On Nov. 18, last Saturday, 200 docents – half the docent body!! – attended a day-long docent Seminar Day. Jen Masengarb’s introduced our new neighbors – the Wrigley Building, the Equitable Building and the Tribune Tower. They also heard about our new home, 111 E. Wacker Drive, and an enlightening discussion of the building’s history and whether it is correct to call this a Mies-designed structure.
Ellen Shubart presented instructions about the new tours that will leave from the CAC – Chicago Architecture Center – and how to become certified to give tours. CAF will need many docents to give these many new tours. Between now and June 2018, more than 300 docents will be retrained/refreshed to give CAF’s new 10 core tours. At the same time, docents will be trained/refreshed using Project Fresh recommendations.
Tuesday Nov. 21, all docents received a questionnaire to select which tours they want to re-learn and which dates are best for them.
The questionnaire is due Dec. 1 – The Move Task Force cannot guarantee any spots for docents after that date. If you missed the email, the link to the survey is here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/BFH5XJ7.
Picking dates is a commitment – docents who sign up are saying they will be giving tours next year, from the CAC after July 1. Docents currently certified for core tours will be given opportunity to re-certify for those same tours. Training options allow for vacations, snowbirds and training for more than one tour. The Move Task Force is committed to give docents their choices – to the best of the group’s ability and docent availability.
If docents cannot find available dates, they cannot be re-certified for the tours (for now). If there are fewer certified docents eager for training the task force MAY open up training to those not certified for these tours.
A docent certified for (the existing) Historic Skyscraper, Masterworks, Chicago Modern, Evolution of the Skyscraper and/or Art Deco, is eligible to learn a new tour. That will require 2 days of training and certification by your peers/TD. Three dates options have been set for Historic docents, with two dates options for the other tours.
A docent certified for Treasures, Must-See Chicago, Elevated Architecture (“L”) Hotel Boom, Millennium Park or those certifying for the new half-day neighborhood tours: Tiffany, Food and Architecture, Old Historic and La Salle Deco will be required to sign up for a Refresher Day. Refresher days can be full- or half-day sessions depending on the tour. Attendance at refresher day(s) equals certification for that tour. Refresher Day training includes learning about the new routes, Project Fresh principles, and how to give a neighborhood tour (stickers, money, records, etc.)
A few other points to consider:
- There is no limit on how many tours you select; how much time and energy you have is something only you can decide.
- Some docents will be learning new tours early in 2018 even though CAF doesn’t move until midsummer 2018 . We have to start now because of the sheer numbers of docents to be trained.
- Please remember that if you only select the old Historic and/or the La Salle St. Deco, those tours will be going out less frequently. You should not rely on just those departures to fulfill your 10-tour requirement. You are encouraged to learn another tour.