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Initial Setup and Spreadsheet Upload The tutorial begins with instructions for setting up high holiday honors in Shalom Cloud. In the first year, users must provide a spreadsheet containing details such as honor name, description, page number, ending page number (if applicable), start time, and service name. This spreadsheet is uploaded to Shalom Cloud. In subsequent years, users can copy previous data and make necessary changes for new or discontinued honors.
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Honor Status Configuration Users are guided to configure honor statuses, which may include accepted, declined, offered, accepted in-person, and accepted virtual. The offered status is essential, especially for virtual honors, which were more common during the Covid era.
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Assigning Honors to Individuals Under the maintenance section, users can create and assign honors. Honors can be assigned by searching for individuals (e.g., Mark Fisher, Paula Kornberg, Preston Kornberg, Lionel Davis) using partial last names and filtering criteria such as active adults or excluding those already assigned. Multiple people can be assigned to a single honor, often for prayer readings. The status can be set to accepted in-person or offered, depending on whether the recipient has confirmed acceptance.
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Communicating Honor Offers Shalom Cloud allows users to query and communicate with individuals who have been offered honors. Users can filter by service (e.g., Rosh Hashanah day one, day two, Kol Nidre), page number, or recipient name. Email templates, such as the “Aliyah offer,” are provided and can be customized. The system warns if a recipient lacks an email address, prompting users to send a hard copy or call. Emails are personalized with honor details, date, time, and prayer book page.
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Managing Responses and Honor History After responses are collected, users update honor statuses (e.g., Mark Fisher accepted, Melissa Evans declined). The system maintains a history of honors by year, enabling users to review past assignments for individuals. Accepted honors are removed from the offered list upon status update.
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Sending Reminders Before Holidays As holidays approach (e.g., a week before Rosh Hashanah), users can send reminders to those who have accepted honors. The reminder email template is used, and emails are personalized with relevant information. The process ensures recipients are reminded of their upcoming honors.
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Email Templates and Customization Shalom Cloud supplies default email templates (“Aliyah offer” and “Aliyah reminder”) that can be customized with organizational logos and language. Key phrases in curly braces are automatically filled with honor-specific data. Templates can be used for both email and hard copy communications.
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System Benefits and Support The tutorial highlights the benefit of tracking honor history across years and provides guidance for ongoing management. Users are encouraged to contact Shalom Cloud support for further assistance in setting up and managing high holiday honors.