Every year we have a potluck holiday party and our volunteers have asked us to print up the recipes from their various co-workers who brought dishes. This year, we created a blank recipe form and mailed it to each volunteer asking for their best recipe. We then compiled the recipes into a cookbook that would be given to each volunteer as a gift at the recognition event. The theme was centered around cooking so we held it at a rustic venue in the country and printed awards on paper designed to look like a picnic. Instead of the generic thank you speeches from the volunteer coordinators, the Executive Director and members of the Board, we created a skit on "What is the recipe that makes up an ideal volunteer" and each official stood up and told the crowd what they think that recipe would be (a cup of smiles mixed with a teaspoon of wit...etc). The message at the end of the skit was that there is not just one recipe that makes up an ideal volunteer. Instead there are many recipes that include the different traits, personalities and styles that make the volunteers so necessary and unique. In the end, we concluded that each volunteer and his/her unique traits are equally valuable in ensuring a successful volunteer program. Kind of like a big, gourmet potluck...