Houston Ground Angels
Management Review
July 2019
Tony Castiglie,
Vice President and Treasurer
June 21
st
is the first day of summer. Officially called the Summer Solstice, it is the longest day of the year. What always seems ironic is that as the days now become shorter, they also become hotter. From a practical standpoint, Independence Day, July 4
th
, is really the beginning of summer. Of course, with the heat and humidity of Houston, summer really begins much earlier.
The Stats
June was another successful month; the 301 missions run was by far the best June ever and the first June in which we ran over 300 missions. This year’s daily average is 10, something we had never before achieved. Fifty-four volunteers stepped up to make this happen with Uber helping us fulfill the difficult missions, i.e. rush hour traffic, late evening runs or short notice requests. As a result, our forecast for 2019 remains at 3,500 missions, the most ever.
The Archangels
Thus far, we have run 1,770 missions, 50 percent of which are run by the Archangels and in every “Management Review,” I list the Top 10 Volunteers. While we are very grateful to any volunteer who runs a mission, we do like to acknowledge those who go above and beyond. This month, the list has been expanded to the Top 20:
Top 20 Volunteers – 2019
Dick Stabell
213
Charles Whitworth
154
Sandra Begalke
146
David LaFargue
77
Tony LaRosa
73
Jacko Garrett
59
Edie Cantu
52
Derek King
48
Bo Hunter
34
Laurie Galland 26
Charles Gibson 25
Barbara Oxsheer 23
Christine Reid 22
Gail Williams 21
Bob Joyce 21
Georgia Monnerat 17
Peggy Johnson 14
Kathy Broussard 13
Lyn Hebert 11
Terri Mulhearn 11
We are greatly appreciative for the dedication of all our volunteers.
Uber
Thus far, Uber is still working out well. In 2018, we had 599 unfilled missions; thus far in 2019, the number is 26 and just two in the past four months. The intent is to use Uber only as a last resort when a mission was not chosen by a volunteer. Mission Coordinator Mary Hutto does not contact Uber until the night before a mission is to be run. Thus far in 2019, Uber has satisfied 629 missions, about 36% of total, missions that would have gone unfulfilled. The huge number is due primarily to the increase in patient requests for our services. The feedback from patients has been highly favorable; many of them impressed that we are picking up the Uber cost when a Volunteer is unavailable. However, the downside is the cost. While we have applied for quite a few grants, they will not be awarded until later in the year.
May 17, 2019
Dear Houston Ground Angels,
Thank you for all you do to help Richard and me. I cannot count the times your volunteers have helped us! And, when you couldn’t, you have gotten Uber for us – so of course that too is help from you – just not a volunteer.
Thank you!
Sandra & Richard
Bartlesville, OK
Mission Management System
We are also working on some improvements to our Mission Management System. The fellow who originally designed and maintained the system passed away several years ago and it left us in a difficult position. A group from Insperity has recently volunteered their services to help us continue the needed work. The volunteers will be kept abreast of the project’s status.
New Volunteers
We had three new volunteers join us in May. Cherie Shelton lives in the FM 1960 area, Jim Martin in Friendswood and Tracy Anselmi in Cypress. In June, we also welcomed three more volunteers, Wayne Cone, who lives in Cypress, Rosemary Kaczmarski in Friendswood and Frank Rush in FM 1960 area. Welcome aboard and thank you all for joining.
Finale
As always, to every volunteer who steps up, thank you for your contribution. This year is looking great!
Sincerely,
Tony
