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05/11/2015 11:04 AMOn Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from May to October, both tourists and residents can head find volunteers manning the Madison Visitor Center (MVC) While Betty White, who coordinates the volunteers, is proud of the fact that the MVC has been fully staffed for the past two years, she noted they are always looking for more volunteers.
“I really pride myself on the consistency of the coverage because it means a lot to the town that there’s always someone there,” said White. “That makes me very happy.”
Shifts at the MVC, which is located in the Madison Chamber of Commerce office on School Street, are 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. or 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. White puts together a calendar of available shifts that is emailed and mailed out to more than 30 active volunteers who can then sign up for coverage.
“Some people do it once a season, some more regularly,” said White. “You don’t have to be committed to every week. You can just pick randomly what works best for you.”
White noted that most people that volunteer return because they enjoy interacting with the visitors. So far for the 2015 season, she already has four new volunteers. While there is no formal training, White greets each new volunteer to show them the ropes. In addition to volunteers from the community, groups from both SARAH and Vista takes shifts volunteering.
“It’s very mellow and just a matter of liking people contact and enjoying speaking with people,” said White. “Under Carol Handy, Vista has been coming for years and they love when people come in and talking to people.
The MVC has a map of the town of Madison, as well as a dining section full of updated menus from local restaurants and information on local accommodations. There is also a guestbook for visitors to sign where they note their name, the date, where they are from, and a comment section.
“We offer local information that keeps people in our town and wanting to come back to our town,” said White. “The comments in the log are endless, saying, ‘Thank you for being here’ or ‘We love your town.’ It’s all pretty nifty.”
Right now, White and the volunteers at the MVC are in the process of updating last year’s materials and working on the 2015 volunteer schedule. She encourages new volunteers to join them.
“I’m a traveler and I love a visitor center ¬– usually the person greeting you is polite, knowledgeable, and offers a lot of local information,” said White. “But you don’t have to feel as if you don’t know enough. We can always find out information for people. Some people come into the Visitor Center for a brief stop, but come up with more things they didn’t realize were around after visiting and our volunteers feel rewarded to be able to help.”
For more information or to volunteer, contact Betty White at 203-245-7795.