The arrival of snow and the departure of Daylight Saving Time tell us that another “high season” of CAF tours has come to a close. Neighborhood tours are retired, the last cruises depart, and we resume the attenuated November – March daily schedule. However, the docent body is anything but in hibernation. In fact, we are gearing up for what will be one of the most crucial and intensive periods in our history: 10 core tours will be revised to accommodate the new CAC location; at the same time, the results of Project Fresh will be blended into a massive training program in which over 300 docents will participate.
In October, the Move Task Force proposed, and the Tour Committee then approved, revised routes for Masterworks, Must-See, the El, Treasures, Millennium Park, Hotel Boom, Chicago Modern, and Evolution of the Skyscraper. Two brand new versions of Historic Skyscrapers and Art Deco were also approved; their current routes will be preserved as Neighborhood Tours beginning in July. Food & Architecture and Tiffany will also become Neighborhood Tours. As noted, these changes will affect close to 300 docents.
At the same time, the Project Fresh team of docents and CAF staff presented their results from a market/audience research project designed to revivify our core walking tours. Docent chair of Fresh Lance Friedmann presented findings and suggestions to the Docent Council on November 7th, and they were unanimously endorsed. The Tour Committee has also reviewed and approved the findings, which will be presented to the other large standing committees during November.
The question you all must be asking is: how will all of this change affect my life as a docent at CAF? Answer: be sure to attend the Docent Day proceedings on Saturday, November 18th. Program chairs Judith Kaufman and Cindy Schneider have put together a day you will not want to miss: a visit from Paul Steinbrecher, architect and Miesian scholar who will talk about the building that will be our new home; CAF Interpretation guru Jen Masengarb will help us Meet the Neighbors; Lance Friedmann will present the recommendations from Project Fresh; Ellen Shubart and Mary Jo Hoag will talk about tour routes, training, certification, and the importance of remaining collaborative, calm, and civil (aka Core values) during all this change. You will also meet and have time to chat with John Pintozzi, Chairman of CAF’s Board of Trustees, and Erin Carlisle, who will work closely with docents as the Coordinator of Volunteer Engagement. Oh yes, and there is that little matter of electing six new members of Docent Council and a Docent-at-Large while we were at it. Here’s the kicker: almost 200 of us plan to attend. Way to go, docents!
Meanwhile, a big thanks to all of you who sloshed through OHC2017. Despite a record 4.59 inches of rain, attendance was almost on par with the record-breaking 2016 attendance. Given the weather, that is quite an achievement. Our colleagues on the VEV side continue to recruit and train new members of that corps, which has very ambitious recruitment goals as we gear up for transition to the CAC. The Education Guides have been very involved with events related to the Biennial such as guided tours, logging over 300 hours of service in the process. And finally, plans for our new home continue apace with space planning, exhibition space, and signage moving right along.
Continue to follow The Bridge for updates on all of these initiatives. And please join us November 18th. If you have last-minute plans to attend, please contact Caroline (now back from Hawai’i) right away. We want to ensure that everyone who wants to participate can do so.
See you at MCA on the 18th – Constance