Meet Gift Shop Volunteer Nancy Norton

April 21-27 is National Volunteer Week, and to celebrate that, we would like to introduce you to one of our volunteers. This is the first in a series of posts about our volunteers and why the General Lew Wallace Study & Museum is important to them.

We couldn't run the museum without help from all our volunteers. From running the gift shop to giving tours to working in the gardens, our volunteers keep us going!

Meet Nancy Norton, who has volunteered with us for four and a half years. Nancy runs our gift shop and keeps an eye on our inventory. She keeps everything well-organized and beautifully decorated. She is also a smiling face many of our visitors will recognize, as she is often here to greet visitors and start their tour off with a video. She also does paperwork and keeps an eye on local newspapers for mentions of the Study and our members.

Nancy lives in Darlington, Indiana, with her husband, who is retired. She has a son living in Darlington and a daughter in Speedway, and enjoys spending time with her step-grandchildren. She and her friends are involved in the American Legion Auxiliary--Nancy serves as an officer.

She enjoys shopping and going to flea markets. Some of her other hobbies are reading, decorating, organizing, and doing yard work.

Nancy enjoys working at the TASTE of Montgomery County every summer. She loves seeing visitors browsing in our gift shop. She says she thinks Lew Wallace is a fascinating person and learns something new about him every time she's volunteering.

Be sure to stop in and tell Nancy how great the gift shop looks!

Lew's Crew Looking for More

WANTED: Additions to the National Medal-winning team

With a Volunteer Round Up set for Thursday, February 12, from 5:30 - 6:30 p.m., we're welcoming new members to Lew's Crew. There are plenty of positions open, especially in visitor services. Visitor services volunteers greet visitors, sell gift shop items, and give tours. Other positions include grounds work, office assistance, and preparing and executing special events like the Lew Wallace Youth Academy, exhibit openings, and the Taste of Montgomery County.

I asked current volunteer John Wooten what he would say about his volunteer experience here, and he gave an enthusiastic response: “I’ve volunteered here for three years, but it’s definitely not work. I love showing off the Study and telling Lew’s story. I get to use my human resources background and meet a lot of different people.”

Lew’s Crew members commit to three-hour shifts one to four times per month. Museum staff members work with volunteers to schedule shifts and positions that are mutually beneficial. An orientation course is scheduled for later this month, and refresher training will be offered periodically.

Next week's Volunteer Round Up is rescheduled from an earlier event that was snowed out. The publicity from that first date, though, has already prompted several volunteers to join the team. For more information, contact me, Amanda Wesselmann, at the Museum: 765-362-5769 or awesselmann@ben-hur.com