Appreciating Volunteers

Bob Pilkington & Fred Atkinson, in costume

Tomorrow, April 12, is once again our "Volunteer Appreciation" party, an annual rite of formally thanking our volunteers, all 100+ of them, for their service during the year. We count up the hours, issue certificates, offer recognition pins to those who pass certain milestones. In some years we award our highest honor, the Audrey Pilkington award, and we've also created some other awards for such accomplishments as surviving the "Most Unusual Visitor Experience", and the self-explanatory "Saves-the-Day" award. We eat, drink (open bar!) applaud, and go home.

Tobe Penny, Visitors Center volunteer

And then the next day, the volunteers show up again, and we carry on. But I hope that for that one evening, everybody does really recognize and understand just how much our volunteers ARE Locust Grove. We could not in any way do what we do without the participation of people who just want to be here to share their skills and their time.

Jeannie Vezeau, Gazette Editor & so much more

That's the magic of volunteers. They choose to be here, want to be here, give up other opportunities to be here. Some love the study of history, some love this neighborhood, some enjoy meeting people, some are big fans of George Rogers Clark, some love the opportunity to imagine for a few moment that it's 1811, not 2011.

The Hillbrechts: some whole families volunteer!

In our circles of community, we have our staff, Board, committees, our volunteers, our Friends members, and the people who come to participate in events and tours. It's not unusual for one individual to fit at once in all those categories (we even have staff/volunteers). We're always looking for more volunteers, and looking for ways to make it fun and worthwhile for those who choose to do so.

So, while it could be seen as just pro forma, Volunteer Appreciation  is anything but. We truly are grateful and lucky to have the people that we have, volunteering here at Locust Grove.