Positions include door monitors, page turners, stage crew assistants, and competition runners. The NFA is also looking for volunteers that can provide language interpretation services for international attendees. If you are fluent in Spanish or an East Asian language, we could especially use your help! Our needs for interpreters may vary, so let us know what your language skills are, and we will be in touch.
Indicate your interest in Volunteering during your convention registration. A Volunteer Coordinator will be in touch with you soon.
Over the years, Sam Louke has been one of the NFA’s most loyal convention volunteers. Sam is a chemical engineer, now retired from Intel Corporation. He lives in Beaverton, Oregon, with his wife, NFA member Phyllis Louke, and enjoys playing the trombone in his spare time.
I was looking for something to do since I am not a flutist. Usually I meet up with some of the other “flute husbands” and go to a local Major League Baseball game one night of the convention. But my mornings are free, and since I volunteer a lot at home for the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry in Portland and various musical groups in which I play trombone, I found it rewarding to help the NFA convention run smoothly. I’ve been volunteering since the 2007 Albuquerque convention.
Being a door monitor and helping the guest artist set up the room for their next event. I’ve done everything from helping flute choirs set up to helping Peter Sheridan organize his reading session music, to monitoring the door at the gala concert and having to turn away famous people for not having a badge.
I enjoy meeting the leaders and world class musicians in the flute world. Oh, and earning a free lunch.
I usually earn $30/day over about 3-4 days, or about $100-120/convention. I’ve been to seven conventions since 2007, so I’ve made about $800.
It’s a great way to give back to an organization that you already support. You’re going to the convention, why not spend a couple of hours to help a worthy organization? And if you are the partner of a flutist, why not spend some of your free time at the convention in support of your partner’s passion?