Volunteering at the 26th Gemini Awards!

One thing has become very apparent to me since I've started RTA: Donna sends a lot of emails. Some of the emails are about important RTA info and events and a lot of them are amazing volunteer experiences! As soon as I got the e-mail about the Gemini Awards, I replied ASAP - I want all the volunteer experience I can and this sounded fun and it sure was!

So, during the first few days of school, I was already granted a volunteer position for the 26th Gemini Awards as a stand-in and audience intern - It was an amazing experience. I volunteered the 6th and 7th of September (the actual show), therefore, I actually got to join the crowd and watch the show. All that just a few days into the RTA program.. Well, what a great start and taste of the industry I got!

I got to meet a lot of great people: fellow volunteers, CBC workers, guests and even some of the artists. It was my first time inside the CBC building and the set was incredible. I hope to volunteer next year. Honestly, I hope to volunteer and hopefully work for related events as much as I can throughout my studies at Ryerson.

FUNNY STORY: 

All celebrities had a specific seat assigned to them, so the cameramen would know where they were if they won. Therefore, before the show, the seats designated to specific celebrities had a photograph of the celebrity on it. At one point during the day, I was sitting in a regular seat beside one with a picture of Rick Mercer on it. I rested my arm on this chair, so my arm was basically on Mercer's head. I was just in a gaze, daydreaming about something I forget, until I felt someone looking at me. It was Rick Mercer himself, giving me a funny look! I laughed and took my arm off his head (well, the photo) It was a funny moment. He came in early like some guests during the rehearsal process.

another funny story....

During the show, Tom Green was in a room full of cheese worth a total of $7000! At the end guests ate cheese and so did the volunteers! There were so many leftovers that I brought home a block of $200 cheese along with other cheese my family enjoyed. Hey, they had to go somewhere - I didn't want them to throw it in the garbage! 

Anyhow, as you can see, I really enjoyed these few days and I am so thankful!

-Karoline 

http://country94news.blogspot.com/2011/09/its-not-whole-lot-of-info-but-according.html - thanks for the picture of Rick Mercer!

http://ohinternet.com/Tom_Green - thanks for the picture of Tom Green!