The success of our hang gliding festival is due mostly to the efforts of many volunteers helping out in all sorts of ways. Sure, there's a lot that needs to get done, but the tasks aren't all that onerous when enough of our members chip in. Please review the tasks on this page and let Festival Coordinator Janni Papakrivos know how you want to help:
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There are some key decisions that must be made before the Festival swings into high gear: Will there be spot-landing contests, or a bomb-drop/parachute drop? If so, you'll need to decide on the entry fees, since the fees must be included on the Registration Form. You also need to determine what the cost of the commemorative T-shirts will be, so that we can recover the expense of getting them printed.
How hard will you push for donations to the Pilot Raffle? If the raffle is to be a central event, then you better start pushing no later than July! Will there be live entertainment at the Festival? Setting it up could require lots of advance notice. Do you want demos from hang glider manufacturers? If so, they will need a huge amount of lead-time (based on past experiences, mostly negative).
You will need a phone number that people can call for information on the weekend of the Festival, so they can find out if flying activities have been relocated. This means that we have to be able to leave messages on a machine at that number, remotely. The phone number will be provided on both the website and the printed flyer, so a decision will be needed by August.
Re-locating flying activities to High Rock/Fisher/Bill's Hill can be done fairly easily, because those sites are fairly close. But what if conditions are more suited to Woodstock? Are you willing to try a long-distance re-loc? This *can* be done, if you:
Access to a computer for posts to the listserv would be very helpful for keeping pilots informed; ditto for an answering machine where messages can be left about the status of a re-loc.
If you relocate, then what happens to the registration process? Could that be done at the new site, given time constraints? If not, will there be an attempt to register pilots Saturday night, back at the Pulpit? (it'll be late, people will be hungry, your volunteers will be tired)
Fewer registrants as a result of a re-loc is definitely a concern. Perhaps this could be minimized by not distributing raffle tickets until the return to the Pulpit? Or by having a ticket/stamp showing that a person has paid for food at the cookout?
Given the difficulties, why bother with a re-loc? Because flying is better than not flying! Pilots will always be more satisfied with our Festival if we can get them in the air, and get some XC tasks completed. A Saturday Woodstock re-loc in both 2001 and 2002 would have resulted in some great flying!
So it all depends... if you've got volunteers you can count on, go for it!
After decisions are made about these larger issues, you then have to find volunteers to handle as many Festival tasks as possible. You'll find lists of these tasks below.
The Pilot Raffle is a key element of our Festival. Since we never know if the weather will cooperate, we need a strong draw to ensure we get a good turnout for the Saturday night party. Desirable raffle prizes can help make this happen.
The USHGA is a great source of raffle donations (videos, license plate frames, etc). They have also been able to provide us with 'smallish' items which can be combined into mini prize-packs, suitable for Hang-IIs who attend the Festival. Weather conditions and experience level sometimes prevent IIs from participating in flying activities, so we try to make sure all IIs get to take something home.
Other raffle donors fall into two categories: a) businesses that are directly hang gliding and paragliding related; b) businesses that are not. Since 1997, we've focussed primarily on the first group, for obvious reasons. Flight parks & schools, producers of HG/PG videos and books, and manufacturers of varios, gliders, and flight accessories are all good choices.
This isn't to say that other businesses aren't worth pursuing : REI, Cabela's, Hudson Trail Outfitters, ham radio suppliers, hook-knife suppliers, GPS. The HG/PG community shops at all of these places. And given the charity aspect of our Festival (support of the McConnellsburg rescue squad), it should be possible to bring some of these companies on-board.
The volunteer handling raffle donations will contact established donors who have contributed to previous Festivals, to see if they can continue supporting our event. Contact information will be provided by the Festival Coordinator and/or the CHGPA Webmaster. Equally important, this volunteer will work to expand our list of raffle donors, and will keep track of new contacts/addresses/email-addresses.
The search for raffle donations should start no later than mid-July.
