He’s been a fixture at Book Fair since he was a student at RPPS, and he’s renowned among volunteers as our Inventory Genius! You can find Nick Bohac piloting a dolly stacked with book-packed banana boxes all weekend at any given Book Fair, ready to restock the shelves all day long!

After a busy summer – that involved downed trees, bike mishaps, and trips to Thailand and Tennessee for volunteering and internship purposes respectively – Nick has begun Grade 12 and is busy with a part-time job and lots of extracurricular activities. Fortunately for us, he’s still making time for Book Fair.

What skills have you learned from Book Fair?

First, I’ve learned how much coordination of volunteers it takes to organize an event like Book Fair. Just like at [my new job], volunteers need to know what their job description is and need to be responsible to get the job done. Since I’ve been involved in Book Fair for a few years, I’m now able to help orient other volunteers. I’ve learned how teamwork can make tackling a huge task possible. And, I’ve learned a lot about customer service: helping customers once Book Far starts will keep them coming back for more books!

 

What is your favourite Book Fair memory? 

Well, there are many. I guess I would start with when I was still at RPPS and was chosen to cut the opening ribbon. It was a big deal: an honour. And I remember all those late nights in the gym, the rush of getting everything ready for the opening, enjoying some pizza and chatting with the other exhausted, die-hard Book Fair volunteers.

 

You’ve long since graduated from RPPS – what keep you coming back to Book Fair?

I come back because I just love it. I like the atmosphere Book Fair creates, people coming together to achieve something. And we get results, so our efforts are rewarded.

 

What do you think young people can learn from volunteering in general?

Volunteering is like doing a job and you should take it as seriously and make a real effort. So, young people can learn how to be responsible, they can learn organizational skills, communication skills and how to work in a team of people you don’t know (which is different from school where teams are often groups of friends).

 

What are your non-volunteering hobbies?

I love to travel, though I don’t know if that qualifies as a hobby.

 

Thanks for all you do, Nick!