2013 brought welcome relief to the Placement Team after previous challenges. Firstly, a Placement Team Manager and Production Assistant were hired on a seasonal basis to support the work of the team and its volunteers. Secondly, the team welcomed two keen new volunteers who took to the task like seasoned pros. Our team thrived at a full complement of placers for each of the seven city sectors. The previous Placement Team Manager excelled in her role of Department Camp Liaison. Thirdly, the Direct Distributed Tickets mechanism for offering ticket sales to Theme Camp leads addressed some challenges faced by so many of our devoted community members.
The Placement Forum held in March had great attendance and once again afforded both new and seasoned Theme Camp leads an opportunity to ask specific questions, learn from each other, and be inspired by their task of acculturating and interacting with all citizens of Black Rock City. This Forum marked the beginning of a conversation with Large Scale Sound Camps to address safety issues within their camps. This ended with a dedicated team working specifically with these camps to bring greater safety and responsiveness to all participants.
The Placement Team reviewed over 1200 questionnaires (the document completed by anyone wanting reserved camping in Black Rock City). We managed to place 95% of the Theme Camps and as always, encourage everyone to create interactive and engaging camps within BRC whether they are living within a designated Theme Camp area or not.
Our most recent challenge within the Placement Team and across numerous other departments is how to best integrate people living within what we call “turnkey camps” into our community. This year Placement worked with other departments to research these emerging camps to identify how we can continue to ensure that everyone in Black Rock City is aware of and acts in a manner reflecting the Ten Principles.
Overall 2013 was a successful year. Theme Camps brought their best and brightest to our amazing city. The Placement Team volunteers appreciated their new managerial and production support and placed a record number of camps with energy and enthusiasm to spare.
Submitted by,
Kristen Berg