We're making a few changes around the office in the next few days...

On Thursday or Friday our new 'net connection is coming in, we're getting some real address space, and we're adding more office space to go with it. At the same time, our phone numbers are being transferred to a new provider, and we're getting a brand-spanking-new phone system to go with it. It will be a thing of beauty having both our central and geographically-dispersed staff on a common system, real voicemail, and even an automated attendant (you'll always get a human voice first, though, if there's a warm body in the office.)

That's the plan, and the best laid plans of mice are wont to go sideways, especially during the transition phase. If you notice any oddities or delays in getting hold of us, please send us e-mails. (The changeovers of the in-office networking does not affect our e-mail and web hosting providers.)

We look forward to serving you better than ever in 2009!

We're hard at work in Boise.

The latest newsletter is out. It's got an interview from Dale Smith, our 2009 travel schedule (so far), and other fun things.

We've released a maintenance update for GMS 5.6, version 5.6.2.4. It includes the census certification fields for 2009 through 2011, plus some minor fixes. For your 2008 PDS census reports, there's an update to SO Utilities as well.

It's that time of year again - off to travel the world. In this case it's almost local: Bill and Michael will be traveling to Boise, Idaho to support the Special Olympics World Winter Games from February fifth through the 14th. VSys One support will be on its normal schedule, but GMS support during this time will be on an as-available basis as we help the good folks in Boise manage their games using GMS.

While the website here has been quiet, we've been hard at work. VSys One version 1.5 should be finished sometime in mid-January - testing has already begun!

Speaking of testing, say hello to our newest staff member, Gene Greger. His primary charge is software QA, and he's been beating on VSys with hammers and crowbars large and small; version 1.5 should be a thing of even more beauty than usual. He also implemented our new incident tracking system - support e-mails will now get an automated response to let you know we've received them, followed by a real response from a human being. This new setup will allow us to coordinate support among our growing staff, helping us to ensuring quality.

We're continuing to hit the conferences right through November:

• October 2 Power in Partnerships, Binghamton University Downtown Center, Binghamton, New York
• October 6 VAHAV Annual Conference, Koger Center, Richmond, VA
• October 15 AFHAV 2008 Annual Vendor Trade Show, Peabody Orlando Hotel Orlando, Florida
• October 16 Annual Conference--Central Chapter of Directors of Volunteer Services in Healthcare, Camelback Ski Area (PA)
• November 5-6 MHA Annual Convention & Trade Show, Tan-Tar-A Resort Osage beach, MO

And check out the latest news - our latest newsletter and 10th anniversary press release.

It's been six months to the day since the last major update, and this one is a doozy:

• Kiosk mode
• Recurring assignments
• Job/slot visual calendar tool with drag & drop
• Global jobs, slots and assignments
• Seasonal addresses
• Relative dates
• Reports, etc. can now be filtered on certification field values and on missed assignments
• All-new training module
• Bulk entrant value update tool
• New reports: delegation summaries, memberships, training, entrant photo, and more
• Reporting tools: always shows list of available reports, and built-in reports can now be made into defaults
• Custom application forms: required fields, availability checkboxes, HTML fields, new layout options
• Interactive File Importer: import jobs, job groups and locations
• New certifications/background checks: Reference Check and Volunteer Medical
• Mail merges can now be based on trainings, mandates, certifications and lists
• Security rights to people can now be applied by delegation/role (within a project) and group/type (globally)

This update is available immediately for all registered users via manual download here, along with the updated manual. We'll make it available via auto-update within the next 2-3 days

And for our GMS users, make sure that you upgrade to the latest version of GMS, 5.6.2.2. Download it here. It has some minor updates which are required for VSys One compatibility.

We're scheduled to be at the Volunteer WV Faces of Leadership Conference in Charleston WV July 14-17, and the Association for Healthcare Volunteer Resource Professionals (AHVRP) conference in Anaheim September 3-6. Come see us!

We commissioned a case study on Special Olympics New York, one of our earlier VSys One customers, to see how they've integrated VSys into their organization and how it's helped them. Check it out!

VSys One version 1.2 is out!

In addition to the many dozens of small updates, this release adds support for VSys Web - an online tool that lets your volunteers register over the web. You design the custom application forms, enter your news items and descriptions, and we do the rest (you don't even need your own web server). You can see a demo of VSys Web here.

What else?

• Automatic online updates
• Captures even more data about your volunteer including their employment information
• Enhancements to the E-mail Robot and Bad Email Handler
• Filtering of volunteers by state and county
• Membership reports
• Enhanced project management

Get the latest versions of VSys and its user manual here.

We've released GMS 5.6.2.0, a maintenance release for GMS 5.6. Get it here.

We've released the latest update to VSys One, version 1.1.0.0. This adds the VSys Security Manager, a great tool for limiting what individual users have access to within VSys, plus a complete rollup of all of the earlier features and dozens of smaller changes and updates.

(Updated 12 June 2007)
The VSys One User Manual is updated and ready for download in all its 294 pages of glory. All of VSys's features are covered, along with explanations and pictures on the where, when and why. Get it while it's hot.

GMS 5.6.1.3 is online, with some new language updates (French), updated name parsing logic, and a number of bug fixes. Get it in the usual place. (This replaces 5.6.1.2.)

We've started production on a series of helpful videos. First up: VSys One installation. Standalone installation and NexusDB Server client, get 'em while they're hot.

It's done, and we're very proud. Proud and relieved. Proud, relieved, and thinking that we should sign up for a nice vacation someplace warm and sunny.

For information about VSys One, including a guided tour, sample reports, and a complete list of features, please visit its dedicated website at www.VSysOne.com

For those folks who have licensed or agreed to license VSys One, your Welcome Kits should be in the mail this week with the installer, your serial numbers, license, and the installation instructions. If you want it earlier, let us know and we'll e-mail you your serial numbers and get you started right away.

Note that for folks who are planning on integrating GMS and VSys One together, you need to upgrade to GMS 5.6.1.1. If you already have GMS 5 installed, download Just executables 5.6.1.1 and use it to overwrite your existing executables.

Thank you for all of your support and patience during VSys' development, and for all of your great input. That said, development is never done. We've got plans for new features and updates, and I look forward to getting your ideas on things you'd like to see VSys do, and any ways that we can make it better for you.

-The entire Bespoke development, support, and marketing crew.