Press Releases
 

Tede Johnson, who has more than 12,000 volunteer hours at the Virginia Living Museum, has been named 2010 Volunteer of the Year by the American Association for Museum Volunteers.

Association President Lois Kuter said Johnson’s 22 years of service and 12,000 hours “shows exceptional commitment to the Virginia Living Museum. But, we were most impressed by her innovative spirit and ability to lead your museum in new directions as well as by her engagement in a wide variety of supportive roles – from learning to handle live animals in storytelling and creating a monarch butterfly exhibit, to organizing successful fundraisers and creating artwork for the museum.”

Johnson is the first recipient of what will become an annual award.

“We are so fortunate to have Tede in our VLM family,” said VLM Executive Director Page Hayhurst. “Many visitors know her and look for her and the Great Horned Owl, one of her favorite animals to interpret, when they visit. Her expertise and artistic talent have had an incredible impact on our mission to connect people to nature.”

“Volunteering at the Virginia Living Museum has given me a real sense of purpose,” said Johnson, an 81-year-old retired teacher who lives in Newport News. “It helps me live up to my motto, which is … ’I want to die young – as late in life as possible!’”

“I consider it an incredible honor to be the one chosen for this national award out of all the museums in the country,” Johnson said. “The Virginia Living Museum has given me the opportunity to do the things I love to do.”

In addition to being an exhibit interpreter, Johnson conducts a story time on the third Saturday of every month, decorates a holiday tree with hand-painted ornaments of the museum’s animals; started the museum’s monarch butterfly exhibit 20 years ago; counts and wraps loose coins donated to the museum; represents the museum at festivals and fairs, and chaired the Volunteer Fundraising Committee that raised $100,000 for the museum’s building that opened in 2004.

The American Association for Museum Volunteers is America’s only national association dedicated to paid and unpaid museum staff who work together. It represents more than one million volunteers in all categories of museums.

The Virginia Living Museum is a private non-profit museum and education center dedicated to connecting people to nature through educational experiences that promote conservation.

The museum is located at 524 J. Clyde Morris Blvd., Newport News, I64, exit 258A.

Call 757-595-1900 or visit www.thevlm.org.

-30-