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04/25/2018 08:30 AMLooking for a great way to share your hometown with others? Whether you’ve lived in Guilford all your life or have only recently arrived, you have the right stuff to volunteer as a greeter at the Guilford Information Kiosk—just ask kiosk co-chair Marcia Safirstein.
While the purpose of the kiosk is to help others explore Guilford’s historic, cultural, and natural resources, “you don’t have to know everything there is to know about Guilford to volunteer as a greeter,” says Marcia.
“When people come to town, mostly what they need is orientation [and] we have maps and brochures to help them in the kiosk,” she says. “All we really ask is that if a person comes to the window, you greet them with a smile!”
Marcia says the tremendous pride so many residents have for this town always comes through in the greeters, especially as they begin to learn more about Guilford during the time they help staff the kiosk.
“Everything from the past through the present gives you a sense of who you are living in this community,” says Marcia. “People feel deeply about living here and appreciate all of the organizations that are involved in trying to help support its citizens, its history, its culture. So there is a deep-rooted caring that permeates through the population. This is a small town, but its pride goes beyond its borders. Its tremendous.”
The kiosk stands beside Guilford Community Center at 32 Church Street, crowning the street-side Guilford Information Plaza. The plaza and kiosk was fostered by Guilford Preservation Alliance (GPA) with “tremendous” leadership from president Shirley Girioni, says Marcia. GPA also curates online visitors’ information through visitguilfordct.com.
Together with past co-chair Tracy Tomaselli, Marcia volunteered as the first greeters inside the kiosk when it was established in 2015. Tomaselli still has a hand in the kiosk, but is now off and running with other visitor and resident programs being developed through GPA to help to promote all aspects of Guilford’s history.
“Tracy is the machine that keeps us going,” says Marcia. “Her resources are endless, and her energy is amazing.”
This season, Marcia and new co-chair Allison Alkire, a key member of the kiosk team for years, are working together to gather greeters and keep the kiosk running smoothly.
“We’re having a short orientation in May for previous and new greeters, so everyone gets to meet each other, and we try to exchange ideas to see how we can improve the kiosk. It’s an ongoing process,” says Marcia.
Marcia always shares with greeters that she loves to see guests walk away with some of the kiosk’s colorful brochures, maps, and other take-aways in hand. The brochures and other items, including may supported with help from local merchants, restaurants, and organizations, help get people over to that perfect historic museum, hiking trail, big event, dining experience, shopping adventure, recreational experience, or seaside visit.
“Some people will walk out with six or seven things that are pertinent to them. It’s really amazing to see,” says Marcia. “Even people who live in Guilford can find things that are pertinent to residents or things they didn’t know about their town.”
Just in time for Memorial Day Weekend, the kiosk opens for the season on Thursday, May 24. Volunteers are being welcomed and organized right now for seasonal three-hour shifts of 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. or 1 to 4 p.m. Thursday to Monday (Sunday hours are 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.) The comfortable kiosk is equipped with wi-fi and greeters are welcome to bring along their laptops, tablets, or phones, which they’re free to tap into during downtime. Greeters are organized on a rotating schedule, so that guests will find a friendly face behind the window during greeting hours Thursday through Monday through Labor Day, Sept. 3.
The kiosk is also the launching point for seasonal free, one-hour historic walking tours offered through GPA on Saturdays at 11 a.m. Volunteers are also needed to help guide the walking tours, with all the information they need to impart provided by Tomaselli, says Marcia. Tomaselli also offers private tours, on request.
“Tracy has developed a script and is always willing to mentor a new volunteer,” says Marcia, adding the tours dovetail with another important aspect of the kiosk: sharing the culture that makes up Guilford’s history.
“The history goes from the 1600s right up to today,” says Marcia. “That continuum is so important. People live here, or they come to the community, and they realize it’s a New England town and they love the green, but they don’t understand what it really is and how much history there is in Guilford. So that is what we like to impart to people.”
All year-round, visitors have access to the kiosk’s interactive information board, a prominent, free-standing electronic display screen linked in to information through www.visitguilfordct.com.
“People can just go up to the board and plan an itinerary based on their interests. If you’re interested in architecture, if you’re interested in history, or parks or recreation...you can just focus on the aspects of the town you want to explore,” says Marcia. “We also have an events button on there that tells you about different things going on in town.”
The board is also linked to the Guilford Free Library for additional event information and carries news supplied by other organizations in town about programs and events on the horizon.
“We really try to give a full global view of what Guilford is, and try to make it easier not only for people who live here, but especially for people who come to visit,” says Marcia.
A particularly global view of Guilford will soon be on permanent display at the kiosk: a newly developed, oversized Guilford visitation map that gives a great overview of all the sites people are commonly seeking out. Tomaselli and Marcia saw a need for just such a map early on, and they thank Girioni for helping to make it materialize this year.
“One thing we found the town was lacking was an orientation map that shows where things are. When you go online, it’s all in little sections,” says Marcia. “Now, you will have a bigger view of what the town looks like and have an instant orientation to help you find where you want to explore, like finding the shoreline or all of the different preserves and trails. And each one of those trails on the display map will have a number over it, and that number will correspond to different trail maps we have in the kiosk. So you can come and tell us your number, and we can hand you the trail maps that correspond.”
The display map will also show Guilford locales such as where schools, playgrounds, and parks and recreation sites are located, as well as other typical areas anyone new to town might like take into consideration.
“One of our most favorite stories is one woman and her husband who came by and inquired about the community, and had a great conversation with one of our fabulous greeters, and took away one of our little real estate cards. Well, not that day, but a little later, she went to that realtor—and now, they live in Guilford,” says Marcia. “It all ties into making this a more human place to live.”
Those interested in becoming a greeter, should email Marcia Safirstein at safirstein1428@gmail.com Allison Alkire at allisonalkire@comcast.net, or Tracy Tomaselli at tomasellitracy@sbcglobal.net.