Descriptions of Volunteer Positions

Club Officers

President(s)

Term:    One year, minimum             

The incumbent(s) set the agenda and preside over quarterly board meetings; leads the short business segment of monthly club meetings; provides leadership and oversight for club committees and operations, including budget, documentation, and publications.  Acts as contact person for interface with people/organizations outside the club.  Point person for resolving problems within the club.

Secretary

Term:    One year, minimum             

Serves on the board and attends quarterly meetings.  Drafts minutes of board meetings obtains approval, and prepares final documents for club records.  Maintains the Club records archive.  Documents Board decisions for the records.  Maintains the club procedures; writes thank you notes, as needed; and maintains keys to post office box.

Treasurer

Term:  One year, minimum               

The incumbent serves on the board and attends quarterly board meetings.  The Treasurer oversees the club bank account, pays bills, and maintains financial records. The Treasurer takes the lead in preparing the annual budget and stewards club expenditures vs. budget.

Outings        

Term:  One year, minimum               

Serves as a voting member on the board and attends quarterly board meetings.  Presides as Chairperson for the Outings Committee responsible for developing the quarterly club schedule of outings and publishing the schedule. 

The incumbent schedules and presides over the quarterly planning meetings for the Outings Committee comprised of member volunteers who meet approximately one month prior to the release of each season’s schedule:  March, June, September, and December for the Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter outings, respectively.

► Meetings are typically held in February, May, August and November.

Outings Committee              

Committee members                     Term:  One year

A team comprised of six volunteer members working together on a quarterly basis to contact outings leaders and set the quarterly outing schedule for the club.  Responsibilities include contacting volunteer leaders each quarter to see who will be leading a trip; gathering the specific information and details for each trip; and submitting them to be added to the schedule.  The committee meets 4 times a year the month prior to the publication of the schedule.  People checking this box on the membership renewal/registration form would be put on a reserve list in the event a vacancy occurs on the committee.

Helpful Skills:  Knowledge of trip leader responsibilities; good communication; persuasive personality.

Time commitment:  4 committee meetings each year + contacting potential trip leaders each quarter estimated at 2 or 3 hours of phone calling or emailing.

Trip Leaders

Trip Leaders plan and lead one or more outings of their own choosing each year.  Responsibilities include: read and understand club protocol and safety information from the website; carry club safety equipment and know how to use the satellite phone and radios; inform committee member of availability each quarter when contacted, and provide trip details to that committee member.

Helpful skills:  Knowledge of area trails, backcountry safety, flexible to group dynamics & ability levels.

Time commitment:  1 or more outings per calendar year

Trip Equipment Coordinator

The trip equipment coordinator is responsible for maintaining the club “trip bag” that houses all of the club safety equipment; keeping track of the “movement” of the bag from trip leader to trip leader; and knowing how to use all of the equipment and able to train new trip leaders in its use.

Helpful skills:  Knowledge of the safety equipment and good communication skills to teach other members in its use.

Time commitment:  A few hours a month for telephone coordination and occasional drop off and pick up.

Outings Schedule Publisher

The incumbent(s) formats, inputs, and edits the Outings Schedule four times each year: November, February, May and August. Information is input into Word.  Once completed, the incumbent coordinates with the Webmaster for Web site publishing and the Circulation lead(s) for printing and mailing, as needed.

Required skills:  Knowledge of Word or Excel

Time commitment:  8 to 12 hours each quarter

Wednesday Wanderers Outings Schedulers

This team is responsible for coordinating the schedule for the Wednesday Wanderers series of hikes each quarter and communicating the schedule to the Outings Committee for inclusion in the outing schedule. The volunteer(s) works from a list of standard Wednesday Wanderers hikes and contacts participants to request volunteer trip leaders, as well as reviewing the trip leader responsibilities with each volunteer. 

The volunteer(s) do not attend the Outings Committee meetings.   

Helpful skills:  Good organization and communication skills.

Time commitment: A few hours each quarter

Membership Committee                                

Chairperson

The incumbent is responsible for processing new and renewing memberships and maintaining the membership database.  This includes:  entering member information into the database; depositing member dues; distributing new member packets; developing or updating membership rosters, volunteer lists, and emergency contact lists from the database on a monthly basis; staffing the Visitor Information table at monthly club meetings; coordinating the annual membership renewal process, and managing any revisions to the club membership forms.

Specific skill set required:  Proficiency in basic Excel functions:  insert, delete, copy, paste, sort, and formatting.  Ability to format and print Word documents and tables, including the mail merge function.

Time commitment:  Approximately 4 hours each month for database administration; attending or arranging coverage of the Visitor information table at the monthly meetings; and attending 4 board meetings each year (optional).   The annual renewal process that occurs in late-spring is an additional responsibility and is estimated to take approximately 8 hours to create the renewal forms and 16 hours (over 8 weeks) to input updates to the database.

Visitor Information Table

Volunteers take turns staffing the table at monthly meetings from 6:30 to 7:00 p.m. Responsibilities include:  answering visitor questions; distributing membership forms, club schedules, & information packets.  The volunteers also accept completed membership forms and dues.

Helpful Skills:  Friendly, outgoing personality and basic knowledge of the club and its programs.

Time commitment:  The Visitor Information table is staffed each month for approximately 30 minutes.  Volunteers sign-up for one or more months, depending upon their willingness & availability. 

Evening Programming Committee                   

Chairperson

The Chairperson with a team of volunteers is responsible for arranging speakers and setting the lecture calendar for the year for the following 8 months:  Jan/Feb/Apr/May/Jul/Aug/Oct/Nov.  This involves contacting & scheduling potential speakers; developing brief biographies for introducing each speaker; assisting the speakers in advance by defining the parameters of each presentation & greeting them prior to setting up for the event; communicating upcoming presentations via the website to the membership and to have events put on the outings schedule.  Coordinate room reservations at the Rec Center and coordinate with the facilities staff on site to communicate room set-up needs.   Incumbent attends 4 quarterly board meetings.