We commemorate each Festival with a T-shirt/polo/etc. We need a volunteer with some creative talents to come up with a design, and another volunteer to coordinate the production tasks.
The CHGPA Treasurer will have information regarding the shirt costs for previous Festivals, and the number of shirts that were sold. An estimate of the costs for this year must then be made (no later than mid-July), so that we can determine the shirt price that should be included on the Festival registration form.
| Task | Volunteer | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Design | Come up with an idea for the T-shirt graphic. Create a drawing (hardcopy, or via software) | |
| Printing | Arrange for the printing of the T-shirts. Estimate the number of each size that will be needed. Determine the cost per shirt, and the price that will be charged. Details must be worked out no later than mid-July. |
Our HG-PG Festival provides a rare opportunity to educate the public about our sports, and perhaps even direct a few truly interested attendees to the schools and flight parks in our area.
We all know that the number of pilots is declining, right? Well, our Festival provides an opportunity to do something about that trend! We need a motivated volunteer to spread the word about the Festival in as many forums as possible, particularly in the media : newspapers, TV stations, radio stations, community event calendars, etc. The bigger our net, the more people will show, and the greater the number of potential new pilots recruited into the sport.
The brief list of publicity tasks below dates from a time when only one person was handling every aspect of out Festival, so it's very incomplete. It should be considered the bare-minimum.
But if we really want to get serious about publicity, with one or more volunteers who focus on just this one job, then much more could be done:
The Festival Coordinator may be able to provide some additional contact information that could be useful if an expanded publicity effort is made.
| Task | Volunteer | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Calendar of Events in Hang Gliding |
Festival Coordinator will choose the dates for the Festival. Must contact USHGA by late May, for our event to make the July issue. Contact at USHGA is Jeff Elgart. | |
| Calendar of Events at the USHGA website | Festival Coordinator will choose the dates for the Festival. Contact at USHGA is Jeff Elgart | |
| National HG listserv and the HG newsgroup | Send an announcement of the Festival no later than mid-July. | |
| Design a Flyer for the Festival | An eye-catching flyer is needed for our event. | |
| Distribute Flyers in McConnellsburg | Flyers announcing the festival should be put up around McConnellsburg at least 2 weeks before the Festival: at the Pulpit itself; Mountain House Bar and Grill; McDonald's; the pizza place next to McDonald's; the grocery store (IGA?); Johnnie's Motel and the diner; etc. | |
| Distribute Flyers at CHGPA/MHGA meetings | Bring copies of the Festival flyer to July/September CHGPA and MHGA meetings. Ask members to post them in likely places: universities, NIH, Grocery stores, Hudson Trail, REI, Borders, Barnes & Noble, Tower Records, EMS, Galyan's |
Contact glider manufacturers to see if they will be able to attend the Festival and bring demo gliders for pilots to try out.
This task may require a bit of planning, leadtime, and luck. If it can be pulled off, it really generates lots of pilot interest in our event. We had some success with this for HGFest'2002, when Ken Brown attended and brought some Moyes demo gliders. Sometimes the key is simply being able to fit into the demo-schedule. Given that there are several Fly-Ins in September/October, it might even make sense to coordinate with other nearby clubs on our event dates. This could allow a glider-rep to swing through the area, hitting multiple Fly-Ins.
| Task | Volunteer | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Wills Wing Demo | For HGFest'98, the contact was Rob Kells If he can't make it, he might recommend another rep (eg, Paul Voight). It's important to contact Rob by the first week of June, he's a busy guy. | |
| US Aeros Demo | As of HGFest'98 : GW Meadows was the US distributor of Aeros gliders. Located in North Caroline, fairly close-by. | |
| Moyes Demo | Ken Brown brought demos for HGFest'2002, and participated in the comp as well. |
A successful Fly-In can actually have a downside : the landowners of our LZ's might not be greatly pleased by a sudden inundation of 40+ pilots, with vehicles zooming around all day. There's even a real possibility of losing an LZ if a landowner gets irritated with us.
