New technologies

Four new technologies have been introduced to GRS this summer to make life a bit easier for congregants and to improve efficiency in GRS administration. Two of them will be visible to congregants; two are behind the scenes.

The first is on-line registration for events. In fact, if you'd like to register right now for the GRS Welcome Back BBQ on Sept 7, click right here:   https://adobeformscentral.com/?f=tH90P6fJWW-vTFpJQ5HGDQ . The online registration can be accessed from your computer, your IPad, or your IPhone.                                  

Second is an online payment system, a convenient way to handle fees for those events that require them. (The BBQ does not.) This system will be introduced over the next few weeks. We'll try it out for events, but eventually, we anticipate it will enable payment of all fees (dues, tuition, even contributions) by credit card on-line

You have probably heard about the Congregational Life Task Force, which is putting together an extensive calendar of events for this year, some designed for families, some for children, some for teens, some just for adults. On-line registration and payment are here to make it easier for you to attend all that interest you.

Behind the scenes, GRS is now utilizing scanning technology to store documents on "the cloud." Saves space, saves packing up documents to move them, and makes it more efficient to find something when it is needed.

Finally, a fairly simple web-based project management tool has been introduced. It has been most useful for projects where there are "to-do" lists involving multiple people, like preparing the Religious and Hebrew Schools for a successful year. The project management software helps ensure that tasks are anticipated, assigned to someone to handle them, and facilitates communication among staff members and volunteers so everyone knows what has been done and what remains to do.

And, as is the way of the world these days, these technologies are both powerful and incredibly inexpensive.

As always, please email any questions or comments to me at robertdbirnbaum@gmail.com.