Is there an NSS program you'd like to become involved with? Not every committee position is listed on this web page! Committees nearly always need help and new blood, and often have projects on a list awaiting a volunteer. Contact an appropriate committee chairman or NSS Officer about taking on a project or joining a committee now. This is often how new NSS projects and programs develop and new committees are formed. It is also a part of how the Society remains a dynamic organization.

Click here for the list of Permanent Committees.
Click here to visit the Executive Search Committee
Click here to visit the Nominating Committee

If you enjoy wrangling spreadsheets, have some basic accounting background, and would like to give some time to the society, the NSS Finance Committee needs you. This committee is responsible for reviewing the bookkeeping conducted by the office, conducting month-end and year-end financial procedures, producing financial reports, supporting the annual audit, preparing the annual budget, and tracking the NSS Restricted Funds.
The committee is currently seriously understaffed, and I'd like to add two or three members before the end of the fiscal year. Much of this work is done in Excel. All of it will involve learning about the NSS's accounting system. .
If you're interested in knowing more about these challenging jobs, contact Peri Frantz, NSS Secretary-Treasurer, s-t@caves.org      7/20/06

The NSS Conservation Division would like to add a Volunteer Value Database Manager to its team. If you have database skills and are interested in an contributing time and expertise to the NSS, please read on.
Cavers give more time, labor, and expertise, spend more of their own money, and are recognized, particularly by Federal Agencies, for having more project persistence than any other land-using group in America. A name has been coined all this donated effort: Volunteer Value.
Volunteer Value represents huge contributions to caves on private, state, and federal lands. Cavers give significantly to the protection, exploration, scientific investigation, conservation, and preservation of cave and karst resources, and through the Volunteer Value program this important work is quantified, recorded and recognized.
By assigning dollar values to the time and expertise volunteered, we can assess the value of the work cavers provide to public land managers and private landowners. This documentation can be used for grant application processes, cave management proposals, and karst protection efforts.
Three simple forms have been created for recording caver contributions to cave-related projects, and calculating Volunteer Value. Copies of the forms can accessed electronically through the NSS Web site, www.caves.org . Click on Conservation and then on Volunteer Value.
Now we would like to create a national database to handle volunteer information for inclusion in NSS Biennial Reports, funding applications, and cave protection and management efforts.

If you have expertise and interest in database projects, and would like to play a major role in expanding this program, please contact Jim Werker and Val Hildreth-Werker, NSS Conservation Division Co-Chairs, werks@zianet.com

If you have a basic understanding of accounting and experience with computer based accounting systems, the NSS needs you. The Society currently relies on ancient and outmoded accounting and membership software, which no longer meets our needs. We would like to upgrade these systems and to improve their interoperability with the rest of our IT infrastructure. The Ad Hoc Office Software Committee is leading this initiative, and has developed a requirements document to guide the selection of new software. The next step is to identify and evaluate candidate packages, and to make a recommendation to the Board. If you have expertise in this area and can commit to 20 or 30 hours of time over the next six months, please consider joining the committee. Contact me at S-T@caves.org to volunteer or if you have questions.

The Board of Governers needs an electronic system by whcih members may indicate to the president their desire to speak or that they are ready to vote. This system also must record all votes taken, by name, and store them for use by the Recording Secretary in developing the meetin minutes. For a more complete description of the present and the desired voting system, please go here. If you can help, please contact president@caves.org or the Recording Secretary, as shown in the Current Personnel listing.

The NSS Board of Governors has established an NSS Headquarters Commission (HQComm) to oversee the creation of a new NSS headquarters facility, and adopted an NSS Headquarters Commission Charter.  The NSS is now soliciting applications for the Chairman of this Commission. This is a volunteer position, which will entail considerable work, and is expected to take up to seven years to complete. Click here to see the HQComm Charter an the HQComm Chairman Job Description. For additional information, contact president@caves.org.     11/15/09

Chairman of the NSS Government Liaison Committee

The NSS Government Liaison Committee serves as the liaison between the NSS and various governmental agencies such as the National Park Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Bureau of Land Management. With the current importance of government cooperation towards an end of White Nose Syndrome (WNS) and other existing political efforts, the work of this committee is critical to the future of the NSS and its success as a national organization. The liaison will be expected to respond quickly to e-mail, craft letters, and address problems as they arise, and may recruit additional members as necessary. For additional information, contact president@caves.org.     11/16/09

Email your volunteer opportunities (with contact information) to webmaster@caves.org

Last Updated: November 16, 2009

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