For the past 8 months volunteer activities have been in full swing in Madison and in many remote locations throughout the country. This is due in large part to a wonderful staff of devoted volunteers. We cannot thank you enough for your on-going support and dedication. Throughout these months we have also developed several new and successful volunteer initiatives.

Many of these volunteer successes are the result of structuring and planning provided by Mike Anello, the new Director of Volunteer Activities. This is an area where Mike has excelled since the first days of last season. In fact, before the 2007 season had even ended, Mike was already creating the blue prints for a premiere service organization.Today I am pleased to officially unveil the new Madison Scouts Volunteer Program (MSVP). I am also excited to announce that Mike has accepted full responsibility for creating and directing the entire breadth of activities of the new MSVP.Mike has worked meticulously to design the structure, work-flow, and procedures for 100’s of volunteer processes, and composed the Charter and Mission Statement and Volunteer Reference Manual for the new volunteer organization. Many vital components of the MSVP are already available for download, including the Volunteer Interest Application, Volunteer Classifieds, and the new Volunteer Reference Manual.In a move to fully integrate the volunteer function with the overall operations of the Madison Scouts, Mike was voted onto the Board of Directors in December. This bodes well for the organization because of the numerous 2008 special events that will be crucial to the vitality of the organization. Intense planning and volunteer recruitment will be needed to make all these events successful.Please take the next step by contacting the MSVP and committing to help with these events.If you have already been in discussions with the MSVP, please go directly to the Volunteer Classifieds to identify opportunities to help. Also download and review the new Volunteer Reference Manual.If you are new to volunteering this year, please go to the Volunteer Interest Application and follow the instructions.We all look forward to a great 2008 season!Sincerely,Jeff Spanos