Greetings:

As the current President of SMAVA, I am thrilled to welcome you to our new website!

The Southwest Missouri Association of Volunteer Administrators (SMAVA) is an organization focused on promoting and encouraging volunteerism throughout Southwest Missouri.

SMAVA formally began on April 29, 2003 and is comprised of persons in Southwest Missouri who are involved in and believe in the volunteer movement. Our main goal is to promote volunteerism throughout Southwest Missouri. The organization began with 13 charter organizations whose volunteers collectively contributed more than 500,000 hours of volunteer service during 2002.

SMAVA has come a long way since 2002 with membership in 2006 nearing 30 non-profit businesses. These members meet quarterly to network and grow as volunteer leaders. Through SMAVA, members have the opportunity to participate in the annual volunteer recruitment fair during the fall and professional education during the spring. Education is also offered each quarter during business meetings. This is the only group of its kind in southwest Missouri and is perfect for new and/or seasoned volunteer managers.

During the past year, we have started an electronic newsletter, along with this new website, thanks to our Communications/ PR Committee. We are also thrilled to offer a new event during 2006 to train volunteers how to assist our community during times of disasters.

We welcome you to SMAVA and hope you’ll look to our organization as the experts for volunteer administration in southwest Missouri. Any individual actively involved in volunteer development and management, or in an organization that promotes volunteerism is eligible for membership.

Sincerely,

Joan Gibson, Girl Scouts of Dogwood Trails Council, Inc.

SMAVA President