Volunteer Committee Meeting 06-26-2008

1.    The minutes were approved by all attending members.
2.    Volunteer Handbook:
i.    The committee agreed to submit the volunteer handbook to the board before the handbook comes to a vote.  
ii.    Comments must be submitted to the committee by early August to allow for updates before the September board meeting.
iii.    Katy will submit to the Membership and Development Director and the Executive Director for comments on the same timeline.  
3.    Youth Policy:
i.    Strategy of the introduction of the Youth Policy was discussed.  It was decided to delay  submitting the policy until after the Volunteer Handbook has been approved.
ii.    At the next Trail Council Meeting, Jane will invite members of the TC who are interested in youth to assist us in developing a youth policy that will be accepted by all who engage youth in their work.  
iii.    Matt Townsend will be invited to attend and was identified as a point person for the project due to his experience engaging youth in TC work.  
iv.    The Youth Policy should be presented to all persons as a “working document” and context should be set for volunteers.  A cover letter introducing the policy and the needs will provide context and background to the statement.  
4.    Recognition:
i.    The volunteer longevity program was discussed at length, each member reporting on their prior shopping efforts.  It was decided that:
1.    25 year volunteers will have a choice between vests or a micro-fleece
2.    5 year volunteers will receive a shopping bag suitable to carry groceries.
ii.    The committee will discuss the pricing they found on the decided items at the next meeting.  It was agreed on one dollar for every year of service is a good guideline as an  amount to spend.
iii.    Discussion of this project needs to happen with our development team.  The rough estimate of projected costs for the first year is $10,000.
iv.    Obtaining the most accurate data to identify eligible volunteers will be a large project.
1.    Estelle will continue to collect accurate start dates from the maintainers along with her current work on patch distribution.  
2.    Dan will create a letter to the crew leaders to self report when they started and who to turn them over to.
3.    Katy will talk to Daniel/Jeremy for pubs and Catherine for the Admin volunteer to get start dates.
4.    Phil will contact the web committee to obtain start dates
5.    A letter of recognition should be sent to the clubs each year.  Estelle suggested that we should attempt to get these volunteer patches and goods in addition to the letter.  
5.    Plan and Budget:
i.    Katy introduced the Plan and Budget season is upon the Trail Conference.  The following was listed as priorities for the Volunteer Program and budget needs:
1.    Printing and distribution of the volunteer handbook
2.    Volunteer orientations: food, materials etc
3.    Recognition: t-shirts, longevity, frames for awards, patches, rockers
4.    Funds for background checks
6.    Next meeting: August 14th @ 1:00 pm