As I mentioned in my previous blog post, a calling tree or phone tree is used by groups that want to share emergency alerts or other news to members of their group.

For my last blog post of the year, let me share with you an interesting collection of diverse uses of calling trees; some are manual, some are automated and at least one call tree uses email:

• 49ers' Game Plan: Change. San Francisco players learn they have a new head coach.

• Hoarding Task Force. Lee County Hoarding Task Force to utilize phone tree.

• Neighborhood Watch. Neighborhood Watch goes digital.

• Filling Sandbags. High school students and families get the call to fill sandbags.

• Fireguards. Families on the alert for bushfires.

• Bird Watchers. Alerted by a phone tree, some bird watchers flocked to Colorado to see a rare pink seagull. As I recall from the original article (CBS 4 Denver), the species in question is normally found in Ukraine.

Happy New Year!