So we need to provide landowners with advance notice of the Festival, and ask if they have any special concerns or additional protocols that should be followed for the event. Be proactive, describing steps we're already planning on to minimize inconvenience and intrusion. Have ready answers for what we are doing to address their concerns (car-pooling, no-parking signs, speed-limit reminders, dust reminders). We need to be much more considerate of land-owner needs when we descend on a site in much greater numbers than usual.
In addition, the foresters of the Buchanan State Forest have requested that they be informed of our event, because a re-loc to Bill's Hill or Fisher Road puts us in their territory. This is an important task, we need to stay on good terms with the forestry people. I'm not 100% sure, but I think that they are required to check in on any park activities that involve a large-ish number of people. Might be helpful if we could do some site cleanup (trash removal) during the Festival, and let the foresters know of our efforts.
As of 2004, we've also been informed that the Special Activities agreement which allows us to fly at Fisher Road and Bill's Hill requires that we provide written notice 30 days in advance of any potential use of those two sites for the purposes of our Festival. This notice has to be provided to the Forest Service.
There are also some parking-related tasks that need to be handled.
The Festival Coordinator can provide contact information.
| Task | Volunteer | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Contact Landowners | Contact the owners of the Pulpit primary and secondary LZ, the Fisher Road LZ, and the Bill's Hill LZ. Let them know about the Festival, and describe what we plan to do to minimize impact. Invite them to the Saturday night cook-out. | |
| Contact PA State Forest | Contact the rangers of the Buchanan State Forest lands, to let them know the dates of our Festival, and of the possibility that we may re-locate to Bill's Hill or Fisher Road. | |
| Contact the Mountain House Bar and Grill | Contact the manager of the Mountain House Bar and Grill and inform them of the Festival dates. Ask if we can park off to the left side of the building and the Pulpit access road. At one point, the owners offered use of the pavilion in back of their building if we needed it. Don't know if current owners would be as helpful. | |
| No-Parking Signs for Access Road | Using provided stakes and no-parking signs, mark the access road from the Mountain House Bar and Grill to the Pulpit parking lot as a No Parking zone. This prevents one local resident from threatening to call the police about "fire hazards". | |
| Reserved Parking | Using provided caution tape and no-parking signs, reserve the small parking place next to the shed just outside the Pulpit parking lot for the Flight Director, Festival Coordinator, and Registration Staff. This can be a major help to the people running the Festival | |
| No Parking Signs for LZ | There is an access road along the edge of the Pulpit's primary LZ. The landowner has asked that people not drive up it, beyond the entrance where we normally park. Suggest that no parking signs or traffic cones be used to block off the road, so that pilots unfamiliar with the Pulpit do not break the protocol. |
The Festival needs a "headquarters", from which we can run registration, and provide both the public and visiting pilots with information, directions, freebies, flyers about our clubs, etc. Since our festival is one of the few events at which we try to interest non-pilots in flying, it really is important to have a place where people can go to find out more about the sport. Especially about local schools and instructors!
Festival HQ is often set up on a picnic table within the shelter in the Pulpit setup area. A list of materials needed follows; the Festival Organizer should be able to provide them.
We need volunteers to handle the HQ-setup and tear-down. Note that this means arriving early on Saturday at the Pulpit, or perhaps even the night before.
The HQ has to be setup even if flying activities are relocated, so that spectators who stop can still obtain information about hang gliding and paragliding.
Registration consists of two phases: Pre-registration and On-site registration.
The CHGPA Treasurer usually handles pre-registrations. Pilots order shirts, additional raffle tickets (if any), enter the various contests, and pay for the cook-out/keg in advance, sending a check or other form of payment to the Treasurer. The Treasurer records this info, and creates a document/spreadsheet indicating who has paid for what. That same spreadsheet has the names of all other CHGPA pilots who have not pre-registered, plus lots of extra space to accomodate non-CHGPA pilots who attend the Festival. This spreadsheet is then used by the volunteers who handle the on-site registration tasks.
