NEWSLETTER |
October 2004
US SERVAS E-NEWSLETTER OCTOBER 2004
1. NEW MEMBERS ON THE BOARD
2. VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY - SERVAS WANTS YOU!
3. DECENTRALIZATION - A READER'S VIEW
4. AN OPEN RESPONSE
5. FROM THE OFFICE
6. SERVAS INTERNATIONAL
7. AMENDMENT RESULTS
Since the April '04 US Servas e-newsletter, the US Servas Board has 3 newly elected members (Nancy Mitchell, Lara Fisher and Phyllis Cole) as well as a newly-appointed member, Carlos Bailey, who will fill out the term of Susan Earl. Welcome to all! In addition, the e-newsletter has a new editor at least for now Phyllis Cole, who also edits Open Doors. The e-newsletter will continue to be published about 6 times a year (between the 4 issues of Open Doors); this is the place for getting things out quickly to the membership-as in the first article-so long as no photos are involved.
US Servas needs 20 dedicated individuals willing to work 2 - 4 hours a week November 1 through mid-December. Great location, no commute (work from home!) - and terrific hours (you set them)! We are seeking:
* 10 telephoners with bright cheery phone voices and good people skills to call hosts who have not renewed.
* 10 data entry clerks to enter 1800 hosts into our database. Applicants need a computer and internet access. Ability to type and attention to accuracy and details are required.
Non-Taxable salary - $0.00!!! Unlimited Opportunity to Earn Community Service Hours! Benefit: full appreciation in helping us create a better world through peace and social justice!
To apply for either position, Jon Moseley, Administrator or call 212.267.0252
I applaud the ideas outlined in the recent Open Doors publication to make Servas into a regional and volunteer run organization. One of the four key elements you describe is keeping an umbrella US Servas, and this makes sense to me, and even to have a paid staffer makes sense (though you say all staff would be volunteer), but the main thing to me is to get out of Manhattan. The cost of that office must be high, and we don't need it to be there in this age of computers and email. Make the central office in Kansas City, Baltimore or Columbus. I have written already to say how unfair it seems for travelers to have to pay so much, while in other countries they pay nothing or minimal amounts.
And it's even worse to ask for a donation from hosts, who are already giving food, transportation, time and information to their guests. I believe the organization would grow in both numbers of travelers and hosts if these costs were reduced measurably.
Furthermore, Servas ought to offer a disc or emailed list of hosts at a much-reduced price than the $25 now charged for a book that is often out of date in many instances. A monthly updated disc would make so much more sense, and if there were still people who required a book, they could pay more. Other exchange type organizations, without Servas' lofty ideals, will take away membership by being simpler, cheaper and more up to date.
I would be willing to work as a volunteer for the organization in some capacity, but not if my volunteer work was subsidizing a New York office and staff. I love Servas, and we just completed a trip to Europe where again we had great experiences with hosts in Barcelona and Paris. We also have met wonderful people as hosts here in rural New Mexico. We'd like to see the organization continue and thrive, and we are glad to see some efforts being made to make the necessary changes for this to happen.
As to local get-togethers, I think that's great, but here in New Mexico we are seriously far apart. Aside from one pair of friends, the other closest hosts are 60 miles away. I think we'd have to function as a region, and have the get-togethers be overnights and not often.
Sincerely, Caroly Jones
from Mary Jane Mikuriya, Vice-Chair of the Board of US Servas
I would like to comment on this very thoughtful letter from Caroly Jones regarding decentralization of US Servas. She makes many excellent observations and suggestions.
The first time funding was raised to explore moving to another location was at the National Servas Meeting in Santa Cruz, CA in 1993. Ideally, if someone had given a building near to an international airport for use as the US Servas office, the office would have moved. Unfortunately, this has not happened.
The Servas Board has been struggling as to how to move out of Manhattan and become a more completely volunteer organization. In July 2001, the Board studied a time analysis of each office task, with an eye to decentralization. We experimented with long distance office administration having the office administrator in San Francisco and the day-to-day work of Servas in NYC. Then came September 11, 2001. The office, located at 11 John Street, is one block from the World Trade Center. For months after the attack on the World Trade Center, there was periodic phone and electricity usage as the office struggled to function. Even today, there are still occasional communication outages.
Who would have foretold the changes in technology 10 years ago? As it happens, Servas host files and traveler files were computerized on a system developed by a volunteer. It worked much better than our paper files but then, over time, US Servas realized that we needed an information system that communicates within the office files and with Servas International.
Until 2004, yes, this year, the US Servas maintained different data files for Hosts and Travelers. These data base systems could not talk to one another. It was not possible to determine how many members were both hosts and travelers or how many interviewers that approve travelers, traveled themselves in the last 5 years.
In July 2001, at the International Servas Conference in Thailand, the International Committee on Technology (ICT) was charged by the General Assembly with developing an international host list system that will be secure, used worldwide and accessible on the Internet. During the last three years, the ICT team, headed by Amir Levy of Israel and Guido Bienhaus of Germany, developed the WHALE (Web-based Host-list Administration and List-production Environment) system which the USA, France, Germany and other Countries have begun using. I tried entering data in the new WHALE system in October and was delighted that even I, a non-techie, found it very simple and user friendly.
Only now, with the WHALE system, can US Servas consider decentralization. With the WHALE system, individuals in different regions of the USA can inputand keep up-to-date Host and Traveler information and in late winter share the current information with a central location for annual host-list publication.
The push in Open Doors is for individuals like Caroly Jones and you and me to step forward and volunteer to help make decentralization in each geographic area become a reality. The USA is the only country with a paid staff; however, US Servas has about 20% members worldwide. If other nations are able to have an all-volunteer organization, let's learn from them how to organize the country into self-administered regions that meet face-to-face in regional meetings at least once a year to work out the kinks and plan changes. We need to determine what functions are to be decentralized and which are to be administered centrally by an executive committee.
Any one willing to work locally on helping to regionalize his/her area should volunteer for the new Regionalization Committee. We have much to discuss and to pilot before the US Servas can be entirely
decentralized/regionalized.
I welcome constructive suggestions and volunteers. Please email me, Mary Jane Mikuriya or call 415-285-3427. Let's decentralize the administrative functions and activate regionalized outreach, activities and community partnerships.
It's that time of year again. It's time to for all hosts to renew for the 2005 host listing! We are putting the information together now so start looking for the confirmation form in the mail in the next couple of weeks.
We've reworked the form since last year and we think made it simpler to understand and fill out. Please take the time as soon as you get it to check over the information in your listing and make any necessary changes.
If you have a question, just drop us an e-mail with "Host list question" in the subject line or give us call. As always, make your corrections right on the form and please print legibly. It will make it much easier to enter your information correctly. Our goal is to have all host forms back in the office by the end of November so that we can be ready to publish by the end of January. The earlier we can get the host list into travelers hands, the better our chance of getting travelers to consider the USA when they begin making their travel plans.
Thank you for hosting with US Servas! Please show your support by renewing!
Servas International is seeking committee volunteers in these areas:
technology, arbitration, development, mentoring developing Servas countries, writing, editing, and legal. If you are interested, contact
Mary Jane Mikuriya
The ballots are in and the counting has been completed. The amendment
changing the bylaws and allowing the US Servas Board of Directors to elect its own chair has been passed by a vote of 267 for and only 30 opposed.
Thank you to all the electors who took part in the process.
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