By Trudy Hamilton
At the recent Blaine House conference, there was quite a bit of information about professional development in the volunteer management career path. Much of the information was about the exciting, new opportunities being created by leaders in the field, like Anne Schink and Larry Ullian at USM, or the work being done by the Project Invest folks.
There is much more to professional development, however, than traditional courses and credentials. Joining a network of your peers can be equally beneficial. PAVA in the Portland area usually has a variety of presentations throughout the year. One of my favorites this year was the presentation on social media, and I’m looking forward to Martin Cowling’s training in November. VAMM in the Midcoast area traditionally does an excellent one-day conference at a marvelous venue…The Maine Maritime Museum. The topics offered are as varied as the presenters, and the keynote is always interesting. DOVIA in York County has had dynamic membership and presenters over the years.
Up and coming are new networks in a wide area of the state. In the Lewiston-Auburn Area, the VISTA hosted by my agency, Michelle Mason, is working diligently to convene other volunteer resource managers in the area and help with the growth of AVA. She did a fantastic educational piece around social media, and is planning a piece on professional development for the next meeting. The Franklin Volunteer Resource Network in the Farmington area is coming back to life after a long hiatus in an effort to share resources, ideas, and needs. There is another network developing in the Bangor area, as well. If we become active in our local groups, and those groups thrive, most of the state will have opportunities for involvement.
At the national level, you might think about joining the Association of Leaders in Volunteer Engagement (AL!VE). Part of their mandate is to provide trainings, regional conferences, and a voice at the national level. They are currently planning to provide a free webinar training for members, developed by Katie Campbell of CVA and Susan Ellis of Energize.Inc.
All of these networks provide professional development for volunteer managers. You get the opportunity to find out who else is doing what in your community, and everyone has the opportunity to learn about you and your agency, as well. One of the nicer pieces is realizing that although you may be the only one in your organization who does what you do, you aren’t the only one in your community. Everyone has something to offer.
In this field, you find professional development opportunities in unusual places. Make the most of them.
“Knowledge is power and knowledge shared is power multiplied.”
– Bob Noyce
Trudy Hamilton, CVA is the Manager of Volunteer Resources at SeniorsPlus and a featured blogger.
