EYES ON DESIGN

VOLUNTEER RECRUITMENT OPPORTUNITIES

15415 E Jefferson
Grosse Pointe Park MI 48230
313-824-4710
F: 822-4233
www.eyeson.org

Leadership

Eve of the Eyes

Eve of the Eyes volunteer group plans the event during the course of the entire year. The event is specifically geared towards young designers and retirees from the profession of automotive design. During the year, in the planning process, a great deal of work is devoted to making certain that each year the Eve of the Eyes event is fresh. The location changes annually and, thus, the volunteer cadre are always faced with new challenges.

On Friday night at the Eve of the Eyes event, these volunteers welcome our guests and circulate among the guests to be certain that the experience is pleasurable.

Vision Honored

A group of volunteers work with the Vision Honored Chairman throughout the year in planning Vision Honored. They prepare the evening's flow, decide on its menu, beverages, the layout of the facility, and the myriad other details which go into the presentation of one of the most elegant evenings in the Detroit automotive summer.

Volunteers at Vision Honored help us register our guests, and represent the Institute at the event. Some years, we display a sampling of our crystal car show awards. These must be transported from the DIO to Vision Honored, and from Vision Honored back to the automotive exhibit for presentation the next day. Wrapping, unwrapping, rewrapping these expensive crystal awards requires volunteers with no evidence of "dropsy", and the freedom to stay late at Vision Honored, and still arrive early for the car show.

Brunch

The Private Eyes Brunch is held on the front lawn of the Edsel & Eleanor Ford House grounds. A group of volunteers works all year establishing the theme, format and production of the Private Eyes Brunch. They work with caterers, tent pavilion people, decorators, and entertainers to produce the most elegant, pleasurable brunch anywhere. The Brunch organizers insure that the Brunch, as a stand-alone event associated with the car show, is memorable for the audience (which is limited to 1,000 people) as an outstanding event.

Traditionally, ladies from the Friends of Vision have acted as day-of-the-event volunteers.Their summer festive dresses, coupled with wide brimmed hats, create a special spirit for the Brunch and contribute to one of the most elegant events held anywhere on the Great Lakes during the summertime.

Friends of Vision Raffle

Each year our goal is to sell the number of raffle tickets in our date. For instance, this year, 6/18/00, we will attempt to sell 618 $100 raffle tickets. We are always anxious for assistance from persons who will help with this sale. We make the tickets available at special events, through the internet off our website, through each of the weekend events of the Eyes on Design weekend. Since the car, this year a Cadillac Escalade, is donated to the Institute, every dollar raised by the raffle drops to the bottom line.

Friends of Vision, our marvelous auxiliary, manages the raffle, but is always anxious for volunteers willing to help either at special events, or through their corporate or circle of friends to sell tickets. Actually, the chances of winning are far better than in virtually any other auto raffle we're aware of because the total number of tickets sold is so low.

Site Reception

Several volunteers are needed prior to events held at the Ford House to check in supplies arriving for the event. We do not expect the Ford House staff to take responsibility for receiving these goods and knowing where they should be headed on the huge grounds of the Ford House. Mostly, it's a communications job being on-site and in communication with "headquarters". These volunteers are especially important on the Thursday, Friday and Saturday prior to the Father's Day event, generally beginning at 8:00 AM and ending at 5:00 PM.

Site Layout

Beginning in the months prior to the event, a group of volunteers lays out the site on paper, both to plan the map for the Program and to be certain that everything fits on the property. This is a particularly tricky assignment since the Ford House has comprehensive guidelines on the use of the property. (For instance, no vehicle beneath the weep line of a tree.) These guidelines, which Eyes on Design observes precisely, make Site Layout a time-consuming and often maddening project.

The plan achieved on paper is then laid out with tapes and stakes on the Wednesday prior to Father's Day. In general, the work begins in late afternoon and continues until dark. Loose ends on the layout are continued then up through Sunday morning, Father's Day. It's a man-hour consuming task, and volunteers for the site layout are always needed.

Parking Lot - (3 crews of 15 each):

Sometimes the parking lot will be completely managed by a group such as the Wayne State University football team. On the day of the car show, we require three crews of 15 persons each to manage the lot. It can be hot, dry, and unpleasant, at best; but like many other mundane volunteer tasks, if it isn't done well the entire event suffers. People who encounter parking problems getting to the event always end up with a chip on their shoulder about the quality of the show.

