Welcome to MNCBA SpringCon 2025: From Geek to Volunteer (Continued)
by Matt Walkosz, MNCBA Volunteer Coordinator
measures so we could mark every spot. During the show, I was told to wander the floor checking on guests. Many things went right that weekend, and some things didn’t. I started keeping notes of what I could improve for next time.
After MNCBA FallCon 2023, there was a change in leadership. Longtime volunteers left; some came back, then left all over again. Amidst the revolving changes, the role of Volunteer Coordinator became vacant. There was a suggestion that I take over the role, but I was hesitant. Instead, I helped to partially fill in; fielding emails from potential volunteers and getting schedules set.
Many will remember MNCBA SpringCon 2024 for the weird turf field or the parking situation. What I remember most is the number of volunteers, vendors, and guests who turned to me like I hadn’t only been doing this for a year. They needed guidance, and I appeared to be someone available with answers.
In a year, we had grown from an auditorium back to a giant floor. However, our volunteer numbers hadn’t grown to match the bigger venue. I spent much of the show filling in as needed, running around the field to check on everything and everyone. Once the show ended, my job wasn’t done. I stayed well past dark with a group of volunteers tearing down tables and dragging them across the turf to store.
The next day, as I laid down recovering, my mind raced with notes and ideas of what we could do better. The next weekend, I finally agreed to become the MNCBA Volunteer Coordinator so I could be a bridge between leadership and volunteers.
MNCBA FallCon 2024 was my first two-day show. Being back in the familiar environment of the Grandstand created a lot of excitement. Let me say that if you’ve never seen the Grandstand completely empty – no booths or tables, only a few people – it is an eerie sight. Our slowly expanding group of volunteers worked hard to make that show run as well as it did. More lessons were learned, and notes taken, to improve the experience. After four shows, we showed the MNCBA was back to stay.
As I write this introduction, we are a few weeks away from MNCBA SpringCon 2025. The last week before will be a scramble for me between new volunteer training, printing thousands of flyers, and even producing this program book in your hands. There will be days full of set up followed by seven hours of managed chaos.
I hope all the hard work of our volunteers creates a wonderful experience, and everyone here enjoys the show.