During On-site registration, we distribute T-shirts and raffle tickets to the pilots who pre-registered, and sell them any additional raffle tickets that they may want. For those who register at the Festival itself, we collect contest fees, sell shirts and raffle tickets, and collect for the cook-out/keg. Note that on-site registration costs are a bit higher than pre-registration. All of these transactions must be recorded on the spreadsheet (hard-copy) provided by the CHGPA Treasurer: name, total amount collected, number of shirts, number of tickets, etc.
The volunteers handling On-site registration have probably the most important job of the entire Festival. They are the money-people; if registration doesn't go well, then we may not be able to cover expenses, which would then mean we could not make a donation to the McConnellsburg Rescue Squad. They should be enthusiatic, reminding pilots of the charity aspect of the Festival, and encouraging additional raffle ticket and T-shirt sales, and even cash donations. Our volunteers need to be well-informed about all event costs, both pre-registration and on-site. Try to recruit some volunteers to staff registration/Festival-HQ during the day, when people are flying. We need to be able to engage spectators, answer their questions, and distribute information and promotional items.
If flying conditions for the Festival are poor, then we may have very few pilots registered for the contests. This makes the raffle extremely important, since it becomes our only significant source of income.
Another important task during On-site registration is to ensure that all Hang-IIs and visiting pilots have signed the Pulpit Waiver.
| Task | Volunteer | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Handle Pre-registrations | Interact with Festival Coordinator, Skyline production staff and CHGPA Webmaster, to ensure the Festival registration form is included in the July Skyline issue and at the club website. Collect forms and fees during CHGPA meetings. Handle forms and fees that are mailed in. Create a spreadsheet containing pre-registrant info, for use during On-site registration. | |
| Create Pilot Registration Package (PRP) | The PRP is a printed document drawn from the contents of the Festival website. Maps, accomodations, contest rules, etc, all in a convenient handout distributed during registration. NOTE: Most local pilots will not need a copy of the PRP, since they already know the site and the event. 10-15 may be enough. This task is often handled by the CHGPA webmaster. | |
| Obtain Hang Gliding Promo Materials from USHGA | Contact USHGA and have them ship a load of promotional items, no later than August 15th. For use at the Festival HQ, distribution to spectators, etc. | |
| Supervise On-site registrations | Collect registration fees on the first day of the Festival. Distribute pre-purchased T-shirts and raffle tickets to those who pre-registered. Sell moreraffle tickets. Sell more T-shirts. Record fees collected using spreadsheet provided by CHGPA Treasurer. | |
| Pulpit Waivers | Make sure that new Hang-IIs and visiting pilots have signed the Pulpit Waiver. |
| Task | Volunteer | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Define competition format and policies | Flight Director | A description of the competition, scoring policy, disqualification policy, grievance policy, and competition timetable is needed. Will be included in the Pilot Information Package and the Festival website. This must be done no later than the last week of August. Examples are available from : HGFest'2001 and HGFest'1999 |
| Promote Safety-First Policy | Flight Director | The Festival competition is, above all, For Fun!. Safety-first flying practices that all pilots are expected to abide by must be drafted, and included in the definition of the competition format. This isn't the kind of event at which we should ever see a mid-air that results from thermal gaggling. |
| Scoring Formula | Flight Director | Develop a formula by which pilots participating in the XC competition and completing called tasks can be scored. The formula used should allow the determination of a winner even if conditions do not favor XC flight. Scoring opportunities for running portions of the ridge, flying out to a target in the valley and back, etc might be necessary. |
| Collect Weather Data | Flight Director | Collect and disseminate weather data. for use by the Task Committee and the pilots participating in the XC competition. Portable computer and modem and possibly a printer are highly recommended. Note that for HgFest'99, the phone lines at Johnnies were unusable for computer use. |
| Create Task Committee | Flight Director | Assemble two or three experienced pilots to assist with calling the flight tasks of the Festival's XC competition. This can be done in advance, or in the morning before the competition starts. |
