2009 June 16 » PWOC International Blog

What does W.I.L.D. Training have to do with VBS?

Jun 162009

This year I became a PWOC Trainer for the first time and have had a blast meeting women in our local installations and getting to know them on a personal level. The curriculum is so incredibly well written that the trainer has little to do but keep time when the ladies get so involved in the discussion that time becomes irrelevant. In fact, I use my iPhone’s alarm clock feature and found that PWOC women do not respond to the harp! I had to choose the more annoying digital sound that works much better. No kidding.

So what does WILD training have to do with VBS? WILD training reminds us that we are individually and beautifully made by God for His purpose. Eph. 2:10 tells us, “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (NIV) The commentary in the Life Application Bible adds this, “...If God considers us his works of art, we dare not treat ourselves or others with disrespect or as inferior work.” Powerful words. WILD training reminds us that we can have freedom in being simply who we are, and not who we are NOT.

There are certain tasks in PWOC that when mentioned, you know right away who’s name gets attached. The opposite is true, as well, and let me just say that my name is never the one called out for watchcare! Having said that, volunteering for Vacation Bible School has always ranked right up there at the, well, bottom of my list! I’d rather pick up trash along the highway. Sad, but true.

Okay, so this year I have a new lease on life and permission to be the computer geek that I am so when the volunteer call went out for VBS, I stepped forward. Did you know that VBS has administrative duties, as well? In fact, today I used Mail Merge to create and print the Certificates of Appreciation for all of the other volunteers that were running in from the rain with 200+ kids. I stayed dry, of course, eating excess snack bags of pretzels, mini marshmallows, raisins and skittles. Too much of that, by the way, can make you sick. Dry, but sick.

Tomorrow will be Day Three of Fort Bragg’s VBS and I’m excited to be involved. There’s plenty to keep me busy doing my ‘geek’ thing and no one has asked me to lead a round of This Little Light of Mine. God is Good!

Email Etiquette - Subject line, Part I

Tech Tuesday

Jun 162009

Have you ever considered the purpose of the Subject Line?

If you’ve ever put question or meeting or hello in the Subject line, you’ve probably never really thought about it. There are three reasons to begin using the Subject Line more thoughtfully:

Avoid going to JUNK Mail
Make searching through email easier for the recipient
It’s just good manners

Avoid going to JUNK Mail: Vague and misspelled Subject Lines are a hallmark for SPAM so it’s very common for email filters to mistaken real messages as spam and block delivery. If your message is important, take the extra 20 seconds to say so in the Subject Line.

Make searching emails easier for the recipient: Many users have discovered the benefits of using email handlers to manage their multiple inboxes. These applications make searching through lots of messages easier in that you can search by the various fields of a message like To, From, Subject, etc. I receive upwards of fifty emails each day. Many of these messages can be discarded right away but among them will be top priority messages that require immediate action. I will often rely on the Subject Line to prioritize what gets read first as opposed to what can wait.

Once an email has been read and acted upon, however, it just falls further and further down the list of messages until it’s no longer visible on the screen. What happens when I get a question regarding one of those earlier messages? For instance, our regional board members submit a Friday report each week to keep everyone informed of the week’s activities. The Subject Line for these updates is usually, “PWOC/SE Friday Report – Financial Secretary.” If I want to remind myself of the status of an outstanding Purchase Order, I simply search the Subject field for the above words. Voila! My inbox of hundreds is quickly reduced to ten or less making my search infinitely easier.

Not only does this search process simplify the recipients workflow, it also eliminates the probability of generating a new email asking a question that has already been answered and that’s just good manners!

Food for Thought:

Don’t stop at PWOC, particularly if you are a board member or are addressing a board member. Many leaders serve on more than one board and board members get a surprisingly high number of PWOC related messages. Follow through and be specific. (ie. PWOC/NE Regional Board Meeting Reminder)
Don’t stop at meeting. Specify not only the organization having the meeting but whether it is a reminder, cancellation or meeting related question.
Avoid important or urgent. Again, don’t look like SPAM!
Incorrect spelling sends a message and it’s NOT the one you intend! Pay attention.