Lynne Conlan is executive director of the South Hillsborough Chamber of Commerce. Call her at 813-634-5111, or email lynne@southhillschamber.com.
If you look up the word “volunteer” in the dictionary, the definition reads: “A person who freely offers to take part in an enterprise or undertake a task.” And more explicitly, “A person who performs a service willingly and without pay.” Now that sounds like a chamber volunteer, especially the “free” part.
As you may be aware, the chamber depends on our volunteers each and every day. And our current group of volunteers helps us out more than they know. When you walk into the chamber office, you’ll notice we have four desks: One for me, one for Sherell and two for our volunteers. We consider ourselves a staff of four. And some days, due to outside appointments, family obligations or trips out of town, our staff of four dwindles down to three or two. We really rely on that staff of four. Our days are structured around those four desks working together.
While our volunteers get to take time off whenever they need it, we need back-up players. So that is where you could fit in. If you feel you could be an addition to our team of four, here’s what we are looking for in a volunteer: Answering phones and dealing with walk-ins are the two biggest tasks. And along with those calls and walk-ins comes a lot of question answering. But we’ll provide you with the tools you need – lists and lists of numbers for resources around town. But, a lot of the answers are just common sense.
Our volunteers are also part of a referral center. People call or come in looking for plumbers, lawyers, hearing aid companies, financial planners. And our volunteers find all those answers in the chamber membership directory. Volunteers are key to providing member referrals. And if you have a skill set from a previous job or other volunteer position, we’ll put those skills to use. For example, computer skills are not necessary but will be helpful.
Volunteer shifts are Monday through Friday for three and a half hours each day from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. or 12:30 to 4 p.m. So, you don’t even have time to become sick of us. And if you can work a chamber event, even better. Just a word to the wise, if you can work one of the monthly lunches, we’ll feed you! If you think you want to join our team, give Sherell a call at the chamber 813-634-5111 to get the ins and outs of what we’re all about. I hope you’ll consider becoming part of our amazing volunteer team. We cannot do it without them!
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