Rowlett Lakeshore Times > News
RCCC leader earns credential
By Kenny Green, kgreen@starlocalnews.com
The Rowlett Citizen Corps Council (RCCC) gained national credibility with the when its leader, Whitney P. Laning, became certified in volunteer administration by the Council for Certification in Volunteer Administration. The credential, which entitles Laning to use the initials "CVA" following his name, is the only one in the field that is recognized internationally.
“This was part of continuing education for me in the pursuit of bettering myself,” Laning said. “The RCCC benefits from me gaining the certification because it is validation that we are doing things the right way.”
The credential is awarded after a rigorous process that includes an extensive self-evaluation and preparation of a performance-based portfolio. A panel of professionals, who are certified in volunteer administration, judge the portfolio.
Laning said he became interested in pursuing the credential after he began searching online for credentials in volunteer administration and came across the CVA credential opportunity.
“There really aren’t too many [agencies] out there that do this [type of credential]. This is the only one I know if that is national,” Laning said.
In addition to the portfolio, Laning sat for a two-hour examination testing knowledge, application and analysis of skills related to volunteer resources management.
To garner the credential, Laning had to prove he has a clear philosophy of volunteer administration, pledge to work within the professional code of ethics and demonstrate their knowledge-in-use in the core competency areas of organizational management, human resources management, accountability, leadership and advocacy.
“I had to go through a lot of testing and write a series of papers similar to a thesis,” Laning said. “A big portion of the test was on professional ethics and how you treat your volunteers. I think it was about 25 percent of the
He completed the certification process in May after two years.
“It took me two years to complete because I had to find time to do it on top of working and volunteering full time,” Laning said.
By earning his certification, Laning joins a group of more than 1100 individuals who have attained this international credential as demonstration of their professional excellence in mobilizing and managing volunteers.
“This shows the community that we are in this for the long haul. We have been here since 2002 and we aren’t going anywhere,” Laning said. “This is going to open up doors for us because other organizations may now look to partner with us since this adds credibility to what we are doing. This is a big plus for us.”
“This was part of continuing education for me in the pursuit of bettering myself,” Laning said. “The RCCC benefits from me gaining the certification because it is validation that we are doing things the right way.”
The credential is awarded after a rigorous process that includes an extensive self-evaluation and preparation of a performance-based portfolio. A panel of professionals, who are certified in volunteer administration, judge the portfolio.
Laning said he became interested in pursuing the credential after he began searching online for credentials in volunteer administration and came across the CVA credential opportunity.
“There really aren’t too many [agencies] out there that do this [type of credential]. This is the only one I know if that is national,” Laning said.
In addition to the portfolio, Laning sat for a two-hour examination testing knowledge, application and analysis of skills related to volunteer resources management.
To garner the credential, Laning had to prove he has a clear philosophy of volunteer administration, pledge to work within the professional code of ethics and demonstrate their knowledge-in-use in the core competency areas of organizational management, human resources management, accountability, leadership and advocacy.
“I had to go through a lot of testing and write a series of papers similar to a thesis,” Laning said. “A big portion of the test was on professional ethics and how you treat your volunteers. I think it was about 25 percent of the
He completed the certification process in May after two years.
“It took me two years to complete because I had to find time to do it on top of working and volunteering full time,” Laning said.
By earning his certification, Laning joins a group of more than 1100 individuals who have attained this international credential as demonstration of their professional excellence in mobilizing and managing volunteers.
“This shows the community that we are in this for the long haul. We have been here since 2002 and we aren’t going anywhere,” Laning said. “This is going to open up doors for us because other organizations may now look to partner with us since this adds credibility to what we are doing. This is a big plus for us.”
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