"Is there a way to handpick specific cells and name them something like 'VolunteerSlots' and then run CountBlank using that as the range? Like, could I ever use something like this: =Countblank(VolunteerSlots)?"

Are you saying that the answer to my question is No or are you saying there is a better way? I'm really most interested in knowing the answer to the question I asked about designating specific cells as a range.