Dear Booksharian Friends and Valerie,
Valerie, Thank you for letting us know about Scott's passing.
All of the volunteer coordinators have done helpful things for the volunteer
community but He had such a good heart and was the most caring, encouraging,
appreciative and communicative of them to date. He kept the needs of all
handicaps in mind, was open to, but not driven by volunteer suggestions, he
worked at providing training for new volunteers and he implemented several
ways to recognize volunteer efforts while discouraging competitiveness.
The practice that comes most to mind is his apprising us of bookshare
statistics on a regular basis. For example he told us how many volunteer
books were added every month and the total volunteer contribution for the
year. He posted a list of the top 100 scanners and proofreaders of the year
with the total books prepared for the collection by each. Though I'm highly
motivated to proofread as many books as possible every year, I put quality
first, still proofreading every word and rereading if I think my mind may
have wandered. Scott reinforced the quality first and quantity last maxim
and cheered on our deranged perfectionism.
On list he supported our conversations not just about questions we asked of
and answered for each other, but our posts about our projects and our
progress on achieving them. He also encouraged volunteers to work together
for larger projects. I don't recall that he ever communicated irritation on
list. He kept us up to date on Bookshare's accomplishments and the many
changes that were always in progress making us feel valued and included. He
also did his best to communicate with engineering about problems we had on
the site, which also made us feel that our needs were important to
Bookshare. He contacted volunteers off list on more sensitive matters or for
individual coaching or reminders of protocol and best practices. Back then
the Bookshare lists were such inspiring, friendly places.
There are so many people in the world who care more about uplifting others
than themselves and he was one of them. It's hard for me to cope with the
way illness and circumstances cause the death of people who are making the
best of their lives. I'm so sorry his last year was difficult. He will be
missed.
Always with love,
Lissi
Always with love,
Lissi
-----Original Message-----
From: Valerie Maples
Sent: Sunday, May 08, 2016 5:55 AM
To: Bookshare Volunteer List
Cc: Doug Maples
Subject: [bksvol-discuss]
==3Futf-8?Q?OT:_RIP_Scott_Rains_(November_27,_1956_–?
I apologize if someone posted and I missed it, but I just learned that Scott
died on my birthday last week. Not many people may know, but Scott was
paralyzed during a life-saving surgery when he was (I think) 19. Anyway,
around 2 years ago he found out he had glioblastoma (a deadly brain cancer)
and was given 4-6 months to live. He and his wife made the most of his time
and Doug and I were even blessed to chat with him several times after his
diagnosis.
Scott was a friend, a mentor and a voice for opportunity and I will miss the
friend I met here on Bookshare...
Valerie Maples
I talk, computer types, we both make mistakes. ;-)
To unsubscribe from this list send a blank Email to
bksvol-discuss-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
put the word 'unsubscribe' by itself in the subject line. To get a list of
available commands, put the word 'help' by itself in the subject line.
To unsubscribe from this list send a blank Email to
bksvol-discuss-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
put the word 'unsubscribe' by itself in the subject line. To get a list of
available commands, put the word 'help' by itself in the subject line.