Specific skill set required:  Strong communication skills and ability to comfortably speak in front of a group.

Time commitment:  Attends monthly meetings to introduce speakers, unless other volunteers are recruited and scheduled; attends 4 quarterly board meetings.  Twice a year visit to the Rec Center to schedule rooms for the lectures.  Phone calls to scheduled and assist speakers with presentation parameters.

Evening Program Scheduling & Introductions

Volunteers assist with the Evening Programming portion of club meetings.  Responsibilities include:  contacting the speaker in advance to gather information from which a biography is created; meeting and reviewing the presentation parameters with the guest speaker; taking turns introducing the speaker to the membership; closing the meeting.

Helpful skills:  An outgoing personality and ease in front of an audience.

Time commitment:  An evening program plus a few hours of preparation for the program:  a phone call or two and to compose speaker biographies for each introduction.   Volunteers can sign-up for one or more programs, depending upon willingness and availability.

Hospitality Committee                    

Chairperson

The hospitality chairperson is responsible for overseeing volunteer teams that plan and support the various club social functions:  2 new member potlucks; holiday potluck; and summer picnic; 8 pre-evening lecture socials.  In addition, the incumbent is the central point of coordination for kitchen supplies and event decorations.

Specific skill set required:  Strong planning and organizational skills; clear communication.

Time commitment:  Incumbent attends 4 board meetings a year.  Is available by phone or e-mail to answer questions, provide direction to teams, and some “on site” training in the use of kitchen equipment.  Incumbent is not required to be at all monthly club meetings, unless so desired.

Potluck Teams

Four teams are formed annually, each assigned to a specific potluck event:

►  March:  New Member Orientation & Potluck

►  June:  Summer Picnic

►  September:  New member orientation & potluck

►  December:  Holiday potluck

Each team works collaboratively to plan and staff the event, including:  communicating to the membership; selecting themes, activities, setting up beverages, ensuring the facility is set-up for the event, greeting members, and cleaning up after the event.  The team can recruit additional volunteer members as may be needed to carry off the event.

Helpful skills:  Creative, outgoing, and organized.

Time commitment:  One event, or more if you are willing and available, + planning time and some phone calling in advance

Club Socials prior to the Evening Program

Small teams of volunteers are formed to coordinate and staff the 30-minute social prior to each of the 8 evening lectures during the calendar year.  Responsibilities include:  arriving early to set up beverages; soliciting additional volunteers to bring desserts; and clean up after the event.

Helpful skills:  Outgoing & organized

Time commitment:  1 or 2 evening programs; limited planning time & possibly some reminder phone calls or e-mails.

Seniors Outdoors Singles (SOS)                                     

SOS Activity Leaders

Volunteers help in planning & leading social and/or outdoor activities for the monthly SO! Singles schedule:  selecting location, checking to ensure the location can accommodate a group comfortable and that it will be easy for participants to visit; that the business will provide separate checks; taking RSVP calls from members; placing reminder calls to the business; arrive early to make sure everything is in order.  For outdoor events, follow club protocol for outings and ensure that everyone arrives and departs safely.

Helpful skills:  Creativity, outgoing personality, willing to lead.

Time commitment:  One or more activities during the calendar year.

Communication & Coordination

Web site                                                       

This position is responsible for maintaining the SO! Web site. The Webmaster keeps all the Web site files on his or her own computer. The Webmaster maintains the various web pages on the site, keeping it current with club information, volunteer recognition, schedules, photos, and other approved club updates. The Webmaster also e-mails the membership when there are updates and keeps the Club’s domain registration current.

Skills required:  Working knowledge of HTML code, Web site design principles, and File Transfer Protocol (FTP.)

Hardware required: up-to-date computer with hi-speed Internet connection

Software required:  Microsoft Front Page or other website publishing & design program.

Time commitment:  20 hours a month

E-mail                                                           

The e-mail coordinator maintains and updates the membership e-mail list and e-mails notices of outing changes and other pertinent notices to club members as requested by Trip Leaders and Board members. E-mail coordinator must check e-mail on a daily basis or find an alternate if they will be away from their e-mail for more than a day or two.

Skills required:  Ability to edit and compose clear and succinct e-mail messages.

Time commitment:  4 hours a month

Circulation                                                  

This volunteer team helps to copy & distribute Club items via U.S. mail:  membership renewal forms; schedules & notifications to those without online access.  The Outings Schedule mailings occur quarterly; other mailings can occur as the need arises.  The largest distribution is for membership renewal forms in early June.

Helpful skills:  Attention to detail and organization

Time commitment:  2-3 hours for quarterly mailings; 4 hours for annual mailing (time can be dependent on the number of willing volunteers.)

Public Relations                                        

The incumbent submits upcoming Outings & Evening Lecture information to the Durango Herald, according to the Herald’s prescribed schedule and guidelines.

Helpful skills:  Organization

Time commitment:  Half hour once a week on Wednesdays. 

Volunteer Coordination                           

The Volunteer Coordinator works with the various Club Officers and Committee Chairpersons to help identify volunteer needs and potential volunteers by areas of interest and availability.  The incumbent may recruit directly and schedule volunteers for specific activities, or merely assist in getting the volunteer contact lists to the appropriate chairperson for their own recruitment purposes.  .

Helpful skills:  Strong verbal and written communication skills; outgoing; persuasive; and organized.

Time commitment: Coordination effort is heaviest shortly after the membership renewal process in September and October. This is a new role, so an average monthly time commitment is not currently available.