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Dear Docents,

Breaking traditions is hard. Traditions create expectations, and when are not met, people are unhappy.  I am reminded of this, having just celebrated the 4^th of July.  Our family had a long tradition of hosting a July 4^th party at our Evanston home.  We would attend the July 4^th parade, host first a dozen and, in later years dozens, of people at our house for a cook-out, then head to the lakefront for fireworks.  At first it was fun, but as the years went by, it became an exhausting chore.  We couldn’t stop because people EXPECTED us to do it!  At a Christmas party one year, people were saying how much they were looking forward to our July 4^th party!  We finally broke the tradition by spending the holiday on vacation for multiple years in a row, resulting in disappointment among our friends.

To avoid disappointment when expectations are not met, one of two things can occur.  Either the “provider” has let down the “user,” or the “user” should have lowered expectations.

Docents have come to expect a certain level of attention from CAC staff, particularly the operations staff.  About 50% of the staff was let go during the pandemic—good and valuable people.  Those who remained were forced into multiple roles, worked harder for less money, and kept the organization afloat.

I am proud to say that docents, too, really stepped up during the pandemic.  We contributed money more significantly than usual, and we offered our services to pitch in and help.  One great example of this:  docents now lead the competitive balance analysis that keeps tabs on our competitors.  But it is difficult for docents to do a staff job.  We are committed volunteers, but life takes us away from Chicago and the CAC.  And the time to train a docent to do a “job” can be significant, and then training the newly hired employees results in duplication of effort.

And yes, new people are beginning to be hired in development, marketing, box office, and more!

I guess what I am asking from all docents is extreme patience.  And though I think I promised NOT to talk about core values this month, one of our values is to be “patient and considerate when dealing with others.”  Though things feel “back to normal”, I want to emphasize the CAC is months away from normalcy. Vaccinated docents can throw aside our masks and resume “normal” life.  But, of course, the CAC cannot immediately hire, train, and restore years of institutional knowledge in new staff members.  So let’s all be patient, respectful, and help in any way we can to get the CAC fully up-and-running as we head toward 2022.

Next week I will visit old friends in Evanston.  I guarantee you the old July 4^th party, which we have not held since 2008, will come up in conversation.  I am certain these friends will discuss the ice cream pies my wife made for these parties.  We have  not made them since the July 4^th party tradition ended.  Even though they were delicious, it is too stressful to revisit the memories of cleaning up the yard until 1 am!

I hope you are all enjoying summer!

Kent.