If the Heritage Festival cannot recruit additional volunteers by Feb. 29, there may not be a festival this year. In addition to four open positions on the board of trustees, festival officials must fill seven other key positions.
When the acting president of the board had to resign, vice president Erin Shook became the interim president. She and trustee Carol Kern have compiled descriptions of the vacant positions and lists of each person's responsibilities. A letter to the community with an appeal for volunteers was shared at the most recent City Council meeting, and copies have been mailed to various community groups.
Interested groups and individuals can visit www.tiffinfestival.com to see photos and a schedule from last year's festival. Kern said trustees and other experienced volunteers would make themselves available to help the new people as much as possible. Registration forms and information from past participants is on file for reference.
"We're already getting some response from the initial article (in Tuesday's A-T), so we'll be following up with those to see what they're interested in, whether it be a weekend volunteer, maybe at the gates of the village or a year-long commitment in one of those positions that we need filled," Kern said.
This is not the first time the trustees have gone public to sustain the festival. When Brenda Stultz resigned from her post as School Days chairwoman, The A-T printed an article detailing the need for a replacement. Not long after, a woman stepped forward, but now she also is moving on.
"We have Eileen Werkman, and she has done an amazing job. She's going to be with us this year. Unfortunately, she will be moving next year, so she won't be in the area to help us out," Shook said.
"That is a big position. If we could find somebody sooner rather than later, they could work with Eileen throughout this year and that would be most beneficial," Kern added.
Chairmen are needed for the children's activities at Heritage Village; coordinating workers at the village gates; scheduling entertainment at the village; a logistics coordinator; downtown events coordinator; and downtown day-time and night-time chairmen. At least two of the trustees would need to have a background in fundraising and marketing.
In addition to the leadership positions, many volunteers are needed during the actual event. University students from both schools in Tiffin have assisted at prior festivals.
"In the past, Heidelberg has been a lot of help with the School Days, the day of the event. Tiffin University - it's amazing the number of students that helped us tear down on Sunday. They had large groups at both the village and downtown," Kern said.
Could parts of the festival be scaled back?
"I don't know if that's something that we're looking at right now. Right now, our main focus is to just find the volunteers to make sure we have the opportunity to have the festival, first," Snook said.
At its next meeting, the board will evaluate any developments and plan accordingly, Kern said. If the festival should continue, the dates for 2012 would be Sept. 14-16. Anyone wanting more information may contact Shook at (567) 207-5878 or Kern at (419) 680-3041.
Board member/trustee (four positions open)
Required to attend monthly meetings.
Oversees all aspects of the festival to include downtown, village, School Days to ensure all activities meet the mission of the festival.
Responsible for reviewing all chairperson reports and may assist in organizing specific events to benefit one area of the festival.
Supervising festival during festival weekend.
Village children's area chair
Working directly with and reporting to School Days chair and village general chairs.
Creating and organizing new craft activities for the youth.
Purchasing necessary craft items within budget.
Contacting and coordinating volunteers into shifts.
Supervising during festival weekend.
Village gate chair
Working directly with and reporting to village general chairs.
Recruiting and scheduling volunteer shifts to ensure village gates are being staffed through the festival weekend.
Village entertainment chair
Working directly with and reporting to village general chairs.
Contact former groups via existing mailing list.
Coordinating any specific needs of each group.
Send contracts to be signed.
Scouting for new village entertainment.
Creating schedule of events.
Supervision during festival weekend.
Logistics coordinator
This position reports to the board and coordinates with the village and downtown general chairs.
Responsible for all "random" tasks required to include but not limited to contacting local dealership to schedule use of the Gator, picking up the fire extinguisher, working with the city to ensure necessary gates and code requirements are being met.
Organizing trash removal for downtown and village.
Responsible for overseeing the set-up and tear-down of the festival and supervision during festival weekend.
Downtown day-time chair
Reports directly to the board.
Responsible for overseeing downtown activities and areas and assisting those areas with any needs they may have during the festival weekend.
Recruiting area organizations/clubs to create and manage their own events/activities.
Scheduling events throughout the day.
Marketing new activities/events.
Working with visitor bureau at information booths.
Downtown night-time chair
Reports directly to the board.
Responsible for overseeing downtown activities and areas and assisting those areas with any needs they may have during the festival weekend.
Working directly with the Lot 7 chair on entertainment.
Scheduling of all events throughout the evening.
Marketing new activities/events.
Downtown events coordinator
Reports directly to the board and coordinates with the day-time and night-time chairs.
Recruiting area organizations/clubs/groups to create and manage their own events/activities throughout the festival weekend.
Sending and managing all contracts.
Coordinating the scheduling of downtown events with each area and marketing downtown events.
MaryAnn Kromer is a staff writer for The Advertiser-Tribune. Email her at mkromer@advertiser-tribune.com.
