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Dear Docents,

Each month, as I sit down to pen this letter, I reflect on the important things that are happening in the docent community.  There are so many choices this month:  The arrival of the new CAC President, the completion of a very successful tour season, the recent tour director’s meeting, the election of new docent council members, the creation of a 50-person 2023 docent class……the list goes on and on.  But today, I would like to take a moment, in this letter, to say goodbye.

I guess “goodbye” is a bit too dramatic….too final.  I am not actually leaving the docent program or CAC.  But, as described in our rules, a docent council member can serve six consecutive years on docent council and three consecutive years as docent council president.  This month, I have reached both of those limits.

For those of you who joined us for Docent Day last month, I mentioned this in my remarks. But I wanted to make sure that ALL of you heard my thanks for your support and encouragement over the last six, and primarily the last three, years.  No one could have foreseen how my tenure would line up with the COVID pandemic.  My first Docent Council meeting as president was January, 2020.  We had a February meeting in-person, and since then only one in-person meeting.  Zoom is our friend, I guess.  It has allowed council members who are immuno-comprised (or caring for someone who is) to participate.  To be honest, it has allowed many vacationing council members to participate as well.  Zoom is a good tool, but it cannot replace the need for us to connect face-to=face.  I know that going forward (fingers-crossed), our meetings will take place more in-person than not.

Finishing a stint like this, it is impossible not to reflect on the experience.  One thinks about what to take pride in and what to lament did not get done.  I am proud to have served on the search committee to hire our new leader, Eleanor Gorski.  I am very confident in her leadership abilities and that she is the right person to lead the CAC.  I am proud to have helped to hold the CAC together through such a tumultuous time.  Our survival was not guaranteed during this horrible pandemic, but we did what was necessary to come out even stronger on the other side.  And I am proud to have helped create the current DEIA committee on which I will continue to serve as we work through all things related to inclusion issues.

Regrets?  Yes.  I had some ideas I would have liked to implement.  Sadly, most of those were never even discussed, as we spent most of our time trying to simply react and survive rather than plan and grow.   It is bittersweet to leave, but I know the 2023 Docent Council is ready to move forward and do more than just react to a health crisis!

I will miss writing my monthly letter to you.  It is a happy task I will pass on to the new president who will be elected at the January Docent Council meeting.  It has been an honor and a pleasure to represent you all and to lead our organization through a difficult time.  Docents continue to learn and grow from all our experiences, and the past three years threw us a challenge that we handled, I believe, quite well.

So, instead of good-bye, let me just say…..I hope to see you soon!

Be good, be safe and enjoy 2023!

Kent

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