Hi everyone! I am closing out my second week at the McConnell Arts Center with two more busy days to go!

I started out my week, on Monday, helping our Executive Director sort through old files, something that will later turn into a scanning project. Files might sound boring, but I found it interesting to get to look into all the paperwork that goes into running a nonprofit. Not only this, but I also found it interesting to get a glimpse into the hiring process of a nonprofit as I got to see old resumes, cover letters, interview notes, etc.

On Tuesday, I spent a good amount of time helping prepare materials for the Worthington Arts Festival, hosted by the MAC. I laminated signs, created name tags, assembled vendor packets, and cut out a variety of parking passes, to name a few. I also spent some time on Pinterest looking for centerpiece ideas for a VIP Breakfast that will be happing Saturday morning, the first day of the festival. Earlier on in my workday, I got to meet with the MAC’s Visual Arts and Education Manager and talk through her background and her current role and responsibilities. This was my last one-on-one meeting with the MAC staff since starting the Fellowship, and I am very happy I was able to have these meetings because they not only helped me become familiar with this nonprofit’s specific employee roles, but they also helped me to better connect with the people I will be working besides this summer.

On Wednesday, we had our first professional development session at the Columbus Foundation centered around a discussion on power and two guest speakers, Toshia Safford (President and CEO of The Center for Healthy Families) and Nick Jones (Vice President of Community Wellness at Nationwide Children’s). It was inspiring to get to hear from people who are actively engaged in the nonprofit sector and thriving in what they do. They provided us with some invaluable advice that I see myself needing as I become more involved in the sector.

On Thursday, I continued working on tasks related to the arts festival. This same day, we also had a staff lunch to celebrate a birthday and a work-anniversary and a staff meeting where much of the conversation revolved around the arts festival. I also spent some time on a website called boardsource.org learning some important information about nonprofit boards.

Today, June 13^th, was dedicated to setting up for the Worthington Arts Festival! My day started early at 7:30am and ended around 4pm. I got to help vendors (mostly artists) unload their vehicles and set up their tents, I helped set out signs around the festival grounds, I helped make sure volunteers were taken care of food and refreshment wise, and ended my shift with helping check in artists at our main building as they drove in from all around the state and country. It was honestly such an amazing process to be a part of as it took so many people (staff, volunteers, and vendors alike) to make something like this happen for the community. I am excited for what the rest of the weekend has in store as the festival runs it course.

Talk to you soon,

Graci Jackson