NCF Office & Volunteers Annual Report - 1998 Volunteers have always been the most important part of FreeNet, and volunteering on NCF took on a greater role in 1998. The renewal letter now asks everyone on NCF to make a contribution to keep NCF going, either through a monetary contribution or a contribution of time as a volunteer. This can be as little as getting one new member for NCF - something almost anyone can do! Volunteer opportunities exist for any amount of time or talent. Whether training new members at the St. Laurent Branch of the Ottawa Public Library, or maintaining web pages for Information Providers or our new "CapitalFind" project, there is a place for anyone who wants to make their contribution as a volunteer. Volunteers make a huge contribution to the NCF Office, and we couldn't operate without the dedicated "regulars" as well as the coop placements gaining valuable job experience here. 46 individual volunteers worked in the NCF office in 1998, along with 13 people from coop student and job placement programs. Web registrations were added in 1998, providing ease of registration to the new members. Since this is not linked to the online registration process, all the web registrations are done online by office volunteers, who then contact the new members to tell them their account number, and how to complete their registrations. The office volunteers processed 3,488 new account registrations and 9,697 account renewals this year. Organizational accounts, which began in 1997, grew this year, as more organizations and small businesses realized the advantages of belonging to the NCF. The office volunteers process all donations, and we deposited almost $241,000 in 1998. A new tradition was started in January, when we gathered at The Olde Forge for a Volunteer Appreciation pizza party. It was a great chance to meet each other in person, as so many of the volunteers in our online community do their volunteering from home. The Member Get a Member Contest, which ran from May to August, provided a different way of volunteering, as all NCF members were encouraged to sign up their friends and family. Volunteers set up a display and registration site at Myers Chev Olds Cadillac sale at the Nepean Sportsplex, and later in their showroom. Donations from Myers, The Clones Society and GRL Communications provided prizes for the contest. 1998 also saw the launch of the "autoinstall" PPP software program, sponsored by KAO Infosystems, who provided both CD-Rom's and diskettes in time for distribution during the Member Get a Member Contest. The CD-Rom's have been placed in libraries all over the region on both sides of the river. The office was the distribution point for the software on diskette. Special thanks go to Richard Bethell for leading this project and making it so easy for members to graduate to the graphical world from the older text side of NCF. I was delighted to represent NCF as the guest speaker at the inaugural meeting of Webgrrls Ottawa in May, which brought us both new members and new volunteers. I also spoke at Abbotsford House, one of the seniors' centres where NCF has started Internet clubs. Komputer Korner kindly donated three computer systems for use at the three centres: Abbotsford House, Kiwanian Alex Dayton Centre, and Good Companions. I'd like to thank all the volunteers, especially the long-time office volunteers, for making NCF the vital, caring place it is. Sheila Alder Administrative Coordinator National Capital FreeNet Feb/99