Interview with Glenis Chapin, Volunteer Services Coordinator

1. How long have you been in the field of volunteer management and what prompted your retirement?
I started in volunteer management in the late 1970s when my oldest daughter was in grade school. As a volunteer at the school, I was dissatisfied with the way the volunteer resources were being managed. When I commented to the community outreach coordinator that I thought schedules and assignments could be better coordinated, he said, "Then you should do it." So I was the "volunteer" volunteer coordinator for several years, a decision that launched my unintended career. I am not retiring because I want to get away from the work. I love my job and have been conflicted about retiring. It is more a matter of retiring to allow myself to pursue other personal and career interests. I will miss the people with whom I work including county staff, community partners and the potential volunteers. And I will miss the dynamic nature of the work. After 16 years with the county, my job is anything but routine. New challenges and opportunities appear at regular intervals, keeping me renewed and committed to integrating new components into my program. I believe that I have the best job of any bureaucrat because it is flexible and even somewhat entrepreneurial!

2. What was your proudest and most inspiring moment in your career?
Building a new centralized volunteer program where none had existed was a challenge. I often compared my infant program to more mature programs in other counties and felt that it didn't measure up to those nationally recognized programs. In 2001, six years after I had started the program, my position was included to be eliminated in one budget scenario. While I was deciding how to delegate my responsibilities to others, staff in the county departments were quantifying the necessity of my position to the budget decision makers. When I realized this support, I felt the real human value of what I was doing for the county for the first time. When the budget package arrived in front of the budget committee, which consists of three community volunteers and three commissioners, one volunteer committee member asked why my position was included in the package. He said, "From her annual report it appears that she brings in far more value than she costs, so why are we even having this discussion?" Consequently, my position was not cut and has not been targeted to be cut since. The validation of my work from my county colleagues and the community, gave me a renewed perspective of the potential of my position and program. I have not doubted my program since that time. It has matured just fine and I am proud of it.

3. How has the field of volunteer management changed for you since the time you started in your position and how do you think it will look in the future?
This is a good question. I often wonder if I have changed more than the field of volunteer management. When I look back at the road I have traveled to get to where I am today, I know that the changes in volunteer management that I have experienced have shaped the volunteer manager I am. I feel that in my early days at my children's grade school most all the volunteers were parents of the children. Now expanded opportunities invite others to participate as volunteers in schools. No one was doing that kind of outreach to the community in those days. So while the regular pool of housewives is long gone, the awareness of looking for a volunteer position that feeds your passion is so much greater. In the early days of my career, people volunteered because it was their duty to help at the school. Now people are more aware of the many ways they can get involved, make a difference and satisfy themselves. As a volunteer manager I see the current potential volunteer pool as a wave of energy that brings exciting possibilities. As volunteers become more savvy about what they want and need from their volunteer positions, their ownership increases and so does their interest. This isn't a national trend; it is an international trend. So I feel the future of volunteer management is bright.

4. How has NAVPLG impacted your role in volunteer management?
NAVPLG impacted my professional life in amazing ways. I was honored to be included in the group of volunteer administrators who were asked by the National Association of Counties to help establish the association. Looking back, I think we should have picked a shorter name though! Jokes aside, I have learned so much from the opportunity to network and share resources with my national colleagues. My work would not be as rich in depth without NAVPLG. I am thankful to have had the strength of the association while I was nurturing a new county volunteer program. I know that I would have struggled without that lifeline to other county programs. To this day, I am the only county volunteer services coordinator in Oregon, so I have no local colleagues in county government. NAVPLG provided a broader scope of understanding and information that I simply would not have found through any other source. And the bonus, I made some amazing friends through my leadership opportunities and membership in NAVPLG! I can't imagine my career without it.

5. Most importantly...how do you plan to spend your retirement?
Well, if history repeats itself, I will be a volunteer. But I also plan to spend more time with my grandchildren who are growing up much too fast. My husband is excited to have a helper for his many construction-related projects around the house, you know someone to hold the board while he nails it! But I also plan to get more use out of my greenhouse, be vigilant about weeds in my garden, learn to weld yard art out of the boxes of scrap metal in my shed, and remember how to relax with a good book again. If the opportunity arises, I would like to train on volunteer management or other related topics in my community. Oh yes, and I will keep up my NAVPLG membership; it is too valuable to lose!


