USS Midway Museum's 20th Anniversary Series: Volunteer Department

Welcome back to Midway's 20th-anniversary blog series, where we highlight a specific Museum department every month, looking back at the department’s early days and the developments it has experienced over the last 20 years.

Today, our second article in this series dives into the creation of Midway's Volunteer Department.

The USS Midway Museum concept had been developed by volunteers for nearly a dozen years before the U.S. Navy granted the fledgling San Diego Aircraft Carrier Association with Midway.  Their faith and dedicated efforts were handsomely rewarded when the museum debuted in June 2004.

Since the public opening, the Midway volunteer tradition expanded enormously under the visionary leadership of former museum president and CEO Mac McLaughlin, who made it an institutional priority to make volunteers welcome and a key component in all aspects of the museum’s operations.

This reality makes the volunteer department unique in that its members work within every other department on the ship, not merely as auxiliaries but as advisors, leaders, and contributors who each bring decades of collective life experience from a remarkably wide swathe of professions.  This extensive fusion of volunteers with the museum’s paid staff has produced a mighty alloy that has propelled Midway to the top of public attractions over the past 20 years.

The active volunteer roster exceeds 800 men and women who devote more than 21,000 hours each month to a variety of activities on board, including safety and security, aircraft and ship restoration, administration and library services, community outreach, speakers’ bureau, exhibit fabrication, education, guest services, and Midway’s world-famous docent corps.

Volunteers represent the museum to our community with outreach programs and contribute financially with the proceeds from the lucrative knot-tying project.  Such a sprawling operation requires constant attention and care, and the museum volunteers have been graced by the steadfast leadership of Laurie Switzer, Midway’s longest-continuously serving department head, who joined the Midway team in July 2004.

Coming from an extensive background in museums and historic sites, Laurie and her husband Robert decided to shift to San Diego from the Northeast for a change of pace and climate in 2004.  Just weeks into her new work in Balboa Park, Laurie learned of an opportunity with the newly-opened USS Midway Museum. Upon reporting aboard, she found her work was cut out for her as the museum was an instant success with the public, and the demand for more support staffing was urgent.

Thanks to Mac’s supportive policy, recruiting and retaining volunteers was critical; however, systematizing and bringing orderliness to the program was challenging. An important element was implementing a method to recognize individual achievement, particularly in the amassing of volunteer hours.  Laurie soon enacted a formalized routine of having hours logged and a steady accounting of who was active and who needed to be dropped from the roster.

Additionally, a reward and recognition program to celebrate volunteer achievement became the central feature of the end-of-month “All Hands” meetings on the hangar deck, where individuals who attained specific hourly milestones are honored.  An annual volunteer recognition dinner is also held on the flight deck to honor all the volunteers for their combined efforts.  Beginning as a simple hot dogs and potato chips affair in 2004, it is now a major soiree with hundreds in attendance, highlighted by the announcement of the Volunteer of the Year Award honoree.

Not long after volunteerism made its mark on the Midway, ventures with outside organizations took shape.  A Cultural Volunteer Managers Council arose in 2005 to provide an association for the volunteer programs found among local museums. Today, a robust group projects program as well as partnerships with the San Diego Community College District, the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program, and local schools for Project S.A.V.E. enhance Midway’s relationships throughout the San Diego community. Midway’s all-volunteer speaker’s bureau presents at more than 100 community organizations, schools, and corporate entities in San Diego County annually and speaks virtually with associations as far away as Hawaii and Minnesota.

A sterling reputation for appreciating and caring for its volunteers ensures that the museum will continue to be enriched by the gifts of new volunteers.  As Midway embarks on her third decade as a top public attraction under the new leadership of retired Navy Rear Adm. Terry Kraft, the continuity of Laurie Switzer, and the dedicated team of volunteers, volunteers will keep the solid tradition of service and success alive as they perform their unique roles while “living the adventure, and honoring the legend.”