The William Paskins Residence
By: Caitlin Davis, Volunteer Coordinator.
Interviewing volunteers is one of the best and worst parts of my job. Getting to meet the 150+ amazing individuals who donate their time in order to help put on The Works could possibly be the best part of my entire summer. Each person brings their own unique stories, talents and motivation which places them at a special place within the heart of The Festival. Talking over their skills and interests helps us to tailor the volunteer experience we provide in order to make it fulfilling in their eyes, and therefore improving the entire experience of The Festival.
However, the actual logistics behind these interviews are time consuming and require both flexibility and patience. Setting up interviews often requires multiple communications about time, date, and location. Location is the most important, as sometimes giving the address to The Works office isn’t as simple as one may think. Many people I talk to walk past it a first time without even realizing that they did. The office is within the William Paskins Residence. Built in 1902, the William Paskins Residence is the earliest surviving example of the Queen Anne style in Edmonton. Disguised behind moldings, scrolled brackets, balustrades and decorative spindle work, no one suspects there to be twenty some individuals working to put on a festival inside.
These interviews can interrupt other events and work throughout the day, and at times need to take place outside of typical work hours. Since we accept volunteers right up to and including during The Festival, it sometimes comes down to a phone call interview, which has logistics of it’s own.
With the headache one can imagine that comes with having to interview, schedule, reschedule, continually communicate and follow up, I often get asked why I love my job so much. How does one remember the faces and names and details behind every one of our over 150 volunteers? The answer is - sometimes I don’t. But I take the time and effort to try and learn them all, and often it happens by happy accident. Simply put, each volunteer has grown to take a place within my own heart. They are some of the most fantastic people I have had the fortunate opportunity to get to know. And whenever I talk to anyone else who has worked with our volunteers before, they say the same.
When you come down to The Festival, take the opportunity to talk to the volunteers. Each one of these amazing individuals have a fantastic story disguised within them. Without their hard work and unique talents, The Works Art & Design Festival would not be possible.
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About the Author: Caitlin Davis is a third year Design Studies student at MacEwan University from Weyburn, Saskatchewan. Upon her entrance to the Design Studies program, she received one of ten entrance scholarships, and the Mad Hatters Scholarship. Currently, she has a strong interest in print design, including magazines, books, and album covers, as well as a passion for typography. Caitlin enjoys being involved in the Edmonton art community and hopes to continue meeting others who share this passion.