Volunteer Announcements

• Status Reports due January 31: Volunteer leaders' first quarterly Status Reports are due January 31st. Executive Board Members, Regional Directors, Committee Chairs, Liaisons, Editors, and Workgroup Chairs should submit Status Reports to their volunteer supervisor. The Executive Board and Central Office staff are committed to reviewing all Status Reports and providing volunteers with the guidance, feedback, and support necessary to accomplish their goals.
• Volunteer Website: The Volunteer Resources section of the AFA website has a great deal of information for current and future volunteers. You can find handouts from volunteer training programs, articles from past issues of The AFA Volunteer, the 2010 Procedures Manual including the new Visual Standards Manual, Association Bylaws, and much more.
• AFA Archives: If you inherited binders of outdated information from your predecessor, you may find that you don't need most of it to carry out your volunteer responsibilities. Once you figure out what is necessary for you to keep on hand, please send any historical information to the AFA Archives. You can find instructions for doing so on page 12 of the Procedures Manual.

Volunteer Tips
Having trouble getting it all done? Need help utilizing the Core Competencies for Excellence in the Profession? Want to increase your committee’s cohesiveness? Check out these Volunteer Tips documents developed by the Volunteer Engagement Committee:

• Building Team and Committee Camaraderie
• Getting It All Done
• Effectively Navigating Distance Communication
• Knowing vs. Implementing (Core Competencies and Strategic Framework)

AFA Volunteer Snapshot
AFA currently has 212 volunteers. These volunteers include employees of 132 institutions, the staff and volunteers for 17 fraternities and sororities, and represent 4 Associate member businesses or organizations. Nine of AFA's Past Presidents are still actively involved in the Association! Which organization/institution has the most volunteers among the ranks? Alpha Chi Omega Sorority currently has 5 staff and volunteers who serve the Association. The University of Iowa has 6 staff members and students who volunteer for AFA. Michael is the most popular first name for AFA volunteers with 5 occurrences (followed closely by Allison, Erin, and Jessica with 4 each). We have over forty positions, committees, workgroups, or editorial boards. Is there something you want to know about your fellow volunteers? Send us an idea!

New for Volunteer Leaders: AFA Conflict of Interest Policy
At its December 2009 meeting, the Executive Board approved a new Conflict of Interest Policy for the Association. This is one of several new administrative policies that the Executive Board has developed in an effort to be compliant with new Internal Revenue Service policies.

The purpose of the policy is to ensure the integrity of decisions made by the Executive Board, the Central Office staff, and volunteer leaders during the course of conducting AFA business. The Association defines a conflict of interest as arising "when a person in a position of authority over the Association may benefit financially from a decision he or she could make in that capacity, including indirect benefits such as to family members or businesses with which the person is closely associated."

All Regional Directors, committee and workgroup chairs, editors, and liaisons will be expected to confirm review of the policy statement and complete and submit a disclosure statement by February 15th. Completed forms may be submitted via email (scanned document attached to email message), fax (317-876-3981), or U.S. mail. Executive Board and Central Office staff members have already completed this process. Go here to access the necessary documents.

Questions should be directed to volunteer supervisors.

AFA Volunteer Roster
Curious who is on each committee? Please take a look at the 2010 Volunteer Roster.

Volunteers of the Month - Michael Scott, Lindsay Sell, and Emilee Danielson
Michael Scott, Lindsay Sell, and Emilee Danielson, all members of the Essentials Editorial Board, have been named January Volunteers of the Month. Their nominator Emily Perlow states, “Mike, Emilee, and Lindsay created an Essentials style guide and training program for new Essentials Editorial Board members. The training included editing samples, how to edit a document, a review of APA style, a discussion about the goals and mission of Essentials, and direction about how to solicit and work with authors. Their efforts have created a baseline template for all future training and education of Essentials Editorial Board members and will help to ensure that the current board all begins their Essentials volunteer experience with a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities." Thanks Mike, Lindsay, and Emilee!

To submit a nomination for Volunteer of the Month, please email the Central Office with a brief explanation of the individual's contributions.