Happy April, Purple Footers!
Our NEW website is now live! www.purplefoot.org is now officially switched to our new platform and I am anxious to get everyone’s feedback. Our Communications Committee has spent an enormous amount of time collaborating on a brand new site based on a platform designed specifically for non-profit organizations and we are extremely proud of the result.
First, a huge thanks to the Communications Committee, including Doug Hudson, Steve Kroll, Gordon Rouse and Larry Janke. When we started meeting back in September of last year, it was hard to believe that the result would be a complete, well-built website that will serve the club for many years to come.
Doug identified our platform and set up the site structure. He went through an enormous learning curve to do this and I am absolutely amazed at the result. Steve has been working on keeping things consistent, providing a huge amount of technical background and simplification, keeping our design working properly. Gordon has worked hard on Library research and review, along with Larry, which keeps us on track and correcting any issues that we might come across. You all deserve a round of applause. The result is stunning.
The site will be our primary means of group communications in the future. We are now able to post comments, information and continuing education at any time and everyone’s participation is encouraged. The new site offers a huge amount of new content and information.
Members can renew and new members can join online via credit card now with just a few clicks. No more having to send checks or wait for information to be compiled into our membership directory. Now you can control your own details and profile quickly and easily. You can upload a picture (Avatar) and even create a photo album if you like.
We have a forum where you can post general questions, answer others and have a conversation about wine topics. Please feel free to try it out and post something. Communication is the key.
Club Services offers a whole range of the types of information that we are always looking to share. This is a growing section that will provide a ton of information regarding making wine, solving issues and helping you to move your winemaking skills to a whole new level. The Mentoring Committee is working on filling out a solid, easily followed help area. We have FAQs that will continue to grow with your help and input. We will also post videos and workshops that will give you some additional help. I’ll post more information on the Mentoring Committee in a future letter.
The members’ section contains contact information along with club documents along with a complete newsletter archive. It is great fun reading some of our back issues, starting with the 1982 club year. Our history is right there to see and, in some cases, remember.
I’ve just touched the surface here. I urge you to visit and explore the site. It is worth a bit of time and is just plain fun. Feel free to post comments in the Forum section, just to let us know you’re here. Please let us know if you have any issues or find any glitches. You can contact Doug, Steve or Mike to let us know.
Oh, and we’ll see you at the April tasting. It will be a fun review of some good, inexpensive wines, led by Doug Hudson. If you’re able, join a group. The club is paying for wines based on group size. I am looking forward to seeing you!