This weekend we completed another Huntmaster training with a great group of new volunteers. This group had experience on TYHP hunts as hunters and as parents of hunters. It is especially gratifying for the program to see its hunters joining the Huntmaster ranks.
At Huntmaster Training (HMT), we ask the students to give the instructor 3 ups and 3 downs about Huntmaster Training. We are proud to report more positive comments than negative ones, but we regularly receive comments that help us improve training and the program in general. One such comment was a question about the pathway forward for a newly trained Huntmaster. What steps should you take if you want to be a Lead Huntmaster after HMT?
The tenor of this question is part of integrating volunteers. We can do this aspect of TYHP better. How can we harness the enthusiasm of a new volunteer before time and lack of follow up diminishes their zeal? What do we do now to integrate new volunteers? What are the barriers to volunteer integration?
Currently after HMT and online volunteer training, we send out an email introducing the new volunteers or Huntmasters to volunteer area coordinators and TYHP Operations Coordinators. Recently we reintroduced the Quarterly newsletter and we are working with our website developers to implement text based push notifications. We believe social media posts can help integrate new or newly trained volunteers.
In the next Blog we will address barriers to volunteer integration, but we would love to hear your thoughts on how TYHP can better integrate volunteers.
In the meantime here are some tasks new Huntmasters can work on to ready themselves for Lead Huntmaster:
*Conduct or coordinate the education on a hunt.
*Conduct the safety Briefing prior to a hunt using Appendix 2B from the Huntmaster Manual and incorporate the landowner if available.
*Run a range on a TYHP hunt.
*Cook or assist the cook on a hunt. At a minimum prepare one of the meals or complete all the shopping.
* Coordinate the completion of all paperwork on a Hunt (volunteer, youth and parent, TY letters and evaluations).
*Serve as a Guide Coordinator on a hunt. At a Minimum familiarize with blind locations, assign hunters to blinds and lead guides and or parents to blinds during a hunt.
*Recruit and visit with a landowner that is new to TYHP and get him or her to sign a Youth Hunt Agreement.
The TYHP Staff will be happy to help you with any of the above!