Interview with Glenis Chapin, Volunteer Services Coordinator 1. How long have you been in the field of volunteer management and what prompted your retirement? I started in volunteer management in the late 1970s when my oldest daughter was in grade school. As a volunteer at the school, I was dissatisfied with the way the volunteer resources were being managed. When I commented to the community outreach coordinator that I thought schedules and assignments could be better coordinated, he said, "Then you should do it." So I was the "volunteer" volunteer coordinator for several years, a decision that launched my unintended career. I am not retiring because I want to get away from the work. I love my job and have been conflicted about retiring. It is more a matter of retiring to allow myself to pursue other personal and career interests. I will miss the people with whom I work including county staff, community partners and the potential volunteers. And I will miss the dynamic nature of the work. After 16 years with the county, my job is anything but routine. New challenges and opportunities appear at regular intervals, keeping me renewed and committed to integrating new components into my program. I believe that I have the best job of any bureaucrat because it is flexible and even somewhat entrepreneurial! 2. What was your proudest and most inspiring moment in your career? Building a new centralized volunteer program where none had existed was a challenge. I often compared my infant program to more mature programs in other counties and felt that it didn't measure up to those nationally recognized programs. In 2001, six years after I had started the program, my position was included to be eliminated in one budget scenario. While I was deciding how to delegate my responsibilities to others, staff in the county departments were quantifying the necessity of my position to the budget decision makers. When I realized this support, I felt the real human value of what I was doing for the county for the first time. When the budget package arrived in front of the budget committee, which consists of three community volunteers and three commissioners, one volunteer committee member asked why my position was included in the package. He said, "From her annual report it appears that she brings in far more value than she costs, so why are we even having this discussion?" Consequently, my position was not cut and has not been targeted to be cut since. The validation of my work from my county colleagues and the community, gave me a renewed perspective of the potential of my position and program. I have not doubted my program since that time. It has matured just fine and I am proud of it. 3. How has the field of volunteer management changed for you since the time you started in your position and how do you think it will look in the future? This is a good question. I often wonder if I have changed more than the field of volunteer management. When I look back at the road I have traveled to get to where I am today, I know that the changes in volunteer management that I have experienced have shaped the volunteer manager I am. I feel that in my early days at my children's grade school most all the volunteers were parents of the children. Now expanded opportunities invite others to participate as volunteers in schools. No one was doing that kind of outreach to the community in those days. So while the regular pool of housewives is long gone, the awareness of looking for a volunteer position that feeds your passion is so much greater. In the early days of my career, people volunteered because it was their duty to help at the school. Now people are more aware of the many ways they can get involved, make a difference and satisfy themselves. As a volunteer manager I see the current potential volunteer pool as a wave of energy that brings exciting possibilities. As volunteers become more savvy about what they want and need from their volunteer positions, their ownership increases and so does their interest. This isn't a national trend; it is an international trend. So I feel the future of volunteer management is bright. 4. How has NAVPLG impacted your role in volunteer management? NAVPLG impacted my professional life in amazing ways. I was honored to be included in the group of volunteer administrators who were asked by the National Association of Counties to help establish the association. Looking back, I think we should have picked a shorter name though! Jokes aside, I have learned so much from the opportunity to network and share resources with my national colleagues. My work would not be as rich in depth without NAVPLG. I am thankful to have had the strength of the association while I was nurturing a new county volunteer program. I know that I would have struggled without that lifeline to other county programs. To this day, I am the only county volunteer services coordinator in Oregon, so I have no local colleagues in county government. NAVPLG provided a broader scope of understanding and information that I simply would not have found through any other source. And the bonus, I made some amazing friends through my leadership opportunities and membership in NAVPLG! I can't imagine my career without it. 5. Most importantly...how do you plan to spend your retirement? Well, if history repeats itself, I will be a volunteer. But I also plan to spend more time with my grandchildren who are growing up much too fast. My husband is excited to have a helper for his many construction-related projects around the house, you know someone to hold the board while he nails it! But I also plan to get more use out of my greenhouse, be vigilant about weeds in my garden, learn to weld yard art out of the boxes of scrap metal in my shed, and remember how to relax with a good book again. If the opportunity arises, I would like to train on volunteer management or other related topics in my community. Oh yes, and I will keep up my NAVPLG membership; it is too valuable to lose!
NAVPLG - Special Addition