| Call Flight Tasks | Flight Director | Call the flight tasks for each day of the competition, and communicate them via a Pilot's Meeting. |
| Define Launch Queue Protocol | Flight Director | If flight activities are moved to another site, then there will be queuing problems when many pilots begin lining up for launch. Define a Queueing Protocol so that everyone knows how to find the end of the line. Perhaps require pilots to be completely set-up and present in order to join the queue? |
| Assign Radio Frequencies | Flight Director | Choose a radio frequency for routine in-flight communications during the Festival. Choose a radio frequency for XC retrieval. Keep in mind that Hang-IIs participating in the Festival might not have HAM licenses yet. Determine best repeater frequencies for use if long tasks can be called. |
| Determine Scores | Flight Director | Establish a pilot check-in procedure at the end of each flight day, and determine pilot scores based on tasks completed, Portable computer and spreadsheet are required. |
| Determine Winners | Flight Director | Determine the top three finishers, and the top teams, for subsequent award of trophies/medals. |
| Task | Volunteer | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Purchase trophies for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place finishers (individual) | Nice, but not too expensive. | |
| Purchase plaques for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place teams | Nice, but not too expensive. | |
| Hang-II Certificates | Print up various flight- and non-flight-related certificates to recognize achievements by Hang IIs during the festival. Parchment, script lettering, the name of the award, with space for person's name and additional info (altitude gained, length of flight, etc). C. Huddle handled this for HgFest'98. | |
| Hang-II Prizes | Obtain enough merchandise donations so that prizes can be awarded in conjunction with the Hang II certificates; small things, like caps, posters, croakies, etc. USHGA is a good source for things like this. | |
| Other Awards? | Consider some awards for winners of spot-landing and bomb-drop contests? |
| Task | Volunteer | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shuttle Driver | A shuttle driver (possibly a friend or family member of a pilot participating in the Festival) is needed to pick up pilots in the LZ and shuttle them back to launch | ||
| Retrieve Driver | In the event that conditions are good for XC flights, an XC retrieval driver(s) is needed, someone who knows how navigate, use a radio, and can speak GPS. Ask a friend! |
A spot-landing contest is almost always a feature of the Festival, with a cash award to the winning pilot. This contest can be run under the "honor system", or a volunteer(s) can "officiate", recording results as pilots land.
The honor system has downsides... If multiple pilots nail the spot, then how will the winner be decided without a 3rd party to make the call? (this happens more frequently than you might think). Also, if a pilot wants an "official" distance, then they'll be in the way as they measure it, possibly interfering with another pilot's attempt.
The officiated system also has a downside... It requires that one or more volunteers spend all day in the LZ, which is a pretty thankless task. Advantages include the ability to distinguish a winner when multiple pilots hit the spot, and to relocate the spot if wind conditions change.
Another concern is Hang-II pilots: Can/should they participate in the contest? If so, should there be different rules for the II's? Should there be a Hang-II winner, in addition to a general (more advanced pilot) winner?
So you have to decide which way you want to go. Once that's out of the way, here's what has to be done:
| Task | Volunteer | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Choose Spot-Landing Location | Consult with the Flight Director and examine conditions to determine an appropriate (and safe!) location for the spot. | |
| Setup Spot-Landing Tarp | Place the spot-landing tarp at the desired location. Use provided equipment to secure a measuring line underneath the tarp, and feed the line up through the tarp's center. Weight the tarp, or secure it using tent pegs. | |
| Provide Result Sheet | Supply a sign-up sheet and clipboard so that pilots can record their results (date, time, distance, perhaps a witness ;-). If spot-landing is being officiated, the volunteer will take measurements and record the results. |
Contests other than spot-landings are also fun, but they can require more organization. Flour-bombdrops are popular, but someone needs to make the bombs, and a site for the bomb drop has to be selected. Don't forget about all the bombs that miss: who's going to pick up all the little plastic bags?
