THANK YOU FAC DOCENTS!
In gratitude to the Fine Arts Center distinguished docents whose combined service of over 500 years demonstrates a commitment to the tradition of yesterday and helps inspire the vision of tomorrow.
Docent History
The history of the docent program is almost as storied as that of the Fine Arts Center itself. Originally a branch of the Member’s Volunteer Association, the Docent Program became a stand-alone entity in 1951 when the Fine Arts Center director, Mitchell Wilder, recruited selected volunteers to become “Guide Girls,” leading tours through a stunning exhibition of Northwest Coast Art. Fresh off their first successful touring efforts, Peggy Marshall and Edna Jane Sprague, were inspired to spearhead an effort to transform the original “Guide Girls” into the “Lecturers” who, through a monumental collective effort, eventually became the museum’s beloved “Docents.”
In its earliest iteration, the Docent Program was a loosely organized band of dedicated volunteers interested in bringing free art tours and a sense of fraternity to the Fine Arts Center. As their aims and endeavors began to diverge from those of the Member’s Volunteer Association, a friendly schism was proposed as a means of promoting education and receiving funding from the museum. In 1976 the Docent Program officially split from the Member’s Volunteer Association. Since that time, the Docents have played an active role in keeping touring alive in the museum as a robust and standalone volunteer group.
From its onset, the Docent Program has been at the forefront of countless initiatives throughout the Fine Arts Center. Notably, they championed the creation of the Tactile Gallery, the Gifted and Talented Program in the 80’s, Off the Wall, and tours such as Exploration of Southwest Art and The Poet’s Muse. Beyond giving tours to all ages, the Docent Program has also been a strong proponent of personal and intellectual engagement, providing short and long trips attendance at the National Docent Symposium. Always aiming to promote a love of art and learning, the Docents’ legacy is indelibly woven into the fabric of the Fine Arts Center.
References: Crouch, Lois and Phemi Demmin. The First Thirty-Five Years: A brief History of the Members’ Volunteer Association of the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center. Colorado Springs: Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, 1990. Koepp, Vera. Knowing, Loving and Sharing Art: A History of the Docents 1951-1986. El Paso County: Production Printing, 1990.
Docent Appreciation Luncheon
Docents
Sue Abourezk
Susan Adams
Peter Adasek
Anna Ahern
Karen Allegar
Sarah Altonen
David Alvarez
Mary Andrews
Alice Aronovitz
Lillian Atkinson
Donna Aycock
Caitlin Bahr
Faye Baker
Laurie Baker
Jacqueline Barr
Kim Bass
Beth Ann Bassein
Linda Batkin
Anne Baumgartner
Carol Bell
Pat Bell
Sheila Bell
Mary Beltz
Karen Belyea
Carol Benfort
Edwina Bennett
Leslie Bergstrom
Shirley Biemesderfer
Diane Billingsley
Betty Bishop
Will Bishop
Ann Blackmun
Doris Bliss
Ken Boardman
Sarah Boardman
Cate Boddington
Robin Boggs
Valerie Bond
Judith Bowers
Anne Bradley
Barbara Bradley
Gary Bradley
Dottie Braman
Marcia Brazil
Sherri Bristol
Harriet Brooks
Barbara Broshous
Lee Brown
Ginger Browne
Pamela Bruni
Bunny Bryant
Emily Bull
Lola Bungeroth
Marilyn Bunker
Joan Bunney
Mary Ellen Burciago
Judith Burdick
Ann Burek
Betty Burgess
Dorothy Campbell
Judith Cardin
Mary Carlone
Erika Carlson
Jan Carlson Edick
Michelle Carrica
Alina Carriss
Nancy Carroll
Judith Casey
Pat Cassity
Lois Cavollo
Gloria Chapman
Cynthia Chartier-Cohn
Linda Chase
Candy Chernak
Betty Clay
Judy Coady
Rita Coakley
Carolyn Cochran
Johanne Coiner
Susan Coley
Carol Comer
Pat Conner
Vern Conner
Anne Connolly
Judy Conroy
Jack Cooley
Beth Coons
Vera Cooper
Cindy Crater
Jeanne Crawford
Marjorie Cress
Ilene Cullen
Patterson Cummings
Sandra Damm
Thomiana Davis
Virginia Dawson
Louise DeBernay
Georgie DeBerry
Elaine Derbenwick
Sharon DeVaney
Michelle Devilbiss
Eunice Diaz
Pat Dixon
Ann Donald
Marjo Donner
Ann Donovan
Cindy Donovan
Hedy DuCharme
Doris Duckworth
David Duguid
Cindy Duke
Cinda Dunn
Eric Dyer
Maryelln Ebarp
Susan Edgar
