Blog

As we think forward to July 4th and the historical documents associated with it, Docent Council (DC) is finishing up a rewriting/recrafting of docents’ foundation document, The Articles of Operation for the Docent Council. These articles were originally drawn up as part of the Foundation (Center) bylaws, so – uniquely – the docent body was present at the creation of our parent body.

The eleven Articles define the Council and its powers, define the categories for docent membership, specify the number and election procedures for DC representatives, and allow for the creation of committees both standing and temporary.

These Articles were originally approved by both the Docent Council and the Board of Trustees and any amendments must also pass both bodies. Various reforms and updates over the past few years awakened in the current Docent Council the fact that our Articles needed re-evaluation to make them more flexible and relevant – for instance, there was a good deal of information in there about paper ballots. The idea is to craft a document both timely and timeless that will not need much, if any, amending in the future.

The committee tasked with this job completed its work this spring, and at the June DC meeting a working draft was approved. Per the current Articles:

These Articles may be amended by an affirmative vote of two-thirds of all Docent Council members and upon approval by the Board of Trustees. A notice of the time, date, and place of the meeting and a copy of the text of the amendment shall be provided to all active docents prior to the date when Council acts on the amendment.

Within the next week or so, a copy of the revised Articles of Operation will be made available on The Bridge for your review. Docent Council will vote on its adoption at the July 2nd meeting and, assuming its approval, will be presented to the Board of Trustees at their meeting in September. We thank Kent Foutty, Bill Lipsman, Michael Weiland and Dick Clark for their thoughtful and meticulous work on this important project and hope that their supply of powdered wigs and quill pens did not suffer too much through their travails.

Few of us have probably ever read the Articles or may not even know they exist. What we all know much better is the docent Handbook. Incoming classes are made aware of what it is and how to find it, and material on The Bridge often makes reference to it. It has not been updated since DC passed several significant initiatives: the institution of term limits for DC committee chairs, the outright ban on accepting tips, and the acceptance of specific criteria for becoming a Docent Emerita/us. That situation has also been rectified and a new version of the Handbook, incorporating these (and other) changes is also coming soon.

However, work done in the past year that affects policies and procedures has only been the tip of the iceberg. Our physical move into a destination and the concomitant changes in Core Tours have affected much of what we do. Changes in the docent body – how we give tours, get information, fulfill our obligations – all require new perspectives. This need dovetails nicely with the final “To Do” list that emerged from the Long-Range Planning Committee, which has been operating under the leadership of Bobbi Pinkert.

As a result of one committee ending and new needs arising, DC approved the creation of a new group that will spend the rest of this calendar year evaluating and examining all aspects of docent life – from what to do about challenging weather, tour hour requirements, and other specifics – to the more amorphous but equally important considerations about the Quality of Life for docents and our colleagues among the other volunteer and staff ranks.

That committee, as yet unnamed, will be forming and sitting down to work in the next weeks. If you have suggestions about issues they might consider, or if you want to contribute to their work, please email me (cr*****@st**************.com) and I will see that it gets to the right people. This is a wonderful chance to let us know what you are most concerned about.

I wish you all a wonderful, safe summer.
Constance