Update: We have hit our limit for volunteers this year. Thanks to all who have applied.
If you’ve been looking for an opportunity to get involved with SND, or to spend a weekend with 60 of the best visual minds in the business, this is your chance.
About 30 SND professional volunteers will be needed again in February 2017 to assist in the 38th annual Best of News Design Creative Competition print judging. With this being the first year judging is held in St. Petersburg, Fla., after three-plus decades in Syracuse, N.Y., facilitators with a history of significant contributions to the competition are encouraged to return.
Facilitators assist in teams helping judges do their work. They place and remove entries on tables, sort voting chips, place and remove voting cups, take winning entries to the input area, input data, proofread data, assist the SND web desk, and generally help facilitate the process.
In addition, facilitators will work with the SND38 judging team, and will work closely with other facilitators and student groups attending to assist. While facilitating may be the hardest job you will ever love, it also provides networking and professional feedback opportunities in a setting that feels personal. In addition, the competition is annually vital to SND, and there is no better way to get directly involved in it than by volunteering to assist.
SND provides meals, but facilitators pay for their travel and lodging, estimated at $119 per night plus tax. Many publications cover this cost for employees because the facilitating experience yields valuable information, insights and ideas.
To volunteer, please send an email to bestofnewsdesign@gmail.com. Please indicate your first and last name, current place of work, job title and languages read or spoken, as well as your preferred contact email and phone numbers. Please put “SND38 Facilitator” in the subject line and indicate whether you have attended judging before (as a judge or facilitator). Only SND members in good standing will be considered.
Volunteers will be accepted until space is filled. Facilitators are selected based on two factors: The needs of the competition and the order in which applications are received. The sooner you volunteer, the better your chances of selection. Please note that we will receive more volunteers than we need. Your understanding is appreciated. If you are accepted, SND will provide full competition, hotel and travel details.
SND38 judging is set for February 17-20, 2017, at the St. Petersburg Coliseum in St. Petersburg, Florida. Facilitators should be able to arrive in St. Petersburg (accessible by multiple airports) no later than 5 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 16, stay through the completion of judging, and can leave any time the following Tuesday, Feb. 21.