Cirel Egelman
Conni Eggers
Anne Eller
Kathy Elser
Tena Engelman
Carolyn Erdle
Arla Ertz
Carol Ettenger
Becky Farley
Joann Felice
Cherry Fenczik
Gini Fincher
DiAne Fischer
Joanna Fischer
Jean Fisher
Lesley Flaks
Janet Flander
Janice Floyd
Jackie Fry
Jan Fryman
Nancy Garzoli
Maida Gasparik
Pat Geonetta
Gerrie Gerdes
Creta Gerhart
Diane Gidley
Sandy Goddard
Elaine Godsoe
Betty Golder
Jane Gorab
Sharon Grady
Patsy Graham
Sue Grant
Wendy Gray
Will Green
Elsie Greensher
Betty Griner
Robin Grove
Barbara Gugenheim
Christine Hall
Marlene Hallenback
Susan Hamilton
Sue Hanson
Sharon Hare
Carol Harper
Grace Harris
Kathleen Hartman
Juanee Harvey
Renee Hathcoat
Marsha Hawk
Jeanne Hayes
Victoria Heim
Sheila Hewlett
Carol Hickok
Pam Hinton
Judy Hjelkrem
Katherine Hoffer
Joy Hoffman
Mary Hoffman
Myrene Hoge
Marilyn Holliday
Pat Holst
Smith Holt
Jean Horseman
Dorathy Houser
Patricia Hudson
Debbie Humphrey
Rachel Hunt
Jane Irwin
Christine Jackson
Paul James
Beatrice Jefferson
Shirley Jenkins
Lou Ann Johnson
Penny Johnson
Connie Kearney
Kathy Keene
Jacqueline Keller
May Kelly
Meg Kendall
Debbie Kessler
Shirley Killeen
Bonnie King
Vicky Kipp
Mary Kirk
Bonnie Kittel
Janet Knox
Mitzi Knox
Kathy Koehn
Vera Koepp
Sandy Kozlowski
Maureen Kral
Beth Krasovec
Judy Kriss
Debra Kumm
Judy Larson
Barbara Laura
Dorothy Lavick
Susan LaVoo
Cindy Leatherman
Bruce Leeson
Elaine Levesque
Barbara Litchfield
Connie Loevy
Cary Loewen
Georgia Loftus
Catherine Lowis
Sheelah Lund
Kate Lunn
Bernice Lyon
Peggy Lyons
Betty Mahon
Christa Mahoney
Jo Maki
Dawn Maloney
Sandra Mann
Suzy Marold
Pat Marsh
Margaret J. Marshall
Peggy Marshall
Cathleen Martin
Maxine Martin
Verni Martz
Eloise Marvel
Mary Mashburn
Susan Massie
Suzanne Matonek
Cynthia Mavros
Sallie Maxwell
Michael Mayberry
Carol Mazzola
Sharlyn McClure
Sheila McElroy
Audrey McGuire
Cindy McMahon
Faye McQueen
Vivian McWhorter
Patty Messer
Don Metz
Sharol Metzler
Marlene Mihelich
Brenda Miller
Robert Mollo
Claudia Moore
June Moore
Barbara Moorman
Pat Moothart
Sandy Morgan
Pari Morse
Thomas Mou
Judy Mullen
Leonard Myers
Shirley Neidiger
Sue Neufeld
Helen Newell
Milton Newell
Jean Nicks
Sylvia Nolte
Ann Noonan
Susana Novembre
Kristen Nunez
Mattie O
Alice Ann Ochs
Kathy Olson
Doris Ordahl
Ruth Osata
Martha Parsons
Bell Pat
Shirley Pearsall
Stuart PeckHam
Margaret Pedersen
Cynthia Pesek
Alice Phibbs
Kristin Phillips
Cynthia Pisor Zapel
Joan Pollard
Yvonne Polumbaum
Barbara Potter
Priscilla Potter
Susie Potterat
Linda Poznanovic
Gwen Pratt
Pat Price
Cheryl Prichard
Joan Provost
Ann Pruitt
Kathleen Quinlivan
Gail Ralston
Betty Rasmussen
Connie Rector
Donna Reese
Emily Reeves
Eileen Reilly
Linda Reinhardt
Norm Renaud
Jean Reynolds
Sharon Rice
Judith Rice-Jones
Carol Riggleman
Bonnie Ritch
Joyce Robinson
Melissa Robohn
Edward Rochette
Mary Kay Rockwell
Barbara Roeming
Mary Lou Roesler
Leslie Roman
Janie Rose
Linda Rosenthal
Susan Sacks
Anna Santistevan
Fran Schaffer
Judy Schaneman
Lynda Schedler
Sharon Schriner
Mary Schroeder
Bonnie Schwaller
Catherine Schweitzer
Judy Sellers
Ann Seybold
Janine Sheehy
Jan Sherwood
Linda Shroeter
Elsie Sills
Mimi Simmons
Gail Skinner
Jane Smith
Karen Smith
Marlene Smith
Sylvester Smith
Judith Snouwaert
Ruth Lynne Snow
Vivette Soderlund
Connie Solomon
Jurhee Speer-Stanton
Joanne Spiars
Jeaneen Stadjuhar
Helen Starks
Joanne Steeves
Wayne Stegman
Barbara Steiner
Sharon Stell
Bette Straeb
Sarah Strathman
Betsy Stringer
Janet Strouss
Lois Stump
Barbara Sullivan
Jo Supperstein
Dorothy Sutton
Margery Tadder
Elaine Tarplay
Marian Taylor
Pat Teas
Betsy Thomas
Juanita Thomas
Valerie Thompson
Dolly Tiffin
Betty Trotter
Susanne Truax
Robert Tuggle
Betty Turnbaugh
Mary Kay Turner
Maureen Tuttle
Emily Ulrich
Lois Valentine
Bre VanDenBerghe
Caren Voeller
Lorelei Vollmar
Caroline Vulgamore
Harry Vulgamore
Irene Wackernagel
Joan Wall
Sue Wallace
Jane Warren
Frances Washburn
Frances Weaver
Jan Webster
Gwen Weinert
Kris Wells
Phyllis Wells
Kitty West
Lynne Whaley
Lynn Whitacre
Kathy Whitehorn
Dodi Whitelaw
Veronique Whitney
Mikki Wicks
Horacine Williams
Jane Williams
Janet Williams
Mary Beth Williams
Nancy Winter
Anna Wood
Isabella Woolley
Jeri Yeagley
Irene Yohn
Jan Zellmer
Cindi Zenkert-Strange