Volunteers have given many hours of personal time this year. They have kept the wheels of the SPCUG turning at an incredible rate, through rough times and the good times. Many of these jobs lie behind the scenes, with little recognition and sometimes not even a "thank you." All our volunteers ask nothing for their efforts, but deserve much more than we can give them—the group being a nonprofit organization with limited resources.
You have Tom Anderson and Ken Hopkins putting out our first-rate publication, Sacra Blue, with the help of editorial staffers like Gordon Taylor, Mark Naber, Peter Robinson, Diana DeMuth, Tim Cardozo, Crystal Friedrichs, Irene Dieke, Brian Smither, and Kathy Anderson, (see the Creditspage).
They do this work every month of the year, and it takes an entire month to put the SPCUG newsletter together in the very readable format you receive. Our Webmaster, Brian Smither, then has to convert the monthly newsletter into a Web version called eBlue. No easy task, considering that he has to also update and improve the SPCUG Web site around the same time.
The SPCUG officers—Milt Hull, Tim Cardozo, Tom Anderson, Brian Smither, and Don Frieze—attend a monthly Steering Committee meeting with other volunteers to address the business items that routinely face and demand attention from an organization of our size. Don Frieze has the monumental task of keeping our books straight and keeping us out of trouble with the IRS and the State of California. He's done that well over the years.
Al Eno picks up and delivers the mail to us several times a month; Mary Lint runs the Educational Media Materials service available at the general meeting; Dennis Duffy, along with helper Al Eno, delivers a Windows/Internet tutorial before each General meeting – for years he's been doing this; Ron Lambert and Jim Taylor greet you at the door; Diana DeMuth and Kathy Anderson take your membership dues and bring us many new members; Gary Sloan is our meeting recording person; and Gordon Taylor regularly brings you the meeting report.
These are your volunteers. I know I have missed some valuable volunteers that I am not even aware of. I thank them here and all the SPCUG volunteers for another year of very appreciated service to the Sacramento community and our group.
Volunteer Openings
Please take a look at the following volunteer openings. If you think you can help, contact the "contact person" for that position, or email Stan Morris.
Just Opened! Online Service Tutorial Coordinator
These duties will involve directing and organizing a team of volunteers that will go out to members homes on an "on-call" basis to help the members with setting up and accessing the Internet. More specifically, this is designed to encourage and assist new members with using the eBlue Web site. Operating procedures and a disclaimer have already been written and approved by the Steering Committee, and are now ready to be implemented.
More Openings
Group Benefits Coordinator: We need someone’s help right away. Marsha Leonard was the last GB Coordinator and did the job of listing the many benefits available to members that you may not be aware of from month to month. Is anyone interested in filling the "Group Benefits Coordinator" position? Contact: Stan Morris
Computer Store Representative: We need several volunteers who will visit as many computer stores as possible on a monthly basis and ask them to have our membership information available to their customers. If we could get into the big stores like Fry's, CompUSA, and Computer Warehouse, we would probably get a lot of coverage. Other big computer sellers include office stores like OfficeMax, Staples, and Office Depot. Also, include electronic stores like Good Guys, Circuit City, Best Buys, and even Radio Shack. Then the other computer-specific stores like the Gateway stores, and all the mom-and-pop computer stores. Contact: Ken Hopkins
Newsletter Writers: Writers are needed for both Sacra Blue and eBlue. You could be writing tips for tips column (may also be used as filler). Also could write news articles about current events. Evaluate hardware and/or software and write product reviews, or write stories on how you solved some computer problem. Contact: Ken Hopkins
Newsletter Typists: Many articles in other user group newsletters would provide useful information to our members. Unfortunately, we cannot always obtain these articles in electronic format. We need volunteers to type up articles the editors have already selected. Contact Tom Anderson
I am sure you will find this volunteer work very rewarding and it could even create some interesting opportunities for you. You may be surprised how little time is involved in some of these volunteer positions.
