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appendix eight

speaker appreciation events

The panel coordinator is responsible for ongoing speaker appreciation. The steering committee or task force may wish to organize an annual appreciation event. The speakers and other volunteers benefit significantly from ongoing encouragement as well as a larger annual appreciation event.

suggestions for ongoing recognition include:

• Snacks or a light meal after each presentation (also a time to debrief)
• Personal thank you notes after each presentation
• Regular phone calls
• Personalized cups or mugs for the panel table
• Special pins
• Audiotapes of each presentation
• Copies of especially positive or meaningful evaluations
• Occasional thank you letters to spouses and children of speakers for time the speakers are away from their families
• Appreciation articles or Letters to the Editor in local newspapers

suggestions for annual appreciation events include:

• A "Just Desserts" night for panel speakers, volunteers and their families in which fancy desserts are served. Decorate the room beautifully and colorfully. Corsages and boutonnieres or cut flowers for each volunteer could be considered. Florists may donate larger floral arrangements for drawings. Give certificates of appreciation, which include hours contributed to panel programs.

• A full banquet to include criminal justice professionals as well as volunteers. Speeches should be kept to a minimum and should focus on appreciation for the contributions of the volunteers. Each speaker might be asked to recall one or two panel speakers who particularly moved him or her. Give appreciation certificates.

• A "Turned Tables" event at which offenders who were particularly moved by panel presentations form a panel to tell how hearing a panel changed their lives. This event will require the support of probation officers and also may involve screening on the part of the panel coordinator. It might also include a report on recidivism studies comparing offenders who did and did not hear a panel. Done well, this event may be most meaningful to volunteers.

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