Volunteer of the Month for July 2007
Stephen Steffler
by Joan McIlmoyl Cleghorn
his month's choice for Volunteer of the Month is a member that most of you have met and/or seen at some time. He is a member of the Executive, an Instructor, a SIG Leader and a presenter at the Topical SIG. He is Stephen Steffler, Communications Director and CalFund SIG Leader.
As Communications Director, Stephen is responsible for Publicity, Publications and the Website. This is a large responsibility in and of itself. Not willing to allow opportunities to pass by for lack of volunteers, Stephen has stepped in to help out in other areas as well. A few examples include: he has come up with a fundraising idea through our CalFund SIG; after giving a demonstration of the program PhotoImpact at our Topical SIG, there was so much interest in the program that he proceeded to arrange a reduced price for Club members and then started classes to teach us how to use the program. Meanwhile he's a part of the team developing our new website as well as overseeing his other responsibilities within the Club.
So, who is this person outside of Big Blue & Cousins? Well, I was able to find out a few things. He was born and raised in Victoria—not all that common. He became involved with computers in 1990 when, through his photography business, he had people asking for special photo editing (like seen in movies) which couldn't be done by traditional darkroom manipulation or copy negative and airbrushing.
He clearly loves taking photos as after a one-week holiday in 1975 which resulted in $500 film processing, he decided he needed to do this professionally.
When I asked why he joined BB&C, his answer gave a definite hint of his sense of humour: "I belong to BB&C? Why didn't someone tell me?" This was further demonstrated when he commented on family details that he thought his true parents came from another planet!
His reason for volunteering to serve on the Executive was an interesting one: To "...find out how some of the decision and policies get made... still not sure...". Hopefully, after a few more years on the Executive, he'll figure it out...
His vision for BB&C includes seeing more technical and cooperative experience in the Club so that people can get the information they need while having fun and being safe.
All in all, Steve personifies that old adage; "If you need something done, ask a busy person." While running his own photography business, he also has the very helpful website WebVictoria which is a directory of all things Victoria yet still finds time to give hours of his time to make Big Blue & Cousins an enjoyable and informative computer user group.
Thank you so much Stephen for helping to make Big Blue & Cousins a better Club by having you in it!
