Chapter Help Wanted - Updated 11 Feb 2010

The chapter is built on your participation and involvement in its planning and operation. We have many jobs open and many tasks undone, which you can help us with. Did you know the GWRRA goal is that no one officer or staff member should spend more than six hours per month working on his or her tasks? GWRRA would also like couples or Rider-CoRider teams to tackle one officer or staff position together, which helps to bind their team, adds fidelity to their work, and allows at least the potential for one person of the team to attend events, rides, staff meetings, and social gatherings. If you could donate six hours per month of your time to the operation of the chapter, please review the jobs and tasks below, and let us know where you'd like to help! Assistants are always welcome. Contact Chapter Directors Bill and Susan Rodgers, 703-3729-0829, or email us (click here).

To keep our charter, we have to have 10 GWRRA members participate with us on a routine basis. Additionally, some of these folks have to commit to a minimum of two officer positions, Chapter Director and Chapter Educator, and commit to the Staff position of Chapter Treasurer. Since we must publish a monthly newsletter, we might as well plan on having a Chapter Newsletter Editor. We now have more positions filled than these, which we are forever grateful. All positions should not require more than six hours of work per month by GWRRA standards, but we all know certain positions require more, either to get started or on a routine basis. The Chapter Director position requires about 6 hours of work per week to keep up with all that goes on in this chapter. The more folks on staff, the less everyone has to do, including the Chapter Directors.

Besides time, what else is required of the Chapter officers and staff? Everyone needs to use and reply to emails daily. The Chapter Treasurers, Schedulers, and Datakeepers use Microsoft Excel. The Chapter Newsletter Editor must use a newsletter-friendly program. Our Chapter Rider Coordinator must be able to use, at a minimum, Google Maps to develop rides or use some other route planning program. The Web Content Manager must learn a few basics about our very easy to use website and generally be able to use a word processor. The following officers and staff should write using a word processor and submit via email an article each month to the chapter newsletter:  Director, Asst Director, Educator, Asst Educator, Ride Coordinator, Membership Coordinator, Scheduler, and Couple of the Year.  Finally, all volunteers must learn their job, take it up vigorously and proudly, advertise and promote their programs on the website, in the newsletter, and via email, and keep their personal calendars open for as many chapter social gatherings, staff meetings, and rides as possible. The Chapter Directors and Educators, as well as their assistants, should plan on attending at least two of three District meetings or functions per year. Our chapter participants will stay interested if they see the officers and staff doing their jobs, participating, and attending and having fun at chapter events and rides. Your attitude can roll-on the power of enthusiasm by the whole chapter. You are a leadership team.

In 2010, all GWRRA Operations Officers, i.e., Directors and their assistants, and Leadership Officers and their assistants must successfully complete a two-day Officers Certification Program (OCP) prior to appointment.  Officers appointed and serving before 28 February 2010 have until 31 August 2010 to complete the training.  The training responds to the members' desires for coherent, consistent, and standardized application of GWRRA policies and procedures through out the organization.  This training will make it easier for current and future operations officers to understand their role and the tasks at hand to serve the members better.  If you are interested in becoming an Operations Officer or a Leadership Instructor, then please take one of the Officer Certification Programs at your earliest opportunity.

All positions are appointed. We are not a club, and we do not elect officers or staff. The primary purpose for appointment is to put in place the "best qualified” person or couple who can then be held accountable. If you’re not doing your job or can’t do your job, then you are not benefiting the chapter; and your leadership would rather find a replacement for you, than go through another “election.” A great article about this process can be found in the Region N August Newsletter, page 4, by David and Kathy Orr, GWRRA National Leadership Training Directors.

For the remainder of 2010, the Chapter needs to fill the following positions, with a couple and/or with an individual in each:

Chapter Website Content Manager (CWCM) (not the same job as our Webmaster) (Open Now)

While filled righ now, for 2010 and 2011, the Chapter may need to fill the following positions, with a couple and/or with an individual in each, so let your desires be known:

Chapter Director (CD)

Assistant Chapter Director (ACD)

Chapter Couple of the Year (CCOY)

Chapter Educator (CE)

Assistant Chapter Educator (ACE)

Chapter Motor Awareness Coordinator (CMAC)

Chapter Treasurers (CT)

Chapter Ride Coordinator (CRC)

Chapter Newsletter Editor (CNE)

Chapter Membership Enhancement Coordinator (CMEC)

Chapter Motor Awareness Coordinator (CMAC)  (Open Now)

Chapter Website Content Manager (CWCM) (not the same job as our Webmaster) (Open Now)

Chapter Scheduler (CSch)

Chapter Datakeeper (CDK)

We stress that GWRRA really likes couples to tackle all chapter jobs.  While not necessary, it does help to increase participation by all chapter folks, foster better ideas and solutions, and solidify the “couple” team on the staff and in the saddle.  Before volunteering, please review the chapter organization and GWRRA positions in the GWRRA Officers' Handbook.

Give us a call or email us if you think you might be able to handle six hours per month of volunteer work for the Chapter and to discuss the positions. 703-729-0829

NOW OPEN CHAPTER Y STAFF POSITION: CHAPTER WEBSITE CONTENT MANAGER

Status:  Open Now

Learning the chapter website organization and format rules may take eight to ten hours per month in the first three months of assuming this position. After that, maintaining the chapter web content, posting updates, monitoring inputs of others, and asking for information should take about one and a half hours per week. The main duties of this job are:

1. Mange the posting of content on the Chapter Website. Work closely with the Chapter Officers and Staff to define their pages and their input. In particular and at the very minimum, take responsibility for all content on the chapter website.  Ensure Chapter Officers and Staff make inputs, deletions, and changes.  Maintain common areas on the website such as the contact list, user accesses, etc.

2. Coordinate with the Chapter Educator, Ride Coordinator, and Scheduler to make sure their information is up to date.

3.  Coordinate with the Chapter Webmaster to ensure the security and integrity of the chapter website.

4. Safeguard all data. Publish any and all member data with passwords. Control access to member data. Limit access to member data.  Limit access to website membership to validated GWRRA members.

5. Post the newsletter each month on the website.

6.  Monthly check the chapter website contact page to ensure the accuracy of the Officers and Staff page.

7. Attend all Chapter Staff Business Meetings. There are approximately twelve scheduled monthly business meetings, with two of those occurring in each of January and February. Optional business meetings are scheduled when needed.

8. Attend 90% of all Monthly Social Gatherings to answer questions about the website from participants and to collect information and needs for website postings. When not attending a monthly social gathering, transfer the function to an officer or staff member attending on your behalf.

9. You must be computer savvy. This means you must know how to use Microsoft EXCEL and WORD, access the internet, log on to the chapter website, make website entries, changes, and deletions (with some training), and use an email program.  Some basic knowledge of HTML is desireable, but not necessary.

10. You must be email savvy. You must check your email daily and respond to email inquires within 24 hours. Email will be the primary communications means between you and the officers and staff. You must be able to receive attachments and send attachments via email. You must RSVP meetings and other events.

11. You must be phone savvy. You must be able to communicate weekly with the Chapter Directors, Assistant Chapter Directors, Educators, and Ride Coordinators via phone. You must reply to your phone messages within 24 hours. You must be able to make phone calls within 24 hours with whomever it takes to resolve data problems.

Let Chapter Directors Bill and Susan know right away if you want the web content manager job. 703-729-0829, or email us (click here).