How it works

I had two volunteer jobs at last year's BreyerFest.

I was part of the three judge panel that picked the Best Customs Contest winners.

Jennifer Buxton, Mindy Berg and Lauren Hoeffer

Also, I was on the staff of the Resin Renaissance Show.

I was not a judge. Instead, I had a general helper position, which mostly ended up being in charge of the raffle.

This was an important job, that was also a lot of fun, especially since I had a lot of help from my friend, Tara Reich. She sat with me most of the day, helping sell tickets and draw winners. 

She worked just as hard as I did, but since she wasn't on staff, her efforts weren't "paid" with a volunteer model. She knew that, but she helped anyway. 

People notice things like that. Guess whose on the staff of the Resin Renaissance show this year?

She wasn't chosen because she's friends with the show holders - although clearly she is - but because she's a known quantity, a hard worker who cares about the hobby, someone who will pitch in to help whether she's paid or not.

Another Californian, Robbie Ramirez, also helped out at last year's Resin Renaissance show. He helped carry things to the show hall, set up the room and ran errands for the show holders before and after the division in which he was showing. Surprise! He's on the staff this year, too.

This is how things work. It's not friends hiring friends because they're friends, but friends hiring friends because they know they will do the job cheerfully, competently and without drama regardless of pay. Personally, I don't have a problem with that.