Gate

On the day of the event, from the earliest hours to the late afternoon, the Gate volunteers sell tickets, hand out Programs, welcome our guests, answer questions and direct traffic. It is an effort generally manned by young people with stamina, courtesy, a helpful demeanor and a friendly air. They give our guests a first impression of the event.

Shuttle Drivers/Cart Drivers

A group of shuttle drivers transport car exhibitors from the auto trailer lots to the event, volunteers from their special lot to the Ford House, Brunch patrons from the parking lot to the Brunch area, and guests from outlying parking lots to the main event. This back and forth effort begins at the crack of dawn and ends when the last volunteers and visitors depart the grounds. We seek mature drivers, perhaps not the geriatric set, but it isn't a volunteer assignment for drivers just past the "learner's permit" stage of life. The task requires immense courtesy, a welcoming personality, and a line of chatter.

Golf Carts

On the grounds, golf carts are carefully assigned. The golf carts are manned by assigned drivers, under radio control from the command post. Throughout the day, they transport handicapped visitors from place to place, haul materials from the properties center to the area of need, cart volunteers in a hurry from one area to the next, move VIP's about the premises, and run an unimaginable list of errands. They, like shuttle drivers, should be on the mature side of their vehicle operator's permit. No golf carts should ever be in the hands of children.

Marshals

The marshals are a large group of dedicated volunteers who, wearing the uniform of the event (matching T-shirts and khaki slacks or skirts) oversee the automotive exhibit. Eyes on Design is one of the very few major car shows which does not rope off the automobiles to protect them from the general public. In 13 years we have never had a serious act of vandalism or injury to a vehicle. To a large extent, this is a tribute to the 80 or more marshals who carefully oversee the exhibits. The marshals are expected to be "among the cars", not sitting in the shade of the Ford House trees.

The assignment requires a several hour tour of duty, usually on a sunny, warm June day, making certain that cars are not touched or disturbed, doors are not opened, hoods are not lifted, Eyes on Design show license plates are not "borrowed", etc.

Judging

The judges at Vision Honored are all automotive designers. Eyes on Design is the only automobile exhibit in the world in which only the designers of cars judge the vehicles on display. Efforts are made to distinguish the judges from the crowd, and to be certain that adequate time is spent evaluating each vehicle. The vehicle owners must understand and be satisfied with the judging process. Many of the event judges have been with the show since its earliest years. Persons from the automotive design community interested in judging are always invited to apply. The judging involves several hours of very intense work between 9:00 AM and 12:00 Noon on the day of the event. Each car must be carefully considered, results tabulated in a precise form, and the data entered into the computers prior to the awards presentation beginning at 12:30.

Docents

Eyes on Design is thought to be the only automotive exhibit in the world in which learned automotive docents help the visitor understand the exhibit. We are constantly on the lookout for auto historians, design experts, and automotive designers who will visit the show, interchange with our guests, and help them understand the event. It is an automotive design show and our docents help explain the importance of that unique character. Docents are necessary only on the day of the event.

Awards Ceremony

A tightly choreographed awards ceremony requires volunteers to work on the event throughout the year and to physically be present on the day of the event to make certain that the winning automobile, the automobile driver, the award underwriter, the award itself, the script for the master of ceremonies, all arrive at the event awards presentation area at precisely the time scheduled. This is a logistics and planning problem which requires intense concentration of the awards ceremony committee during the six or eight hours on the day of the event, but also requires careful planning of the awards committee from one year to the next.

Awards Escorts

These volunteers are crucial to the safe performance of the awards ceremony. They are given the tableau and timing of winning automotive entrants and then lead these winning vehicles from their position on the grounds, through the crowd of viewing public, making certain that the correct vehicle is led to the awards presentation without injury to the general public. These volunteers work only on the day of the event; that is Father's Day.

Command Post

The command post volunteers should be the most knowledgeable people on the site on the day of the event. They put out the dozens of fires which, despite the most careful planning and computer "to do" lists, invariably occur on the day of the event. The command post solves several dozen problems per hour for the first few hours of the day. The tempo then tapers off, but it is an activity requiring at least three full-time volunteers during the entire day of the event-from opening the gates to the cleanup.

