Volunteer Spotlight: Ruth, Education Department

Greetings fellow volunteers, staff, train crew, and visitors,

I would like to introduce myself. My name is Ruth Hummel, and I am a volunteer in the Education Department at the SRM. I will be shining a spotlight on different volunteers each month as a way to introduce our dazzling volunteers who make the SRM a hot-spot destination to visit.

As my first assignment, I decided to write a little about myself. I have been a volunteer at the Southeastern Railway Museum for about 10 years. I first visited the museum with my two sons on a home school field trip. Exploring all the trains and displays during our tour sparked my interest in the museum. My younger son and I decided to sign up to be volunteers. During the last several years I have volunteered in the Education Department as a tour guide, a 2nd Thursday preschool program conductor, and a summer day camp leader. Volunteering in the Education Department has been very rewarding. It helps having a talented coordinator like James Polihronakis to make working at the museum a delightful experience.

I’d also like to share some personal highlights. I also have been a volunteer with the Scouting program in various roles for many years. My other interests include reading mysteries, playing board games, and of course, baking pies and cookies. I love baking pies and cookies for volunteers who have birthdays and happen to be at the museum during our 2nd Thursday preschool program.

I hope this has been an enlightening blurb about me. Now you know that if you spot me with a cellphone for pictures, notepad, and pen in hand coming your way, you can either shed some light about yourself or run in the opposite direction and hide in the shadows (we hope you won’t!). I leave you with a quote from Edith Wharton: “There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.”

Ruth Hummel – volunteer editor

Photo: Ruth Hummel and James Polihronakis, Education Coordinator posing for National Museum Selfie Day

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