Table Captain Volunteer – Job Description

Event: May 1, 2027 · 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM (TC’s there from 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM) · Vienna Town Green on Mill Street SE

Table Captains (TCs) are an important part of making The Longest Table Vienna a success! They are responsible for communicating with people in their section of the table around logistics – how to get there, where to park, what to bring (and not to bring), etc. Please read through this carefully to see if you’re able to commit to this role. We need a LOT of TCs to make this event work and we appreciate your help!

All attendees will sign up for the event via our online registration system. Event registration opens 6 weeks prior to the event, with Table Captains having an exclusive two-week early registration window to register themselves and up to 5 guests, followed by two weeks of general registration for everyone else (up to 6 attendees per order). We’ll be promoting the event via several channels and are expecting a heavy turnout. The main part of the event is a community potluck lunch on Mill Street that will have 400 seats. Each Table Captain will manage a table section of 14 seats, which includes their own party of up to 6 people (yourself + up to 5 guests). (More event information is available here: The Longest Table Vienna)

Who Will Be At My Table?

• As a TC you’ll have two weeks of early registration to register yourself and up to 5 guests (up to 6 people total) to sit together in your section.
• Additional neighbors will be assigned to your section from the “master registration list.” Our AI Table Assigner balances each section, ensuring a welcoming mix of families, seniors, teens, children, and solo attendees, and helps us accommodate odd-sized groups comfortably. Remember, our main goal for this event is to get to know people we haven’t met!

What Exactly Do I Need To Do And When?

When folks sign up during the two-week registration window, they’ll get an auto-generated confirmation that tells them their TC will be in touch with them prior to the event to coordinate their section and answer any questions. So, roughly…

• You’ll get your final list of people once registration closes and table sections are assigned, both emailed to you and accessible anytime in your Table Captain Portal.
• In the 3–5 days after that you’ll send an email and a text message welcoming everyone on your list to your section of the table (and giving them the section number). We’ll give you a ready-to-use template (plus one-click Gmail/email and text buttons in your Captain Portal) that includes parking instructions and other logistical details that will apply to everyone.
• Let them know what food to bring. You’ll have a lot of discretion around this for your section and can manage your table’s interactive Potluck Signup Board directly in your Captain Portal… Let everyone show up with whatever they want and trust it will all work out? Micro-manage everything like Monica on Friends? Someone brings the main dish and everyone else brings sides and desserts? Pick a theme? You bring nothing because you did all the work and get to kick back and enjoy yourself? It’s up to you! 😊
• Field questions from them … Some people will have a thousand questions, others will just want you to tell them where to show up. This is ultimately a customer service role and y’all are the public face of the event, so patience and a cheerful disposition are essential! We’re here to help you with anything difficult.
• Keep your section roster updated. Through your Table Captain Portal, you can update attendees in your section if anyone cancels via email or text, and pull in neighbors from our Flex Participants (waitlist) so every seat at the long table is filled.
• TCs will coordinate a tablecloth (x2), utensils, plates, cups, and napkins for their section. We strongly encourage reusables if possible! There will be a few water stations scattered around but no other beverages provided.
• Stay in touch with folks as needed and send them at least one more communication a few days before the event reminding them of your section number and any last-minute details. (Lists of tables/people will be available at the entrances day-of as well.)
• Send your section attendees a follow-up email afterwards, thanking them for coming and including any photos you might have taken. We’ll have a professional photographer there as well, and can send you the link to the shared photo site.

TC Pre-Event Meetings & Event T-Shirts

We’ll host a couple of Zoom calls with Table Captains between late March and the end of April to make sure everyone’s feeling good about their table sections, and will have a mandatory in-person huddle the week before the event to go over game-day details. There will be important logistical things everyone will need to be aware of, like what to do in the case of an emergency and who the point people are for communicating with the Town.

Table Captain T-Shirts: Each year a special T-shirt is designed and printed for Table Captains to wear on event day so you are easily identifiable to your guests on Mill Street (with our Planning Committee wearing a tie-dye version of the same design).

I’m interested! How do I sign up?

If you are excited for this event, have a personality that can flex with last-minute changes, are moderately well-organized, and a good communicator, we’d love to have you! We need about 25 more TCs this year for a total of 41 (note: we may get more volunteers than we need).

Please fill out this quick form below and we’ll get back to you ASAP. If you have questions, you can send them to longesttablevienna@gmail.com and someone will get back to you shortly.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST! THIS EVENT IS A TON OF FUN!

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Already registered as a Table Captain? Open the Captain Portal · Looking for general guest registration? Reserve a Seat