Volunteer Management Reference for Local VCE Master Gardener Coordinators

Abstract

Virginia Cooperative Extension's (VCE) Master Gardener volunteer program is available in 72 unit offices. The unit programs are managed by MG coordinators who currently include 10 locally funded agents, eight locally funded technicians, and 28 volunteers. The VCE Master Gardener Coordinator Manual, a 12-unit resource book, was developed cooperatively with teams of MGs, coordinators, and agents to enhance coordinators' skills for managing the local VCE MG program. The manual includes chapters on VCE MG components such as risk management; job descriptions; recruitment and screening; and volunteer review, recognition, and retention. Additional resources within the manual include a synopsis of educational program planning, implementation, and evaluation, as well as a copy of the current VCE Master Gardener Program Policies and the volunteer section of the Virginia Master Gardener Handbook, which serves as program orientation for new or prospective trainees. The VCE Master Gardener Coordinator Manual is the basis of three local MG coordinator training sessions in 1998. Additional resources available to coordinators for enhancing the local MG program include a MG newsletter focused on the role of Master Gardeners as community leaders and educators; program policies and guidelines for the management of MG training and operation; VCE publication 426-699 Welcome to Virginia Master Gardenering! Guide to Educational Programming and Resource and Reference Guide; and the VCE Master Gardener Internet website at http://www.ext.vt.edu/vce/specialty/envirohort/mastergard/master.html.