June 20 when the need for volunteers is greatest.
We are still short on volunteers and if you know of any other Rotarians or friends of Rotary who are able to volunteer, have them register at www.hocvolunteers.com Because our numbers are still not at a comfortable level, we cannot assign groups to any particular place, but hopefully will have at least two people at a time.
Any Host Organizing Committee volunteer will be doing hosting activities, as we welcome the world to Montreal. You should become familiar with Montreal as much as possible online. Tourism Montreal has a great website and you will find a wealth of information there. You can request information and most of the time it will be emailed to you. Do some research and find out about things that someone from outside of the country might ask you. We will be getting information from Tourism Montreal about flight arrivals, restaurants and shopping in the area, for example, but that will not take the place of some things that you have learned on your own.
This is a short summary of our duties:
1. Wednesday, June 16 to Sunday, June 20 at Pierre Elliot Trudeau International Airport (Dorval), 4 hour shifts to correspond with the international and national arrival times.
2. Friday, June 18 to Sunday, June 20 at the train station, Fairmont Queen Elizabeth Hotel, also called Central Station, 4 hour shifts to correspond with arrival times. .
3. Sunday to Wednesday June 20-23 at the Palais des Congrès providing directions to the venues for the sessions and assisting Rotarians who wish to take the Metro to the Bell Centre. Also on those days 4-hour shifts along the route to the Bell Centre where the plenary sessions will be held.
4. Saturday, June 19 there will be 2 HOC events. Monday, June 21 will have 7 HOC events. We will need to have volunteers available for those events. Some clubs have twinned with others, but we have not received any word on who is helping who.
5. Wednesday, June 16 to Monday, June 21, Host Hospitality ticket center where those who have registered for host events will pick up their tickets.
6. Saturday, June 19 and Sunday, June 20 at the 37 official RI hotels providing information to visiting Rotarians and to assist Rotarians in finding their way to the Palais des Congrès and the Bell Centre.
Being an HOC volunteer will not get you into different venues or sessions, or improve your chances of getting into any of the sessions. All sessions and venues are controlled through RI registration, not through the HOC. You still have time to register at www.rotary.org.
If you are from outside of North America, you may need a visa, and sometimes a letter of invitation to take to the Canadian consulate or embassy in your country. The HOC cannot give you that letter. If you need such a letter, the protocol is that you contact RI and register as "fees due" rather than "fees paid". Once you are registered that way, then RI sends information to you on how to proceed with submitting RI documentation to the Canadian Embassy or Canadian High Commission. If you are successful in being approved for a visa, RI then requires you to pay your registration. This registration system also confirms membership status to avoid a request for a letter from a non-Rotarian trying to enter Canada from a restricted nation under false pretenses. If you do not get a visa and will not be able to attend, it would be helpful if you can send a message to hoc-volunteers@rotary2010.com to have your name removed from the volunteer list.
Thank you for volunteering. With your help this will be a memorable convention.
Ariane Carriere, HOC volunteer coordinator
Happy 2010 to everyone! This is the year of the convention! It seems much closer now, only 6 months to go. The projections from Rotary International show that we are on target and could expect up to 20,000 people. Just want you to know that we're on Facebook. Look for a group called "HOC Volunteers for Montreal 2010". It's a way to ask questions or share observations in an informal way.
The assigning of tasks has not started yet, since the database is not ready to do that. Once we start, you will receive a message, generated by the website, that you will give you your suggested task. You will need to accept or reject. If you reject, another message can come shortly afterwards. If you can do more than one shift, contact hoc-volunteers@rotary2010.com after you have received your first assignment.
Some of you are leaving notes about specific times that you want to volunteer. We cannot guarantee that you will get the exact time or location that you want and have specified. Anyone from outside of District 7040 will have first chance at time slots during the convention. Anyone from District 7040 should be prepared to accept time slots in the week before the convention, and especially on Friday, June 18, Saturday, June 19 and Sunday, June 20 when the need for volunteers is greatest.
We are still short on volunteers and if you know of any other Rotarians or friends of Rotary who are able to volunteer, have them register at www.hocvolunteers.com Because our numbers are still not at a comfortable level, we cannot assign groups to any particular place, but hopefully will have at least two people at a time.
Any Host Organizing Committee volunteer will be doing hosting activities, as we welcome the world to Montreal. You should become familiar with Montreal as much as possible online. Tourism Montreal has a great website and you will find a wealth of information there. You can request information and most of the time it will be emailed to you. Do some research and find out about things that someone from outside of the country might ask you. We will be getting information from Tourism Montreal about flight arrivals, restaurants and shopping in the area, for example, but that will not take the place of some things that you have learned on your own.
This is a short summary of our duties:
1. Wednesday, June 16 to Sunday, June 20 at Pierre Elliot Trudeau International Airport (Dorval), 4 hour shifts to correspond with the international and national arrival times.
2. Friday, June 18 to Sunday, June 20 at the train station, Fairmont Queen Elizabeth Hotel, also called Central Station, 4 hour shifts to correspond with arrival times. .
3. Sunday to Wednesday June 20-23 at the Palais des Congrès providing directions to the venues for the sessions and assisting Rotarians who wish to take the Metro to the Bell Centre. Also on those days 4-hour shifts along the route to the Bell Centre where the plenary sessions will be held.
4. Saturday, June 19 there will be 2 HOC events. Monday, June 21 will have 7 HOC events. We will need to have volunteers available for those events. Some clubs have twinned with others, but we have not received any word on who is helping who.
5. Wednesday, June 16 to Monday, June 21, Host Hospitality ticket center where those who have registered for host events will pick up their tickets.
6. Saturday, June 19 and Sunday, June 20 at the 37 official RI hotels providing information to visiting Rotarians and to assist Rotarians in finding their way to the Palais des Congrès and the Bell Centre.
Being an HOC volunteer will not get you into different venues or sessions, or improve your chances of getting into any of the sessions. All sessions and venues are controlled through RI registration, not through the HOC. You still have time to register at www.rotary.org.
If you are from outside of North America, you may need a visa, and sometimes a letter of invitation to take to the Canadian consulate or embassy in your country. The HOC cannot give you that letter. If you need such a letter, the protocol is that you contact RI and register as "fees due" rather than "fees paid". Once you are registered that way, then RI sends information to you on how to proceed with submitting RI documentation to the Canadian Embassy or Canadian High Commission. If you are successful in being approved for a visa, RI then requires you to pay your registration. This registration system also confirms membership status to avoid a request for a letter from a non-Rotarian trying to enter Canada from a restricted nation under false pretenses. If you do not get a visa and will not be able to attend, it would be helpful if you can send a message to hoc-volunteers@rotary2010.com to have your name removed from the volunteer list.
Thank you for volunteering. With your help this will be a memorable convention.
Ariane Carriere, HOC volunteer coordinator