On Sat, 14 Jul 2001 22:41:47 -0700, Indigo Nights <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:

>Just as an FYI, any who are having trouble with
>volunteers in general and/or who have volunteer issues
>may wish to sign up for the volunteer-issues forum of
>the Charity Channel.  For more information, go here:
>
>http://www.charitychannel.com/forums/volunteer-issues.htm
>
>
>--- Pamela Sezgin <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>> Dear Ellen, Julia, and other Listers,
>>
>> Ok, here's a question about Volunteers at Museums.
>>
>> What do you do when you have a long-established
>> volunteer or several
>> volunteers who you've inherited from past
>> administrations, and they are very
>> negative about the Museum?     They come to work on
>> a regular basis,  but
>> they like to gossip and sometimes they gossip about
>> staff with patrons!!!!!
>>
>>
>> This situation was recently described to me by a
>> friend who is the executive
>> director of a small Georgia history museum.    The
>> volunteers seem to be
>> angry that they are not in charge of running the
>> museum anymore since it now
>> has a few professional staff people.
>>>=====
>Indigo Nights
>[log in to unmask]
>>
>_***How ironic to read on the very problem I have been
having all month with 'volunteers'. This kind of sticky
situation is all new and unfamiliar to me. I have also
inheritated these volunteers.

I come from a background where volunteers always worked
under the staff. Now I am in a new environment where the
volunteers started this particular museum, are themselves
board members, and have opted to hire professional staff to
administer AAM standards. Problem is, when there is a board
member/volunteer who wants to do it "their" way, going against
procedures, it becomes a personal issue, rather than work
related when a staff member points this out. You can fill
in the rest of the negativity that flows out of this one.

This problem sounds alot like your own in Georgia -
thank you for directing attention to the new forum on volunteers.

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