To kick off the first article for The NCAVA Times our President, Erin Pavelchak, wrote a letter to the membership and agreed to participate in our first Board Q&A series. These Q&As are a quick way to learn about the different board positions and to also learn about the members currently holding them. The Board highly encourages anyone interested in learning more about stepping into a leadership role to reach out to us for more information. Become a leader of NCAVA, become a leader of the profession!
Below is Erin’s letter complete with the traditional Lord of the Rings quote. Can you find it hidden within the letter?
Dear NCAVA Members,
Happy August! The NCAVA Board spent a couple of days at the end of July at Caraway Conference Center to reflect on this past year and talk about our vision for this new year! I am very excited about our board and especially thrilled that we have several new board members who will provide us with some great input (and have been already!)
The executive board started the retreat participating in a SWOT analysis of both NCAVA and the Statewide Conference. We dug into the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of both NCAVA and the Conference and built our thoughts into our 3 goals for this year… which are to increase membership, build up the board and implementing our marketing plan.
This year we are building on to each of these goals so that we can do more for the members and increase our reach in the non-profit sector around the state. We want NCAVA to be a place that volunteer managers want to join and be involved in because they see it as a benefit to themselves. And with that, if you have never stepped into a leadership position with NCAVA I encourage you to do so! We are also looking for new board members to serve so if you are interested please reach out! You may not have experience being on a board, but that is ok! I believe that even the smallest person can change the course of the future – that you being a part of this board will help to grow NCAVA.
I am excited to be the President again this year and I am so thankful for each of these board members who have a passion for NCAVA and each of you. Look for some more exciting things to come this year!
Thank You,
Erin Pavelchak
Are you interested in learning more about what the President of NCAVA does after reading Erin’s recap of retreat and call to action for our members? Check out our first Board Position Q&A below:
Q: Our members work in a wide variety of organization. Erin, where do you work and what is your job title? Can you give us a bit of background as to what you do?
A: I work for Be The Match and my job title is Volunteer Specialist. Be The Match helps facilitate unrelated bone marrow transplants to individuals who have rare blood cancers and need a transplant. The volunteers I work with work in the field with our staff to create awareness about the need to join the Registry and also to help (or lead) at recruitment events.
Q: You are the current President of NCAVA, but how long have you been on the Board and have you held any other positions?
A: I have been on the Board for 5 years and have held the following positions: President, President-Elect, VP of Communications, and Education Chair.
Q: Wow! You held quite a few different leadership roles before becoming President. What are your current duties in this position?
A: As President, my goal is to make sure that we are offering benefits to our members and making NCAVA an organization that people want to be a part of. I work with the Executive Team to ensure that they have all they need from me for them to be successful as well as supporting the teams they work with.
Q: Speaking of goals, what goals are you actively seeking to accomplish this year in your current position?
A: Fill the Regional Director positions in the Eastern Region; work towards accomplishing the 3 goals set by the Executive Board which are to increase membership, build up the board and leadership opportunities, and to implement our marketing and communications plan.
Q: How has being on the NCAVA Board benefited you professionally?
A: The great connections and networking, growing my professional portfolio, understanding more of the culture of volunteers in the non-profit sector.
Q: What recommendations would you give to members looking to take on a leadership position within NCAVA?
A: Join! It's a great opportunity and I would say if you are thinking of it, jump in!
Q: Now for some fun! What advice would you give a new Volunteer Coordinator? Or What was the best advice you have received about working with volunteers?
A: Give your opinion - even if you are new. Your advice could be something that someone hasn't thought of before!
Q: Volunteer coordination takes a wide range of skills. What job or experience other than volunteer coordination prepared you for the job?
A: I worked for the YMCA and was on staff with a youth ministry so being around people was really helpful when working with volunteers in this job.
Q: This last question is sort of random, but we all know Volunteer Coordinators are passionate in their careers and work extremely hard. So just for fun, where is your favorite place to be outside of work?
A: Mountains or the lake!
Thanks, Erin for taking the time to answer some questions! The Communications Committee is excited to start publishing some longer-form content to not only educate about NCAVA but also about our profession.
If you are interested in learning more about joining the board, NCAVA in general or how to submit an article to NCAVA Times, please email ncavacommunicationsteam@gmail.com.
This NCAVA Times Article was written by:
Mary Owens
Resource Development Manager
City of Raleigh Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources
(Your name could be here! submit article ideas to ncavacommunicationsteam@gmail.com )