| Task | Volunteer | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Flour Bomb-Drop Contest | Define rules for the bomb-drop contest; create the bombs; consult with Flight Director and Safety Director to determine if conditions allow the contest; coordinate bomb-drop attempts so as not to interfere with launch activities; confirm bomb-drop results. |
| Task | Volunteer | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Purchase Kites | Buy 3 kites suitable for kids, not the cheapest but not the most expensive | |
| Saturday: Raffle the Kites | Using raffle tickets provided, hold a free raffle to give the kites away to kids on Saturday |
| Task | Volunteer | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Define Raffle Format | How many raffle tickets included with registration? How much do additional tickets cost? In part, these details will depend on the value of the raffle prizes. | |
| Sell Raffle Tickets | During registration; during the cook-out | |
| Handle Raffle Drawing | Draw the tickets and present the prizes |
| Task | Volunteer | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Hand-Washing Station | A hit at HGFest'98 and '99, courtesy of Kelly and Kevin M. The idea is to provide a large container of water with a spigot at the base, some soap or hand sanitizer, and a towel, so that cooks (or anyone else) can wash their hands. Definitely a must after a day of hang-gliding! | |
| Beer | Someone is needed to arrange for a club-provided keg of beer. M. Balk handled this for HGFest'98, a great brew from Shenandoah Brewery (??). Alternative: Yokum's Beverage Shop in McC; lead time is important for anything better than Budweiser | |
| Firewood | Volunteers needed to bring firewood | |
| Wood-splitter | In case the firewood isn't split... | |
| Grills | Two moderately-large grills (gas or charcoal) are needed | |
| Coolers | Two large coolers for food storage are needed | |
| Cooks | 3 or 4 culinary-minded volunteers needed to mind the grills (burgers, hotdogs, etc) | |
| Ice | Pickup ice from Johnny's (or grocery store) for the keg and for coolers | |
| Side Dishes | 4 or 5 hearty side dishes needed: pasta salads, green salads, potato salad, etc. Something hefty that feeds more than just a few (but no, we don't expect each dish to feed 30!) |
| Task | Volunteer | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Garbage Bags | Large-capacity 50 gallon drum liners needed for garbage collection. | |
| Dumpster Use | Obtain permission to use dumpster behind Johnnies' or the Mountain House Bar and Grill for trash disposal. This really is important... | |
| Recycling | Make some signs for glass/plastic disposal vs. trash disposal, so that the former can be recycled. | |
| Trash Hauling | Haul trash and recyclables to dumpsters. |
| Task | Volunteer | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Hang Gliding | A photographically-inclined volunteer is needed to take photos of launches, gliders in the air, etc. | |
| Kite Raffle | Ditto, for the kite giveaway | |
| Party and Pilot Raffle | Ditto, for the party and raffle Saturday night |
A static hang glider display used to be held in front of Johnny's Motel. Purpose was to introduce the public to modern hang-gliding, emphasizing the use of parachutes, radios, and avionics. A TV and VCR allowed viewing of hang gliding videos.
The number of people stopping by simply did not justify the effort, and the static display down in McConnellsburg was discontinued as of the 2000 Festival.
Instead, we have the Festival HQ, with USHGA promotional items to give out, magazines, brochures, etc.
But the idea of a static display, with videos, is still viable. No reason we couldn't set one up at the Pulpit itself (though a generator would be needed). So this task will remain in the list, for now.
| Task | Volunteer | Description |
|---|---|---|
| VCR, extension cord, a video | ||
| Knee-hanger, vario, radio, etc. | ||
| USHGA promo items; USHGA video | ||
| Display, Saturday 11:30am to 12:30pm | Showing the wuffos what it's all about! | |
| Display, Saturday 12:30pmam to 1:30pm | Ditto | |
| Display, Sunday 11:30am to 12:30pm | Ditto | |
| Display, Sunday 12:30am to 1:30pm | Ditto |
| Task | Volunteer | Description |
|---|---|---|
| ____________________ |