Our volunteer people strike a nice balance by throwing a classy annual party for the volunteers in the evening, with proper food and drinks. Rather than receiving presents, which is a risky strategy, volunteers are honored by the quality of the occasion and the fact that the president of the Academy and several other senior people are there and actively socializing with them. In my opinion, the only kind of gift that works in recognizing the contributions of volunteers and other benefactors is a certificate or badge. I have seen some horrible schemes under which, for example, each five years' worth of service is honored by another $5 on the value of the gift certificates handed out. Embarrassing. As soon as you start grading the value of gifts according to a person's total contribution, you risk upsetting some and alienating others. Best by far to stick with medals and just keep upgrading the color of the ribbons. PC. Paul Callomon Collections Manager Malacology, Invertebrate Paleontology and General Invertebrates Department of Malacology Academy of Natural Sciences 1900 Parkway, Philadelphia PA 19103-1195, USA Tel 215-405-5096 Fax 215-299-1170 Secretary, American Malacological Society On the web at www.malacological.org >>> "Fagan Affleck, Diane" <[log in to unmask]> 4/26/2007 8:05 am >>> Because of a change in staff, a new person is organizing our annual volunteer recognition. Our practice has been to have an afternoon 'party' with light refreshments, certificates for each volunteer, and gifts for several volunteers with higher numbers of hours. The new person in charge is uncomfortable with the idea of giving gifts since these people have chosen to volunteer their time, and it's almost always the same people who qualify for the gifts. Is this really the way volunteers want us to use our resources? Do other museums give gifts or just heartfelt thanks? Diane Fagan Affleck American Textile History Museum __________________________________________________ Diane L. Fagan Affleck, Director of Interpretation American Textile History Museum 491 Dutton Street Lowell, MA 01854 978-441-0400 x263 978-441-1412 fax __________________________________________________ Telling America's story through the art, science and history of textiles... ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes). ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).