Day in the Life: Karen Campolieto
October 17, 2016 / By Karen Campolieto, Administrative Assistant for Communications, New Faith Communities, and Vital Congregations
Well, it’s fall, and the main goal of my work between now and as soon as I can get all the information together, is to publish the Upper New York Conference Journal. My first step is to gather all the database information for the directory, clergy names, churches, and attending laity to Conference. This can take many weeks, as I must first wait until July 1st to begin gathering the information due to new appointments. Once the directory is finished, I will begin to assemble all the parts of the journal that pertain to the business of the UNY Conference, which is no easy task. Hours of editing and formatting come into play for each section that’s included. When all information has come together, I will upload the entire file to Lulu.com for purchase. My work actually begins before Annual Conference, usually in February, by publishing Vol. I of the Journal, or what was formerly called the Pre-Conference booklet. It’s a really big job, but a labor of love that I enjoy working on and seeing the finished product at publishing time.
Between working on the Conference Journal, I am the supporting liaison for Vital Congregations and the New Faith Communities District. I am responsible for creating registrations for upcoming events, such as Leadership Academy, Illuminating Preaching, Tending the Fire and any New Faith Community events that are held throughout the year. There are many other tasks to be done for each of these ministries, such as registration coordination, accounting reconciliation, new appointment sheets, travel, event arrangements and a weekly newsletter.
On the creative side, my other main responsibility every week is assembling the Weekly Digest. Working along with the Communications Team, I combine all the edited news stories into what we eventually send out to the Conference. Notes for events, announcements, death notices, etc., all come from me. It’s a collaborative effort between the entire Communications team, but I end up sending them out through Constant Contact. I really enjoy the creativeness of assembling the Weekly Digest, as I get to use graphics, and pictures and can usually find and learn something new about the process almost every time and I get the news of the Conference firsthand. It can get confusing sometimes trying to gather all the correct information, checking to be sure names, dates and general information is correct, but hopefully, it’s keeping us all connected.
I really enjoy speaking with and serving the local church. I do get calls and inquiries about many things such as forms, address changes, Advocate delivery, notices that need to be sent, and classified ads. It’s a rewarding experience to help the many ministries and answer questions for people that need help.
The tasks mentioned above are only a few of the many that I’m responsible for. After twenty-one years working for the United Methodist Church, I’ve held many positions within the Conference(s) and have enjoyed all the work and people that I come in contact with and really enjoy helping the local churches with their ministries in any small way that I can. I’ve learned and grown so much and cherish the opportunity to continue to meet and serve so many people and churches within our connection. I’m looking forward to new “adventures” as we relocate to the new building in Clay when we can finally all be on one floor, and reconnect, so to speak with our co-workers.
Click here to learn more about all the staff members within the Commmunications Ministry Area and their specific responsibilities.