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To enquire about volunteer positions please email us at info@pksca.net with the Job title in the subject line.
About Our Volunteer Positions
The PKSCA is an all-volunteer non-profit organization, including every person from our volunteers on the ground during race weekend to the PKSCA Board members, Race Committee, and everybody behind the scenes. The Portland Rose Festival Dragon Boat Race is our largest event, and requires enormous community support. However, all of our programs require volunteer support.
Both within the context of the Dragon Boat Race and through to the larger PKSCA organization there are positions, both short and long term, that we need help filling. These may range from skilled trades to help with maintaining the wood and fiberglass Traditional-Style Dragon Boats, heavy machinery and trailers, managing our storage spaces, grant writing, fund-raising event coordinators, photographers, videographers, social media content creators, designers, sound engineers, race committee members, host-families for our visiting Kaohsiung students, and so much more. Essentially these positions are permanent, semi-permanent, and professional positions.
We will be listing more permanent short and long-term volunteer positions on this page. While we do pull volunteers from our teams, there are volunteer positions that may range from a day annually to the entire year that we are seeking to find passionate people to fill.
If you have a skill you believe the PKSCA may benefit from that is not listed please contact us at info@pksca.net.
Dock Master
Positions Available: 1
Start Date: Friday before Race Weekend
End Date: Monday after Race Weekend
Active Time Period: Second Weekend after Memorial Day (+Day before/after)
Experience Required: Competent Logistics
The job of Dock Master as it is currently configured consists of 4 days of work. This could change with new ideas and can be split among several people. We need to have Lead Volunteers like Dock Master be training someone to assist and possibly take over as needed.
Friday before the race:
- Secure and drive the previously reserved rental truck to Zidell warehouse.
- Load the truck with all supplies necessary for race weekend and lock it without impeding traffic flow in the warehouse.
- A checklist of supplies needed will be available.
Saturday of the Race Weekend:
- Start early!
- Go to Zidells and drive the truck to the event venue and park it on the grass and secure the Parking Pass to the mirror.
- Open the truck and with the help of volunteers move the supplies in place to the dock and other locations as needed. Use the handtruck from the container at Zidells to move larger objects such as drums and paddles.
During the race (both days):
- Make sure all needed items are in place.
- Set up the 4 spaces for docking – include flags, ropes, etc.
- Get radio from Command Tent
- Get Heat Sheets from Command Tent
- The first 8 teams that are racing must get their boats from the slips on the inside of the dock
- Do not send any boats to the start line until called for by the start boat (Marshalling will only send teams when you call for them)
- Keep teams that are waiting, away from where the boats are docked to allow for easy passing of teams from either direction on the dock
- Send boats and receive boats at the dock as they cycle through. Keep in radio contact with all parties as necessary. Primary contacts will be the start boat and marshalling.
- As the last 8 boats come back, they need to dock back inside the dock at our slips.
- When the last heat leaves the dock, clean up of the dock can begin.
- Drums will go on the top shelves of the paddle lockers
- Life jackets will go back to the life jacket lockers
- Paddles and other needed items go back to the truck
- Make sure that the paddle and life jacket lockers are locked
- Lock the truck
End of the race on Sunday:
- When the truck is loaded, return it to Zidells or some other secure location
- Once at Zidells, if it’s Sunday it can be unloaded and the locked truck left overnight
Monday:
- Ensure the truck is clean and unlocked and return to rental company
Grant Writers
Positions Available: Unrestricted
Start Date: Open
End Date: Open
Active Time Period: Open Throughout Year
Experience Required: Entry Level -> Highly Experienced writers.
The PKSCA is always looking for new grants as well as grant writers. While we are actively seeking new grants we welcome you to bring grants to our attention as well. There is a lot of work available for people with varying level of experience. While our board members are currently our primary writers, we are hoping to find greater support by experienced grant writers to act as leads on the grant proposals, as well as those with less experience in support positions.
In addition to grant writing, we need researchers to support the proposals, proof readers, and administrative support. Administrating grants includes coordinating any necessary reporting requirements, coordinating budget distribution with the board, as well as designing/monitoring milestones in the application of the grant.
Social Media Content Creators
Positions Available: 4
Start Date: Race Weekend – June 7, 2025 | Second Saturday After Memorial Day Annually
End Date: Race Weekend – June 8, 2025 | Second Sunday After Memorial Day Annually
Active Time Period: Race Weekend – June 7-8, 2025 | Second Weekend After Memorial Day
Experience Required: Mid-Level to Highly Experienced Content Creators
The Portland Rose Festival Dragon Boat Race takes place the second weekend after Memorial Day each year. It is an exciting event with a great deal of activity. Currently our social media includes: Instagram, Facebook, Threads, BlueSky, Tik-Tok, and YouTube. We are looking for content creators to make content and post to our social media accounts during race weekend.
Aaron Bocanegra is the social media manager on the Race Committee to which the content creators will report. He will coordinate all social media activities at the race, but each creator will have significant autonomy within the boundaries of our style guide, hashtag usage, and target audience. In addition to posting to our social media all content will need to be uploaded to our archives after the race. Each creator will get credit for their work. Volunteer shirts will be provided to identify your relationship to the event, as well as credentials where necessary to get into restricted areas.
We need content creators that can:
- Record and live stream races to our social media
- Write interesting posts with effective hashtags
- Create posts, reels, stories, as well as short form posts for Threads/BlueSky
- Interact with the racers, spectators, and vendors at the event to create content
- Cross-posting experience on our various platforms
- Collaborative posting experience to interact with our sponsors, vendors, and related organizations/institutions
Race Finals Cinematographers (drone operator optional)
Positions Available: Production/Post-Production crew
Start Date: Race Weekend Finals – June 8, 2025 | Second Sunday After Memorial Day Annually
End Date: Race Weekend Finals – June 8, 2025 | Second Sunday After Memorial Day Annually
Active Time Period: During the 3 divisional finals on Sunday of Race Weekend
Experience Required: Mid-level to Experienced Action Sports filmmaking crew
We are seeking high quality documentation of our final races for each of our 3 divisions (Women’s, Mixed, and Open). Possibly each heat in the future, but we would like to start with the final races. This content may be used on our website, social media, and for the press. Credit will be given to the team/director/producer. The director/producer will have autonomy in the production, and will collaborate with the social media manager from the Race Committee, Aaron Bocanegra. All content will be archived after the work is done. The director/producer will assemble their crew as needed.
While the director/producer will have the final word on the production our hope is to have a multi-cam shoot from various available vantage points, including the finish boat, with a possible follow drone camera above the action. Credentials will be made available to access restricted areas. Each race is 500 meters, and lasts between 2-3 minutes generally.
The final product should be 6 edited multi-cam (preferably) videos with titles delineating the Portland Rose Festival Dragon Boat Race presented by the PKSCA, Divisional Title, Team names and final placing, as well as production credits. There will be 2 videos edited for each race, 1 of the entire race, and a 2nd short form edited for social media (30 seconds). If editing is not included the final pieces can be made by the social media manager. 4K video is preferred, 1080p is acceptable.