OPA Volunteer Positions

OPA is an all-volunteer organization and has no paid staff. We are always looking for volunteers to help us bring more poetry into the lives of Oregonians. If you would like to volunteer to help OPA, contact the President.

Positions currently open

OPA Board Member At Large: If you are interested in joining the OPA Board, please read the OPA Board Member Job Description.

Membership Chair: Job description below

Membership Chair Job Description

Qualifications:

  • Must be a member in good standing of the Oregon Poetry Association. (Need not be Board member.)
  • Should be able to give attention to detail and have computer and internet access.
  • Some experience in Google spreadsheets and making labels would be helpful, but not mandatory.

Responsibilities:

  • Keep the OPA Membership List current on Google docs. This involves checking online “Submittable” on a regular basis and recording any new or renewing members as well as members who have renewed through the postal system. Review each renewal to make certain the mailing address, phone number and e-mail addresses are current. Make changes as necessary.
  • Each year, in mid February, make address labels from the Google spread sheet and send a postcard to all members with memberships expiring on March 1.
  • Before the post card goes out, an e-mail reminder is sent to members with memberships expiring March 1. About 2 weeks after the March 1 deadline another e-mail reminder is sent to all expired members who have not yet renewed.
  • It is sometimes necessary to save the main membership list to an Excel document where it can be sorted into “current” and “expired” members.
  • Provide current membership list to OPA Newsletter Editor for mailings through Constant Contact and to anyone else on the Board or within the organization who needs this information.
  • Provide lists of current members each year to NFSPS for their annual contests.
  • Publish a yearly directory of OPA members no later than April 1st to be distributed to our membership.
  • Answer e-mails from members with questions and concerns about their membership in OPA.

Time Commitment: Most of the year, about an hour per week, as not very many renewals come in. During the run-up to the March 1st renewal deadline, commitment is substantial as renewals come in, and due to the work of preparing the mailings. How much time this takes will depend on your procedures.

Adult Contest Chair Job Description

OPA contests have the deadlines of March 1 and September 1.

Spring Contest (for Fall Contest, adjust dates by six months)

November-December: create or adopt contest categories for the new round. Typically most categories remain, Traditional focuses on varying forms, while Themed has a new theme.

[Note: Fall 2017 categories have already been selected]

December: contact and confirm judges.

  • Judges can be either members or non-members of OPA.
  • Judges should have substantial poetry publications and/or experience teaching poetry in academic or community settings.
  • At least two years should elapse between judging assignments for a given person.
  • Persons selecting judges should change at least every two years.
  • Ongoing records of persons selected as judges should be maintained. For recent list, contact OPA President or any board member.
  • Judges should not enter any categories of a contest in which they are judging.

December – Early January:  post categories on the OPA site and Submittable, open Submittable categories for entry. Submittable already has two contest entry categories for members and non-members. They will be in a closed status at the start of each new contest. Resetting each category to open is achieved by setting its end date to the applicable deadline in the future. Additional help for Submittable functionality is available on their site and via their support team.

[Note: Submittable management can also be handled by OPA board members]

January: promote contest via Oregon and national lists, specifically CRWROPPS and OLC. Many small regional lists have proven of marginal effect, but new lists are always likely to pop up and should be investigated. Board members will assist with publicity.

March 5-10: consolidate Submittable and physical submissions, sort by category, make copies in the Dueling Judges Category if any, and prepare submissions for judging. Each submission is marked with a submission number unique to every poet. Mail poems to judges. Other arrangements with judges can be made if necessary.

April 5:  results received from judges.

April 5-20:  results are interpreted by the Contest Chair, winners are contacted and given a week or so to respond in case any place winners are already accepted elsewhere, which makes them ineligible. In case of withdrawals, the Contest Chair will request that the judge promote one of the HMs to 3rd place, and (optionally) select a new HM. HMs are contacted. Winning poems are accepted via Submittable. Electronic copies of winning poems submitted via mail are requested from the winners. The Contest Chair produces a brief document with winners, HMs, and judges’ comments, as well as a final document which includes the winning poems themselves, judges’ comments and bios, winners’ bios and contact info. Winners are posted on the OPA site.

Time Commitment: Substantial work after contest closes, preparing entries for judges.

 

Book Review Editor Job Description

Responsibilities:

  • Maintain a list of books to review. OPA members who have new books to review will contact you via the OPA website to request a review. Notify the OPA webmaster and/or OPA president when a review is requested, and they will update the list posted on the website.
  • Actively recruit reviewers for new books. Supply copies of the book (usually the author will be able to provide a manuscript on electronic format).
  • OPA’s book reviews have set a high standard of quality. We expect this standard to continue. As your time permits, work with reviewers to improve reviews you feel are not up to par; also, feel free to reject reviews if they are unsatisfactory.
  • Deliver completed review, including a cover image, to the OPA webmaster for posting. (Author should be responsible for providing cover image.)

Time Commitment: Varies. Recruiting reviewers, and getting them to complete their reviews in a timely fashion, is the most difficult part of this job. A goal of one book review per month has been set in the past, but may not always be practical.

 

 

Scroll to Top