Volunteer needed to help out with admin of event twice per year please.

[Harry Bloomfield, Esq.]

It's not too involved, something which can be done at home, on the computer. You just need a small amount of basic skill on the computer, have and able to use MS Word, plus have email, including a bit of spare time around late June, plus late September.

Just a matter of filling in a few names in a fancy font, onto ready made Award forms, for the few people claiming them, after a basic check on a valid claim and emailing the completed Award out to the recipient. The priority is that you must be able to do it absolutely reliably and not let the rest of team down.

They are these two events

-Which are generally well organised, except this year we have been let down by the Awards Manager.

[John Rumm]

Sounds like a google form and a script to grab the details, verify them, stuff em into your template doc, and email it back as a PDF - that's generally pretty reliable :-)

[Robin]

I think you need to calibrate "absolutely reliably". On the face of it equates to "only immortals need apply".

[Harry Bloomfield, Esq.]

A reliable mortal will be perfectly adequate. We have been rather badly let down by the present Award Manager - ill, dead or just fed up, or simply changed email address we don't know. All we do know is no response for a few months now and several waiting for their Award certs since late June. Had we been informed, we could have handled it between us.

[Robin]

I am unaware of any way someone could guarantee you were informed promptly of their death. You'd stand a much better chance though if you married the next Award Manager ;)

[Harry Bloomfield, Esq.]

Jimk was thinking very hard :

....and where do you think the payment should come from in an entirely voluntary supported system?

[Martin Brown]

A nominal charge for entering the competition events perhaps?

There must surely be some radio amateurs with computer skills. If you have no volunteers to do it then the events must come to an end.

[Theo]

Payment doesn't have to be in money.

Thus far you've asked for someone to do a relatively boring task and asked that they do it absolutely reliably, for nothing. I can't see them queuing out the door at this point.

Offer people *something*, even if it's just the warm fuzzy feeling of helping out a good cause. But even then, don't expect 100% reliability - have a backup plan.

Theo

[spuorgelgoog]

I don't have Word (Libreoffice) and how many forms would you be talking about?

You probably have a local Volunteer Centre or organisation, which might be able to produce a volunteer administrator with more reliability that a random person on the internet.

Owain

[charles]

Why do you need to be a radio amateur to do it? I could do it in memory of my former colleague G3PVX who died last year.

[charles]

Green beer tokens are useful, though.

[Harry Bloomfield, Esq.]

charles has brought this to us :

You do NOT need to be a radio amateur to do it. All that is needed is MS Word, reliable email and basic computer skills to add details to ready made forms.

All the tasks involved are split down amongst the group, to allow individuals to concentrate on small parts of the operation.

The Awards Manager receives email requests for Awards, carries out a basic check that their application is valid, then email a completed Award back to them. The Award documents are already and have been in use for many years as Word file, they just need name and call sign details to be added before being sent out as an email.

[Harry Bloomfield, Esq.]

[e-mail] brought next idea :

Off hand, I don't really know, but I could enquire. At a guess, claims can vary from maybe a couple of dozen to maybe 50 for the main event in June. Then possibly a dozen for the emergency helicoptor supporting event in September. Each with a window of perhaps a month to deal with the claims.

[GB]

Can't you send the claimants a blank form, and ask them to fillit in themselves?

[John Rumm]

Judging by some of the RAs that post here, finding ones with basic people skills must be a challenge! :-)

[Andrew]

Not Jim by any chance ??

[John Rumm]

What does the verification involve?

(as I mentioned before - most of that sounds simple enough to automate[1], but it does depend on the validation needed)

[1] and hence I might be able to assist providing said automated setup.

[Harry Bloomfield, Esq.]

John Rumm brought next idea :

Just simply conferming that claimed contacts would have been possible.

The effort of automating would be greater than the manual processes.

[Harry Bloomfield, Esq.]

charles expressed precisely :

Charles - Were you offering to get involved there?

If so, PM me 'a at harrym1byt dot plus dot com'

[Harry Bloomfield, Esq.]

Andrew formulated on Thursday :

Not unless he has a German callsign and a German speaker.