GSA Winter Recap

April 18, 2023April 19, 2023 Emily McMaster 912 Views

By: Emily McMaster, Operations and Communications Director

Granite State Ambassadors have had a successful start to 2023, with a variety of events and educational opportunities. Learn more about where our Granite State Ambassadors (GSAs) are volunteering and what topics they are learning more about to better refer our guests around the state!

January 2023

Volunteer Hours Summary:

93 Volunteers served 965.25 hours at 11 welcome centers, 1 meeting, and 2 tours, (assisting 2644 guests) for a total value of $28,909.32 *(*independent sector).

Educational:

The Cog Railway hosted 25 volunteers on a winter excursion this month. We traveled up to Mt. Waumbek Station, which now includes several viewing platforms and warming huts. GSAs enjoyed learning more about the Cog and experiencing it in the winter. Read more here.

Meetings and Centers:

14 volunteers attended a Tour and Information Session at the Aviation Museum. This served as both a tour of the museum, as well as an information session about volunteering at the Aviation Museum. The museum recently joined GSA as a center, and volunteers are starting to learn more and sign up to volunteer there. Read more about our experience here.

20 volunteers participated in the Manchester-Boston Regional Airport Quarterly Update meeting.

—

February 2023

Volunteer Hours Summary:

102 Volunteers served 1,010 hours at 11 welcome centers, 1 event, and 1 virtual program, (assisting 2964 guests) for a total value of $30,249.49 *(*independent sector).

5 volunteers assisted with the Keene Ice & Snow Festival on February 5th, for a total of 22 hours.

Educational:

25 volunteers participated in a virtual program entitled NH Tourism Development from the Ground Up, presented by Jada Lindblom, UNH Cooperative Extension. We learned more about updates and research findings from current and recent Extension projects with communities and organizations.

—

March 2023

Volunteer Hours Summary:

136 Volunteers served 1,736.25 hours at 10 welcome centers, 4 events, 1 Orientation, 2 Tours, 1 GSA Certification and 1 virtual program, (assisting 4,053 guests) for a total value of $52,000.64 *(*independent sector).

16 volunteers assisted with the New England Apparel Club Buyers Show, for a total of 62 hours.

46 volunteers helped out with the NH State Home Show, for a total of 195 hours.

10 volunteers were instrumental in the NH Poetry Out Loud event at the Statehouse, assisting staff for a total of 48 hours.

4 volunteers participated in the NH Camping and RV Show in Milford, staffing the DTTD tourism table. The event continued into April as well.

Educational:

We hosted a virtual program about the Covered Bridges of NH. Kim Varney Chandler, author of “Covered Bridges of New Hampshire,” presented an overview of the covered bridges in our state. This is a popular topic of guests to NH! We had 37 volunteers attend the presentation. Visit her website to learn more about the book!

Roundtables and Orientations:

GSA Centers hosted several different types of roundtables and orientations for new GSAs. 15 volunteers participated in an orientation for volunteering at the Manchester-Boston Regional Airport. The Statehouse hosted two different types of roundtables/tours. 15 volunteers participated in the first one, and 16 volunteers participated in the second one.

GSA Certification:

This month, we graduated our first certification class of 2023: Aviation Museum Class of 2023. 21 volunteers were certified in this class. They are already actively volunteering!