letsexch

March/April 1998 LETS Exchanger

New Eco-Job Opportunities at LETS!
We have put together 5 job descriptions on the back of this Exchanger. Have a look!
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LETS Council Training - A Great Success
(We need more people to come and join in!)
A clearer vision for the future of LETS - that was the goal of the LETS Training on Feb 15, 1998 Here are some priorities identified by the 7 people who attended:

1. clearer job descriptions of what needs to be done
2. recruit more council members
3. identify most interested LETS members
4. create a mission statement
5. identify someone to replace Carla in office
6. look for office space open evenings and weekends to increase volunteer work

Hope you can come to the training on Mar 26!
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UPCOMING EVENTS

Mar 26 - Workshop - "Strategic Planning" - open to 12 LETS members - 6:30-9:30pm - 237-2909

Mar 29 - LETS Tradefair - Easter/Spring theme - 12-2pm - Centretown Community Health Centre Tel: 860-LETS

Mar 31 - Resume deadline for LETS jobs

Apr 2 - LETS Council Meeting - 7-9pm - 235-5612 for location, 237-2909 for agenda items

Apr 21 - LETS Tradefair - Spring Cleaning / Mother’s Day theme - 6:30-9pm - Centretown Community Health Centre - for info call 860-LETS

May 7 - LETS Council Meeting - 7-9pm - 860-LETS

May 8 - Deadline for articles & ad changes for May-June

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LETS Statistics (for January/February)
118 current accounts
5 new accounts - Welcome to Agi Varga, Don Kennedy, Nancy Matte & Alain Feeny, Peter Yachnin & Tia Loftsgard
2 accounts closed - Bye to Debra Huron & Suzanne Torok
3 people have more than Eco$500 in their account
6 people have more than Eco$300 in debt

Eco$440 - membership and renewal fees
Eco$54.64 - 4 percent fees collected on trades
Eco$280.12 - surplus in Ottawa LETS account
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Hello Trader - Bernard Provencher
Bernard trades many unusual & helpful items such as Noni juice from Tahiti.
He trades magnets you put in your pillow or shoe to reduce pain.
Bernard is a born-teacher, and wants to teach English overseas. He teaches French & chess.
He used to be a French elementary school teacher, & has played chess competitively for 20 years.
He offers advertising in the Ottawa Business Journal.
Bernard is very open to doing other tasks such as yard work. He depends on the buses, so he would prefer to work for more than one hour at a time.
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LETS JOB DESCRIPTIONS
(Resumes due March 31, 1998)

Exchanger Editor
* interview a trader for Hello Trader
* attend all council meetings
* write articles and lay-out
* print Exchanger on either an ink jet or laser printer
* give printed copy and email to mail-out coordinator

Qualifications:
1) strong computer skills - word processing & layout
2) ability to write articles
3) access to computer, printer & email
4) can set, handle and communicate deadlines
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Directory maker
* format a directory on the LETS computer
* print out on ink jet or laser printer & give to
mail-out coordinator in printed form and by email

Qualifications:
1) ability to handle QLETS basics
2) ability to visit LETS computer in Centretown for an hour once every two months
3) access to computer, printer and email
4) can set, handle and communicate deadlines
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Mail-out Coordinator
* get Exchanger & directory from Exchanger editor & photocopy it
* print out account statements from QLETS system
* staple together Exchanger, directory, account statement and stick on label & stamp* email Exchanger, directory and account statement to all members who want email statements

Qualifications:
1) access to computer, printer & email
2) ability to manage volunteers
3) come to Centretown for 5-6 hours every 2 months
4) ability to handle deadlines
5) excellent organizational skills
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Treasurer
1) issue receipts & make cheques for council
2) deposit all Canadian dollars to the bank
3) give updates to council about the bank account

Qualifications:
1) trustworthy long term member
2) able to make a basic financial report
3) available to visit Centretown to make receipts or cheques during day
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Office Administrator
Salary: eco$40 per month
1. Make sure someone (yourself or a volunteer) goes to the LETS office once every two weeks to get phone calls, do data entry & send out information.
2. Go through phone messages and the mail and:
a) open and close accounts
b) enter trades and advertisements
c) enter renewal and newsletter fees
d) update advertisements
e) address and e-mail changes
f) answer members' questions about their accounts
3. Keep track of who has more than $300 debt or more than $500 in their accounts.
4. Participate in Council meetings and provide Council with regular
Administration updates.
5. Miscellaneous - such as picking up mail, updating the phone message,
making sure there are enough promotional packages.

Qualifications:
1) Reliability & very strong organizational skills
3) Very precise data entry and editing skills
4) Can work at Centretown Community Health Centre at least once a month for 2-4 hours during the day
5) Can coordinate and train volunteers
6) Neat handwriting
7) Strong computer skills - preferably QLETS understanding (we’ll train you)
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Good reasons to apply for a LETS job:
· we’ve got a very committed fun-loving council
· we eat great food at our meetings
· you learn how to run a grass-roots organization
· you learn skills such as facilitation, financial management and computers
· you find out the best stuff to trade
· you give back to the community
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Top 3 LETS Traders - Jan/Feb
1. Margot Lange - $23.44 percentage fee with 1 trade
2. Robert Rosewood - $11.96 with 5 trades
3. Joeli Reardon - $4.56 with 4 trades
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Special Thanks:
To all who attended the LETS training on Feb 15 - facilitators Barb Neuwelt & MJ Wason, and LETS members Bethany Sutton, Carla Brown, Joeli Reardon, Jonathan Ham, Katie Davidman, Pamela Lawler and Randi Shulman. Thanks to Evelyn Oickle and Christine Fergus for coming on Mar 10. Christine is our LETS intern for the spring, and she’s putting together a member’s survey for our next tradefair.