President: Yolanda Prince
Past President:  Kim Yonda
Treasurer/Finance Committee Chair:  Tibby Larson
Secretary:  Kandy LeMoine
Committees:
Awards Chair, Leigh Kottwitz
Education Chair:  Jeri Bush
E-Newsletter Chair:  Mary Lynn Perry
Membership Chair:  Mollie Tobias
Nomination Chair:  Corina Sadler
Social Media Chair: Kim Yonda
Vacant Positions:
President Elect
Marketing & Technology Chair
NACo Liaison
If a member is interested in serving on the board please contact Corina Sadler:

CorinaS@plano.gov

Hello NAVPLG members, I hope you are doing well and looking forward to your holiday programs. We have board and training information to share. We are looking for members to fill the below board positions. Please consider taking this opportunity to network and support our growing organization. Board positions are asked to participate in monthly conference calls and support association initiatives for a 1 year term. Remember, the purpose of NAVPLG is to strengthen volunteer programs in local government through leadership, advocacy, and information exchange. We need your support! President – Elect This position is for someone wishing to gain hands-on leadership experience and is interested in seeing the association grow and innovate. 2 year term, at the beginning of the second year, the President-Elect will become President. Full description available upon request. Marketing and Technology Chair Marketing chair will assist in the development and implementation of a marketing work plan, work with membership chair to set objectives and strategies for social media usage. Position will also include assisting in the creation of NAVPLG marketing material, maintaining website and other marketing related duties. Full description available upon request. NACO Representative The National Association of Counties (NACo) has been a great partner to NAVPLG over the years and we would like to continue that relationship. Learning about NACo initiatives and how we can support our county members would be a great networking opportunity. Position will also provide ongoing linkage to NACo for NAVPLG membership, serve as NAVPLG point-of-contact for all NACo requests, support administrative and programmatic needs of NAVPLG’s affiliation with NACo and lLead NAVPLG involvement in updating and revising the Volunteer Toolbox. Full description available upon request. To express interest please email Nomination Chair, Corina Sadler – Corinas@plano.gov.

“If you don’t know what you are doing, do it anyway” is the mantra that Yolanda Prince lives by.  Yolanda is a Tyler native who is the second of three children, one being a twin and the other an older brother. She is the daughter and stepdaughter of Lillian and Charles Jackson respectively.   

Yolanda received her Bachelors in both public administration and public relations from Stephen F. Austin State University and a Masters of Public Administration from the University of Texas at Arlington.

Yolanda’s passion to assist those in need and to fight for equal rights for all has enabled her to both become a member of some very distinguished organizations and be involved in some very historical events such as marching in D.C. for the reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Yolanda is also very active in her community and has volunteered with everything from the Texas College Marching Band to Girl Scouts to Special Olympics.  She currently serves as the president for NAVPLG, president of DOVIA- Smith County, the secretary of League of Women Voters-Tyler/Smith County, and a board member of the local chamber’s Senior Resource Committee.  Yolanda also is a very proud and dedicated member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., New Life Community Church, and a lifetime member of Tau Beta Sigma National Honorary Band Sorority.

Yolanda has several businesses that include Just a Little Somethin’, an gift basket and craft business, and Get Yo Party On, an event and party planning business.  She hosts an annual mother-daughter tea which is in its eighth year. It is a fancy hat and heels event to encourage mother-daughter relationships of all kinds and provides a scholarship to single mothers in honor of her mother. 

Yolanda aspires to run for public office and become a national director of a nonprofit or governmental agency one day.  Leaning on faith, Yolanda strongly believes that her favorite bible verse Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me” will carry her very far in life.
 
 

At our meeting during the National Conference on Volunteering & Service in Seattle this summer, NAVPLG presented two awards to acknowledge excellence in our field to LeeAnn Harvey with the City of Decatur, Georgia and the City of San Jose, California.
The City of San Jose received the Innovative Program Award for their program “The Sunday Series.” The City of San Jose is the 10th largest city in the United States, but has one of the smallest budgets for its 200+ neighborhood parks. Due to the lack of funds, the Volunteer Management Unit was established to help bridge the gap between the needs of the park and the energy of the residents!

The idea of The Sunday Series was born out of a need to keep our city parks green, clean and safe. City residents were eager to help. Additionally, there was a need to have opportunities for families to volunteer, as well as teens and environmental enthusiasts. With the completion of the third round of this 10-week series, each series was tweaked just a bit, to improve the program. Although the initial series had the events in the afternoon, the temperature became an issue because it was too hot! Therefore, we switched it to the mornings and have found victory! Each series is 10 weeks in length so that each one of our Council Districts can co-sponsor the event. This brings recognition to the Council Member! Family volunteer opportunities must be short, in order to keep the interest and focus of the children: therefore, these events are just 2.5 hours. It was discovered that many people want to volunteer, although they don’t have time to make an on-going commitment. The Sunday Series gives them the opportunity to come out and help—and be done! The program has fulfilled many needs within the community!

The Volunteer Management Program has a Tool Trailer which is brought to each event. The Tool Trailer contains hundreds of tools for any type of volunteer work. This aids in making the program flexible and portable—volunteers can simply show up—they do not need to bring their own tools or even gloves. All supplies and training are provided, so those that have never been exposed to gardening, landscaping or simply using agricultural tools—can experience something new and/or perfect their skills. At the Municipal Rose Garden, volunteers listen to our unique way of pruning/deadheading and then can practice on the 3,500 rose bushes. By working together, the roses keep blooming and the volunteers enjoy the outdoor work! Once the event is over, the volunteers can see that they made quite a big difference-- right in their local park!

The Sunday Series Volunteer Events are advertised through social media and the unit’s newsletter. By targeting different recruitment sites, diverse populations are informed and encouraged to get involved. Attendance has averaged 15 volunteers per week, which is almost equivalent to a week of full time staff labor. Data from the 3 Series demonstrates success: over 1,100 hours of volunteer service have been donated. Using the California value of volunteer time, $27.59 (IndependentSector.org) the value of the Sunday Series is over $10,000! With meager budgets and tons of volunteer interest, the Sunday Series is a Win-Win-Win for the city, the volunteers and the residents who enjoy the fruits of their labor!

LeeAnn Harvey was presented with the Outstanding Volunteer Administrator Award for her work in the City of Decatur, Georgia.  LeeAnn is a past NAVPLG President.  Her work in Decatur has included organizing volunteers for many special events and also the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service. In the last few years her position has changed to focus on working with seniors with Decatur’s Lifelong Community program.  Lifelong Community assists with transportation, housing, communication and Decatur Neighbors, where neighbors help one another. We appreciate LeeAnn’s years of service to NAVPLG and recognize her professional excellence.

NAVPLG is planning to give another round of awards in 2018. Nominations open in January and the deadline is April 16.  The NAVPLG Awards program is an excellent way for our members and their programs to receive recognition at the national level and raise awareness for the work we do to support local government with the power of volunteers. Check the NAVPLG website for more details and plan to apply in January: http://www.navplg.org