I’d shorten it up a bit. I’m writing in reference to a situation that occurred while volunteering at the Mercantile this year. I volunteered to work at the Mercantile last year. My duties included entering sales in the computer, and occasionally going out on the floor to help customers. I enjoyed it and volunteered for the Mercantile again this year. They scheduled me for 4 hours on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. My sole job this year was to work the floor and not to run the register or work behind the counter. I was also told that sitting while working the floor was frowned upon. I was told that if we had no customers, and I needed to sit down, I could sit on a bench, outside of the Mercantile, around the corner. It was a hard, uncomfortable, wooden bench. I went out on the floor for the last two hours, and quickly realized how very painful it became to stand out there with little relief. Friday and Saturday I was exclusively on the floor. On Friday I brought my camp chair in. I thought I could set it up next to the far end of the hard wooden bench outside in the hall. It is comfortable and provides support for my back, although putting it there would put me even further away from the Mercantile than I was comfortable being. One of my fellow volunteers brought in a metal folding chair. We both stashed the chairs out of the way when we left on Friday night. On Saturday, when I went in, I noticed both of the folding chairs were gone. The coworker who had set them up was trying to sit on the 4 X 4 railing that runs along the wall that is used to tie horses and cattle to during the Fair. I offered her my folding chair and she was grateful to use it. I don’t wish anyone to experience any negative fallout from this complaint. The others were not complaining outwardly and I doubt they will in the future. I will also say that sitting was not prohibited, just frowned upon. It was made clear that we could sit on the bench if we “needed to,” but none of us felt comfortable being outside of our station so that sense of responsibility effectively left us with no option. I am 59 and I was probably the youngest person volunteering. I would like to stress that I am speaking only for myself. Nobody wanted to break the “rules” but we it was very hard for us to complete our shifts without being able to sit down. I would love to volunteer my time at next year’s Mercantile but it would be almost impossible for me to work at this station under such circumstances. I am very interested in hearing your thoughts on this. Sincerely, Dutchess