We Had a Great 2016 Docent Mixer!

On Sunday January 31st, the docents of the Alameda Museum met for a training and luncheon at the museum with the Board of Directors. The luncheon, catered by Juanita’s on Park Street, was a wonderful opportunity for everyone to get to know each other better and connect. Twenty-eight volunteers were present, some of whom who have been volunteering at the museum for over 20 years, and some of whom are new to our community!

The President of the Board of Directors, Dennis Evanosky, and Vice President, Adam Gillitt, led the meeting. Adam walked the docents through the nuts and bolts of opening and closing the museum and took questions on protocols and procedures. During lunch, Dennis discussed a number of topics, including how to get the Alameda community more involved in the museum and our events, including the Park and Webster Street Fairs, Estate Sales, and the Art and Antiques Faire on the Naval Base.

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There have been a lot of new developments and activities at the museum, which we briefed our volunteers on. Alameda Museum is now part of the Online Archive of California and we are currently working on getting our collection updated and online with them. The Museum is also hoping to reach out to local schools to talk to students and get them involved with local history and the museum. Another new development for the museum is that our President has been pursuing a grant from the State of California to help modernize our archives and facilities, which we are all very excited about. We are especially grateful for the assistance of former board member, Chuck Millar, for his help diagramming the building.

Our Vice President has started a new project of recording oral histories of Alameda residents, and we are looking for volunteers to share their stories on video. We are looking for anyone from age 2 to 102, lifelong residents, former inhabitants and new transplants, to share stories they have about our beloved Alameda. It will take about an hour of your time and we can meet at the museum or a location of your choice. Please contact him at [email protected].

The Alameda Museum runs off the generous contributions of our volunteers and community members, and we are always looking volunteers to docent, help with special projects, and to join the museum’s Board of Director. We LOVE our volunteers, so if you are interested, please contact [email protected] and let us know how you’d like to help.

Right now, we especially need a new Docent Coordinator. We would be happy to have one person step up, or for two people to share the responsibilities. The Docent Coordinator is the point person for our docents, and their responsibilities would include recruiting docents, finding replacements when a shift needs to be covered, maintaining the docent contact list and calendar, and liaising with the Board of Directors.

Keep your eyes peeled for upcoming docent events, including our annual docent luncheon, which will be happening in April, and a later meeting about our City’s history.

By Olivia Bauman. Photo by Valerie Turpen.