Volunteer Basic Info

Since 2016, the Southern California Linux Expo has been at the Pasadena Convention Center.

When

The Southern California Linux Expo is on Thursday through Sunday. However, the A/V volunteer staff is needed as early as Wednesday night to start setup.

Here is an overview of what to expect:

Where

SCALE will be at the Pasadena Convention Center, which is in downtown Pasadena within walking distance of many shops and restaurants and even movie theaters. Directions available [here] (http://www.socallinuxexpo.org/scale/14x/venue). General map of the Pasadena area [here] (http://i.imgur.com/1eUACEN.jpg).

Here is an [overview of the Pasadena Convention Center Facility] (http://pasadenacenter.visitpasadena.com/facility/).

We are mainly in the two-story [Conference Center] (http://pasadenacenter.visitpasadena.com/facility/conference-center/) and the Convention Center, which consists of [Exhibit Hall A/B] (http://pasadenacenter.visitpasadena.com/facility/exhibit-halls-ab/) and the [Ballrooms] (http://pasadenacenter.visitpasadena.com/ballroom/).

Registration is in the Convention Center near the entrance to the Expo floor, which are in Exhibit Hall A/B.

** Room numbers to be verified. **

Our operations and registration will primarily be on the 2nd floor of the Conference Center.

• A/V NOC (Room 205) - Our command center. We handle audio issues and video streaming. We also provide the video adapters for our speakers.
• Tech NOC (room 215) - Tech team is responsible for networking and infrastructure support.
• Speaker lounge/Press (room 207) - This is where the speakers hang out and practice their talks. There will be a workstation/printer there.
• Break room (room 208) - This is where the staff hangs out and probably where lunch will be.

Communications

• Email - announcements and discussions usually occur on the [scale-av mailing list] (https://lists.linuxfests.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/scale-av). Please sign up early, as it requires approval to add your subscription.
• Radio - We use two-way radios to communicate at the venue. I believe they are being provided by PSAV. If you need a radio, please check it out from the A/V NOC; there will be a sign-out sheet. Check it in at the end of the day so they can recharge the battery. You are responsible for the radio and will be charged if you don't return it. The radios have two channels, one for A/V and one for general/Tech. Please ensure your radio stays on your team's channel. If you have any comments on how well the radios work, there will be a comment box on the sign-out sheet.
• Slack - We are also encouraged to use [Slack] (https://scale-conf.slack.com) to chat. You can download the app to your smart phone or login via your computer. Please ask Ilan (@socallinuxexpo.org) or Bala (@socallinuxexpo.org) for an invitation, so you can access our team channels.
• Messages - There should be someone in the A/V NOC between 8am and 6pm. Leave a message at the desk.

Registration

SCALE Registration for volunteers was handled by the team lead. As we get closer to the conference, we will submit a list of names to Registration; you will receive an email confirming your registration for SCALE. If you don't have this email, you should contact Lan.

You will not be able to pick up your badge until the Registration area has been set up, late Wednesday night or early Thursday. The registration area is near the entrance to the Expo Hall, on the convention center side.

It is the same process for staff or attendee to pick up a badge. You go to Registration, check-in via the bank of self-serve kiosks. If you received an email from registration, there is a express check-in code. If you didn't get the email or misplaced it, just enter your first and last name and the email address you used to sign up as a volunteer. Your name will be called and you will get your badge and the conference swag. If there is a problem, go find Lan, and we will resolve it.

After you've picked up your badge, you can check in with Lan at the A/V NOC. We'll get you oriented. We also have t-shirts for the A/V team; please wear them when you're working. Depending on availability, we will hand out multiple shirts, so you can wear them multiple days.

Hotel rooms

SCALE provides a small set of hotel rooms for volunteers who work most of the conference. This is a privilege offered to volunteers who have done good work for us before, because we work long hours, and staying onsite is safer than a long commute.

You should have already received a confirmation email directly form the hotel, as well as an email from Ilan telling you to please contact him and not the hotel if you want to change anything about your reservation.

SCALE will only cover the room and the parking. The hotel will require a credit card on file to cover any extra charges. Be sure to let them know if you need a parking pass. If you don't need a car, you should consider taking Lyft/Uber/Uber Pool to the hotel if it is under $25/each way; that may be reimbursable. You should also ask about whether the room includes free Internet access, and if so, what the code is.

Parking

Here is the general information regarding [parking] (http://www.socallinuxexpo.org/scale/16x/parking) at the venue or around Pasadena. You may also consider carpooling or other modes of [transportation] (http://www.socallinuxexpo.org/scale/16x/transportation).

SCALE will handle parking reimbursement after the conference, within reason. Please be frugal as SCALE had a lot of new expenses with the new venue. If you have a hotel room, they will not want to reimburse parking at the convention center. If you are staying at the hotel and can get a Lyft/Uber/Uber Pool to the hotel (under $25/each way), that would be even better.

The Westin hotel is a 10-minute walk from the venue; there is a free shuttle should run regularly on Thursday-Sunday. You can request adhoc shuttle service to places within 2-mile radius of the hotel, but you may have to wait around on the shuttle's availability.

Meals

Lunch will be provided for on-site volunteers in the staff break room. I don't believe there are any provisions for breakfast. Dinner is still TBD. Outside food and beverage are not permitted in the venue.

There are many restaurants and shops around the venue, so there should be more options and less crowding, if you want to find your own food.

Shifts

The bulk of volunteers are needed from 8am to 6pm. We are aiming for 5-hour shifts in the morning and afternoon, which overlap around noon. This should enable you to enjoy the conference or having too long of a day.

We will need at least one volunteer with soundboard experience to support the evening events. Hopefully, this duty will rotate to a different volunteer each night.

Training

Training will be provided onsite. There are many veteran volunteers who can answer basic questions. The [AV Decision Tree] (AV Decision Tree) may be a useful starting point for troubleshooting. If you are on monitoring duty, the [Audio Video monitoring workstation notes] (Audio Video monitoring workstation) will be quite useful, though it may need to be updated for 2018. Here are instructions on how to connect the podium computers.

Questions

Lan Dang is the volunteer wrangler for the SCALE A/V Team. Her goal is to make sure SCALE A/V is well-supported, you all have a good experience and want to come back to help out again next year. Address all questions, concerns, and complaints to her.