Education Calendar

 

 

 

Connie Furgason

Thank Your Volunteers: Intro to Calligraphy

 

Saying thank you is THE number one way to recognize the contribution made by your volunteers.  This workshop will introduce you to the art of beautiful writing and its many possibilities.  As a participant, you will see a variety of samples and demos with various tools and mediums and have an opportunity to try some of these tools yourself.  You will take home samples of calligraphy and a new understanding of this wonderful art!

Connie Furgason was born and raised in Southern Alberta and has a university background in Art and English.  She started teaching calligraphy in 1981 through L.C.C. and conducts workshops across Canada and the United States. Her work has been reproduced for the commercial market with several companies in the U.S. in the form of prints and greeting cards.  Connie works from her studio in her home on an acreage in southeast Lethbridge, which she shares with her husband Dan and four children.

 

Gillian Nish was born and raised in southern Alberta and is a graduate of the Lethbridge Community College.  She has been General Manager of Chinook Country Tourist Association; Executive Director of the Tourism Industry Association of Alberta (Calgary) where she introduced the province-wide slogan entitled:  "Smile, You're A Tourist Attraction!"  In 1988, she moved back to Lethbridge and started her own company, execuserv plus inc., specializing in tourism, small business management, education and training programs.  Gillian's no-nonsense, down-to-earth presentation style, sprinkled with energy, knowledge and enthusiasm, will convince you that it can be an exciting and very worthwhile process to learn to evaluate the volunteers in your organization, and that this process really works!

Vincent HanloN:

The Search for a Balanced Life

 

Volunteer Managers deserve recognition too!  Please join the MVR Board of Directors for this special treat.  Guest speaker Dr. Vincent Hanlon will look at elements from his work and family life that have helped to create a balanced life.

 

Vincent Hanlon was born in Vancouver and grew up in Calgary. He initially studied English literature before turning to medicine. He has practiced emergency medicine since the mid eighties, first in Fort McMurray and then in Lethbridge. Presently he does emergency medicine on a part time basis in Alberta and Ontario. When he's not looking after patients in the emergency, he writes. Two years ago he published a book and audio CD called The ABC of the ER. He's presently working on a book about walking.

Thursday, January 16/03

Elaine Steinke

Critical Thinking Skills for Volunteer Managers

 

Together we’ll explore definitions of critical thinking and consider the difference between it and ordinary thinking. We’ll consider critical thinking attributes & skills... are they valuable to us… do we have these attributes... do we practice these skills?  We will discuss how it can become part of our Volunteer Management process.

 

Elaine Steinke graduated from The University of Lethbridge in 1992 with a BA in Sociology.  She has held the positions of Senior Fund Development Officer, U of L; Owner/Operator of Black Bear Cottage B & B, Crowsnest Pass; Executive Director, Kidney Foundation of Canada for Southern Alberta; Volunteer Manager, Auxiliary Site, St. Michael’s Health Centre and Executive Director, Canyon Church Camp.  Elaine is currently Support Services Coordinator, Family and Community Support Services for the City of Lethbridge. 

 

Thursday, February 20/03

Luigi's Restaurant, Mayor Magrath Drive, 9 am - 1pm. 

Annual General Meeting PLUS:

Deborah Chenery

Project Management Think Tank for National Volunteer Week 2003

 

National Volunteer Week 2003 takes place April 27 to May 03, to thank and celebrate Canada’s 6.5 million volunteers and their invaluable contributions.  Learn how to recognize your organization’s volunteers in fun, innovative ways. Deborah Chenery will explore volunteer recognition ideas and lead a brainstorming/idea sharing session involving your peers! 

 

Deborah Chenery has worked for the past 16 years in the non-profit sector; much of it with the Canadian Mental Health Association as executive director.  Prior to that, she was project manager for the City of Lethbridge 100th Anniversary celebrations.  In addition, Deborah has been a sessional instructor at Lethbridge Community College for the past 12 years.  She has also held many volunteer positions including Chairperson of the City of Lethbridge and Lethbridge City Police Floral Emblem Committees and currently holds membership on the Minister of Government Services Charitable Advisory Committee.  Over the years, she has had many opportunities to be involved in project management and has developed a great deal of respect for the value of volunteers and the tremendous role they play in the health of our communities. 

 

Friday March 28/03

MVR SPRING WORKSHOP

Featuring Steve McCurley

Sven Erickson’s Conference Rooms

Pre-registration required: 320-2044

 

9:00-10:15  Creating High Impact Jobs for Volunteers A volunteer program is only as productive as the work which is offered to the volunteers. This session will show you how to work with agency staff to create high impact jobs and how to educate staff on getting the most out of a skilled volunteer workforce

10:30-noon Come Out with Your Hands Up: A Guide to Volunteer Recruitment This workshop covers the theory and practical application of volunteer recruitment.  Helps analyze what your program has to offer volunteers and how you can develop a system for recruiting the right volunteers for your agency.  

1:00-4:00  Evaluating Volunteer Programs A program manager’s guide to designing and operating evaluation systems for a volunteer program.  Covers three systems for program evaluation (outcome statistics, customer service, and comparison to national standards). 

 

Steve McCurley has worked in Canada, England, the Caribbean, and South America and is currently a partner in VM Systems, a management consult-ing firm specializing in helping organizations improve their utilization of volunteers.  He has served as a consultant on volunteer program development to Special Olympics International, the National Park Service, the Points of Light Foundation and other groups.  McCurley is a member of numerous boards.  He is the co-editor with Susan Ellis of the e-Volunteerism on-line journal and is one of the founding faculty of Britain’s Institute on Advanced Volunteer Management.  McCurley is the author of 14 books and more than 120 articles on volunteer involvement, including the bestselling basic text, Volunteer Management.  His writings have been translated into Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Ukrainian, Rumanian, Hebrew, Chinese and Korean, among other languages.