UURMaPA runs as well as it does because of our volunteers. And most of the time we are unaware of what goes into keeping us connected and informed. So each year, the Board honors an “Unsung UURMaPAn”—a volunteer who has made a singular contribution to our organization, working behind the scenes in their retirement years.
Our 2024 Unsung UURMaPAn is Patt Herdklotz.
Patt, who resides in Oregon, has been retired since 2017 and she began her service as our Membership Coordinator in July of 2020. This particular position has a lot of moving parts:
- keeping membership information current (monthly updates to an Excel spreadsheet plus two Directories in a different format, adding new members as ministers retire and deleting those who pass on);
- making sure the webmaster and others all have the latest directory information;
- extracting information from the Excel data for mailings;
- maintaining a separate e-mail “Announce” list… and so on.
The job entails a lot of data management and sometimes proves frustrating. Patt wrangled the information into shape, sometimes against time constraints and a bulky, complex system. Her good humor and flexibility in continuing on with this work when we didn’t find a replacement in a timely fashion is also so deeply appreciated.
For these years of service behind the scenes, keeping us connected in important ways, we are thrilled to award this honor to the Reverend Patt Herdklotz, recipient of the UURMaPA Unsung Volunteer Award for 2024. Congratulations!