By Emily Clott, Class of 2012
Docents who give weekend tours have no doubt encountered the smiling face of Sharon McDaniel at the Guest Services desk. Sharon, one of our newer volunteers, came on board in September, 2019. A lifelong Chicagoan, Sharon attended Aquinas High School and the Barbizon Modeling School. She took part in the Miss Illinois USA pageant and is trained in yoga, ballet, and modern dance.
Sharon has worked full time at the American Hospital Association for 25 years, currently as a Technical Resource Information Coordinator. When not at work, Sharon was the primary caregiver for her mother, who died in February, 2019 at the age of 98. Having devoted all of her free time to her mother’s care, Sharon hadn’t been able to pursue other interests and social opportunities. And now she had time on her hands. A friend who belongs to the CAC recommended that Sharon check out the Center, just a few blocks from Sharon’s home, a place where she might volunteer. Sharon has found it a powerful way to meet people while being of service. She especially enjoys meeting foreign visitors hearing from them about how they view our city.
Sharon loves distributing the GTS listening devices and explaining how to adjust them. Any docent trying to get out the door on time with a large group of tourees that is struggling with devices is lucky to have a helpful, caring volunteer like Sharon on hand to sort things out.
Having found CAC, Sharon is looking forward to taking as many tours as possible, and perhaps learning other volunteer roles down the road. We look forward to interacting with Sharon, along with all the volunteers, docents, and staff, when the strange days of spring 2020 are in the rearview mirror.