by Ellen Shubart, Class of 2006
Here’s a quick look at what happened at Tuesday night’s Docent Council meeting…
Having difficulty signing up for tours? Afraid you may not be able to get enough tours to fulfill your requirements? Frankly, you are not alone. But Caroline Duda, CAC Director of Volunteer Services reassured Docent Council that the issues are among her priorities and, hopefully, will be resolved soon.
Some of the difficulty in signing up may come from the number of calendars that have to be opened manually, more than a dozen at one time. Caroline will have more staff on hand for the next sign-up day in April to try to alleviate that problem. Other difficulties may be the result of CAC using older Volunteer Matters software. Caroline said CAC will be evaluating whether it is time to explore an update if that might help. In short, the staff is working to solve these problems, and docents should see some improvements coming, but a little patience is needed right now.
Caroline also responded to docents concerned whether they will be able to sign up for enough tours to fulfill their yearly requirements. She reported that there is only a very small group (primarily Frank Lloyd Wright docents) who may have that problem. For the rest of the docent body, there are enough tours for everyone to give 3 to 4 per tour, leading to fulfilling requirements. Another analysis will be made in July, to see where everyone stands regarding tour numbers. Caroline will follow up with those who are at risk of falling short of their requirements. For the rest of us, don’t worry; more tours will be opening up as the center expands hours in April. Keep in mind that getting tours often means signing up for a few late afternoon or Sunday tours.
In other action Tuesday night, Enrichment Committee co-chair Marcia Ross reported on activities, including the upcoming April trip to New Orleans and plans for future visits. But she cautioned that planning for docent building tours cannot continue until CAC has firmed up Open House Chicago locations. This means that visiting buildings for docent hard-hat tours will not be possible until July or beyond.
CAC Vice President of Operations Michael Malak reported that tickets are now on sale for all tours between now and March 2024. You can find the calendar in Volunteer Matters and starting now, buy tickets for whenever your friends and family are planning to visit.
Michael also announced that beginning with the new season, a $15 upgrade ticket will be available on the River Cruise, giving the purchaser the option of early boarding. It is thought that groups looking to sit together will be most likely to purchase such tickets, as well as people who see lines of 200 people and want to cut the line. The upgrade will also include admission to CAC, which will aid in CAC’s goal of increasing the number of river cruise tourists taking in the Center’s exhibitions.
Constance Rajala, Docent at Large reported that docent Lisa Pickell has been invited to join the Board of Trustees. Congratulations, Lisa!
The rest of the meeting was spent discussing and reviewing the goals of the Council as well as all of its committees. Docent Council President Ross Wirth will discuss that further in his Letter to Docents, which will be posted on The Bridge next week. The minutes of Docent Council also will be posted within 10 days, once they are approved by the Council.