KLJHHH COMMITTEE
Anyone who attends the junior hash can see that it takes several people to do all of the jobs needed to manage our events – in no particular order, this includes:
- Ensuring that we have hares for upcoming runs and that they know what they’re doing and have paper
- Communicating with members (FaceBook, website, Instagram, Email, WhatsApp, and Google Forms for special events
- Maintaining our database of members details, runs completed, subscriptions paid, etc., and printing the sign-in sheets
- Tracking our accounts, with all payments in and out
- Buying drinks and ice, and bringing them to the run-site
- Buying sausages, buns, onions, etc. and doing our on-site food preparation
- Arriving early(-ish) to man the registration desk, welcome guests, ensure everyone signs in/out and register new members
- Selling food and drinks
- Taking care of our ‘haberdashery’ (a.k.a. hasherdabbery) – t-shirts, etc., and also choosing, designing and sourcing the ‘freebies’ that we give at special events or to new joiners.
- Buying awards for people who complete 12, 24, 36, … runs
- Standing up at the circle and doing awards, announcements, etc.
- Storing things at home: canopies, tables, cooking equipment, haberdashery, and many other things (it helps to have storage space!); and bringing them to the run when needed (it helps to have a big car, or a small family!)
- Planning and organising special events: we always celebrate Chinese New Year, Easter Egg Hunt, Halloween and Christmas, and recently we’ve also been doing a special meal for Hari Raya. For some of those, the hare might volunteer to do most of it, but Christmas takes most of the committee to organise.
- Checking that the run-site is clear, taking the rubbish away, etc., often after everyone else has left
- Overseeing everything and making sure that nothing is forgotten and everyone is happy – this is the GM’s main job!
- … plus other things I’ve forgotten!
The more volunteers we have, the less work each person has to do – meaning that they can enjoy the event instead of ‘working’ the whole time.
The committee evolves over time, with some people doing the same role for years and others taking on a role for a shorter time and then switching to something else. If you would like to help out, either in a particular role or as an ‘odd-job’ person to help out wherever we have a need (don’t worry – we’ll find stuff for you to do!), approach the GM or another committee member.
So what are the benefits of being a committee member? Apart from the joy of helping, the only tangible benefit is buying cans of beer at cost price, which is a little bit less than the RM10 everyone else pays.