Page 38 - May 2019 Voices
P. 38

ONLINE CONNECTIONS












       BLENDED IS SPLENDID!

       Connecting from Coast to Coast





       Michelle Alba-Lim, DTM




       In the January 2018 issue of  Voices!, page 18, Hillarie Hunt and Venessa Peterson shared
       a behind-the-scenes look at how to create a blended club (one that has local and online
       members). In this month’s article, Michelle Alba-Lim (District 7’s champion and chief
       supporter of blended clubs) revisited Toast of Old Town’s success with Hillarie Hunt, club

       treasurer.



      The Toast of Old Town Club, chartered in 2017,              Being a blended club is amazing!! But don’t
      is located in downtown Portland, Oregon, right          take my (local) word for it; our remote members

      across the street from the Chinese Gardens in the       can speak for themselves:
      Old Town China Town neighborhood. But you
      don’t have to fight downtown parking to visit the                             As an online club member,
      club. The club has a blended format, meaning                               I have the privilege of working

      that club meetings are simultaneously in-person                            with a great group of colleagues
      and online. Using Ring Central web conferencing                            who make me feel like a valued
      technology, and a bunch of individual web cams                             member. During our meetings,
      and microphones, club members who live in                                  the people in the office make

      New Jersey, Chicago, South Carolina, Texas,                                sure all of the remote workers
      and Atlanta can, and do, easily participate in                             are included, are introduced
      club meetings. This blended model works very            when needed, and they always take a moment
      well for the dispersed workforce for NWEA, the          to ask if we would like to speak. Our faces are

      corporate sponsor of this open community club.          up on a large screen so everyone can see us and
      It also allows ANYONE to join the meeting from          we can see the people in the room. This type of
      anywhere in the world!                                  meeting dynamic has really helped me want to be
          Our club is 100% Pathways, and we use the           more mindful of my presence while on the video

      FreeToastHost service for our club website and          chat.
      agendas. These electronic systems allow us                      Nicky Vandergriff, Georgetown, TX
      to organize and facilitate meetings, track our
      learning, and share feedback online.                        Although I reside in New Jersey, I joined




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