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“As soon as someone is identified as an unsung hero, (s)he no longer is.”

-George Carlin

As National Volunteer Month (if you are an avid reader of The Bridge, you are aware of that as an actual thing) comes to a close, this is an appropriate time to say thank you to the many CAC staff members who provide training and support to our Volunteers.  And to express special appreciation to one person in particular…

That unsung hero is Caroline Duda, our Director of Volunteer Engagement.

Every CAC volunteer has some interaction with Caroline, via recruiting, training, events, or online contacts.  I have the good fortune of being able to observe Caroline in action not just through my Exhibit Host “day job” but through our partnership in shepherding the Volunteer Steering Committee.

As Caroline approaches her fifth anniversary with the CAC, here’s a glimpse behind the curtain at just some of the many roles she performs so well on behalf of the Volunteers…

-Acting as our primary liaison connecting the Volunteers to the CAC staff.  If you have a question, suggestion, or important feedback from a guest, Caroline is your point of contact.  Having said that, please do so judiciously (more on that below).

-Setting up and maintaining the Volunteer Matters system that works flawlessly in herding so many cats.

-Leading the recruiting of new Volunteers…thanks to her efforts there are now over 300 of us and her goal is to add 120 newbies to our ranks in 2019.

-Facilitating and leading Exhibit Host and Guest Services training programs in collaboration with Adam Rubin and Angela Esposito

-Managing the recognition and rewards benefit programs honoring Volunteers for their service.

-Personally organizing virtually all the details for our annual Volunteer Appreciation Night.  Caroline politely declines all attempts by Volunteers to pitch in on this, stating her view that the event is about the CAC thanking their Volunteers, not the Volunteers saluting themselves.

-Playing an active role in executing the logistics of Docent Council meetings, Docent Council training, and Docent Appreciation Night.

-Being the one person in the room who can solve the IT and AV intricacies inside the CAC meeting spaces.  If nothing else, this will guarantee her a job for life.

-And, perhaps most importantly, always being incredibly energetic and eternally cheerful in the face of the many demands on her time.  I will wager that Caroline is the lone person who knows the name of each and every CAC volunteer.

She somehow manages to do all this while commuting back and forth to St. Charles every day in addition to scaling climbing walls and running marathons in her spare time.  You would swear there must be two of her (for the record, she does have a twin sister…).

To express our appreciation to Caroline, here are three suggestions…

1-Attend Volunteer Appreciation Night. Caroline puts an immense amount of effort into this event, so the least we can do is show up.  Trust me, you will enjoy the evening.  This year’s festivities will likely be in August or September to celebrate one full year in the new CAC.

2-Work one extra Volunteer shift this month.  Caroline does all she does so the Volunteers can focus on serving our guests.  So let’s all do that.

3-In the coming months, let’s all be especially respectful of the demands on her time.  As we’ve bid farewell to Erin Carlisle, Caroline will literally be doing double duty during our busiest season of the year.  Think twice before you hit send on an email with a trivial request.  (Note: that suggestion comes from me, not from Caroline, as she would never say no to a Volunteer.)

On behalf of all the CAC Volunteers, thank you, Caroline.

Cheers, Bob