Detroit Institute of Ophthalmology Tent

The Detroit Institute of Ophthalmology always has a tent on the grounds of the Eyes on Design show. (It displays materials related to the Institute missions to help our guests understand us better.) It displays aids to the visually impaired or blind, which we sell in the Gorey Resource Center of the DIO, and displays antique medical and optical goods from the Institute's historical collection. This tent needs oversight. Frequently, it is manned by former students, or DIO staff. Questions always arise as to just what the DIO does, its mission, its initiative, etc. Hopefully, the persons at the DIO Tent can answer such questions. Some of our visually impaired DIO group work in this tent, as well.)

Concessions

These volunteers work on the day of the event managing the concession booths, making certain that our guests have a pleasant experience, and that our concession stands, in addition to providing food and drinks for the day, give our guests a pleasurable experience.

Memorabilia Tent

Posters and Programs from the car show are sold at the Memorabilia Tent on the grounds of the Ford House on Father's Day. In addition to the memorabilia of the current year, other posters, Programs, and some commemorative materials from years gone by are merchandised at the Memorabilia Tent. These materials provide a significant source of income for the car show and the initiatives of the Detroit Institute of Ophthalmology. On the day of the event, volunteers provide the buying public with courteous retailing, combined with enthusiastic marketing of the wonderful posters and programs which have characterized our event, and led it to become one of the half-dozen most important car shows in the United States.

Poster Sales

The Memorabilia Tent at Eyes on Design is one facet of our memorabilia sales program. The sale of back issues of Programs, posters and memorabilia of all sorts are a source of funding for the Detroit Institute of Ophthalmology which has not been adequately exploited. Volunteers with merchandising experience could have a lot of fun, and make a huge difference in the finances of the Institute by helping us learn to market these materials through our internet site, through poster sales sources, through art and poster magazines, etc. We do not cover this volunteer activity as adequately as we should.

Art Tent

Volunteers at the Art Tent marshal the exhibit. Like all other volunteers, they wear the event shirt and khaki slacks. They make certain that our guests do not handle the sculpture or touch the paintings, answer questions about the artists (who are usually in attendance and need only be identified by the volunteers for their comprehensive responses to such questions). They also man the exhibits while the artists take a break for food, beverages, a rest, or a tour of the car exhibits.

Cash Management

On the day of the Eyes on Design car show there is a group of devoted souls who sit in a secure location, hidden to the public. They tabulate, correlate and organize the checks, credit card stubs and cash, which arrives at the dozen different locations and functions of the car show. There are cash management responsibilities, as well, at each of the special events, though the greatest pressure is a ten-hour work assignment on Father's Day. The needs are for accuracy, reliability, and the ability to use an adding machine; of course, honesty is assumed.

Security

At one time a volunteer activity, security is now contracted out to a licensed and bonded security corporation. The Edsel & Eleanor Ford House has its on-site security team. Our volunteers act in cooperation with both of these forces.

Cleanup Crew

Eyes on Design has the reputation for leaving the Ford House property in better shape than we find it. In the week prior to our event there is a major outdoor event also held on the grounds. Frequently our cleanup crew, by evidence of bags full of trash left behind from that event, displays its resolve to be the best possible renting tenant of the property.

With that in mind, the cleanup crew begins work as the show opens. Volunteers are needed to police the area throughout the day to be certain our guests have a "Disneyland" experience.

After the show breaks up, a large contingent of people with black bags and strong backs comb the area from the water to the gate, picking up every bit of droppings (except those of the geese). Oftentimes, our careless guests leave empty pop cans in the branches of trees, food wrappers under tents. There's always surprising stuff left behind. In addition, the cleanup crew hauls all of the DIO and EOD materials of the show off the meadow out to the Ford House roadsides where our logistics crew can place them on the trucks for transport back to the Eyes on Design warehouse location.

On the Monday following Eyes on Design, another cleanup crew always polices the grounds again. This guarantees that anything which we missed in the failing sunlight at dusk is recovered. We are always amazed to pick up several more bags full of trash prior to the afternoon lawn cutting by the Ford House crew on Monday afternoon.