February 2007

Chapter site keeps visitors up-to-date and points them in the right direction

Ashland-Richland Chapter receives Web Site of the Month honors

Congratulations to the leaders of the Ashland-Richland Chapter (Ohio), especially to Dave Bick, chapter Internet advisor and Web site administrator, whose site has been named Chapter Web Site of the Month for February.

The person who nominated this site praised the up-to-date information on the site as well as a layout that's easy to read and navigate and pleasing to the eye. The home page contains new notices that are important to chapter leaders or volunteers, the names and contact information of the chapter leaders, and the chapter mission statement.

"Our chapter's goal is to have the Web site be a source for information of interest to chapter members and a resource for members, especially congregational coordinators," says Dave.

Throughout the site, Dave does a great job of providing helpful instructions—whether it's about whom to contact and submit forms to, or information about when to use and steps for completing the necessary forms.

On the Download Forms page, visitors can link to six different forms that the chapter has done a great job of creating or customizing. An excellent explanation of the purpose of each form is provided as well instructions for downloading, who they need to be submitted to, and whom to contact with questions.

"The chapter Web site gives our chapter leadership board the opportunity to reach members and others with the latest information from the chapter," says Dave. "It also gives us another way to make our forms available."

Dave's comments about working with the Web site template
Dave began working on the chapter Web site in 2004. Although being a perfectionist can cause it to be somewhat time consuming, he finds it easier as he continues to work on the site.

"I find filling in the template for an item on a page is easier than trying to code one from scratch, but there is still a long learning curve due to the wide range of options to choose from," says Dave. "At first updating the web site was time consuming. As I have gained more experience, it has gotten much easier and quicker.

"If I weren’t such a perfectionist, needing to tweak and re-tweak things, keeping the Web site up to date wouldn’t require much time."

You can visit this site at www.lutheransonline.com/ashlandrichlandchapter. Nice job, Dave.