This year’s annual meeting of the Friends of the Georgia Museum of Art looked a little bit more like an episode of “The Brady Bunch” than it ordinarily does, taking place on Zoom like much of the museum’s programming these days. Perhaps the most anticipated part of each year’s meeting is the announcement of the M. Smith Griffith Volunteer of the Year Award, known informally as “the Smitty.” This year’s Smitty went to Jean Petrovs, in recognition of her outstanding leadership and work for the museums’s community docent program, of which she has been a member since 1995.
Some of her nomination read:
There are many areas in which Jean contributes to the educational mission of the museum. First is the quality of the tours she leads for museum visitors. Jean is tireless in her dedication to providing engaging and enjoyable museum experiences for visitors of all ages. She is extremely knowledgeable about the museum’s collection and is always interested in learning more by attending countless lectures and exhibition tours each year. Jean uses her expertise to help visitors feel welcome and comfortable during her tours, sharing relevant information that is meaningful and accessible in response to the interests of her groups.She is also a fantastic leader, evidenced by the fact that she recently served for two years as President of the Community Docents. During her time as president Jean was more than reliable, she was enthusiastic and went above and beyond what was required of her. She continues to be a model docent, setting an excellent example for docents both new and old. If we could have many more docents just like her we would, in a heartbeat.Finally, 24 years of service makes her dedication to the community and museum clear, but her level of engagement also illustrates her commitment. She is always quick to respond when a tour group needs a guide, and we can always count on Jean to jump in to help out. We are confident that if we were to ask the students lucky enough to spend time in the galleries with Jean, every single one would say they had a meaningful learning experience because of her.Because of Jean, thousands of Athens-Clarke County students, and beyond, have had a memorable and enjoyable experience at an art museum but have also learned more about themselves and the world we live in. Teaching students to not only have an appreciation for works of art, but also value other perspectives and talk about them, are all skills that Jean nurtures on her tours. She is a pillar of the community at the museum, and beyond, and is so deserving of the Volunteer of the Year award.
Hear hear! Petrovs also served as this year’s chair of the Friends’ board’s nominating committee, which thanked Benjamin Brainard, Airee Edwards, Maggie Hancock, Anne Hathaway, Mike Landers and Tony Stringer for their service as they rolled off the board and nominated the following new board members, all of whom were approved by the vote of Friends + Contributing Members.
Deborah Gonzalez
Gonzalez is a frequent visitor to the museum and has promoted some of its events online. She has been a supporter of cultural arts in Athens for many years and previously served on the Athens Cultural Affairs Commission and Envision Athens’ CREATE Arts sub-committee. She is the former state representative for Athens-Clarke and Oconee counties for district 117. Gonzalez currently volunteers with FEAST (an ecumenical movement to feed families in East Athens through a partnership with the Food Bank of Northeast Georgia) and the Jeannette Rankin Foundation and has provided support to Family Connection-Communities in Schools of Athens, Books for Keeps, Athens-Oconee CASA, Athens Anti-Discrimination Movement and others. She wrote, “I believe the purpose of a museum is beyond the preservation of cultural artifacts, but should be a vibrant living reflection and discussion of our world and what is happening around us through the promotion, exhibition and presentation of art in unique, sensory experiences for the public at large and the surrounding community in specific.”
Jeffrey Goodwin
Goodwin is a past attendee of the museum’s Black History Month Awards Celebration and Dinner and says he is “a firm believer in the arts.” He is a field support supervisor in information technology at Piedmont Athens Regional and was previously a volunteer basketball coach in Clarke County’s Premiere League. Goodwin has a bachelor’s degree in marketing from South Carolina State University and a master’s degree in information technology management from Webster University.
Katharine Hable
Hable has lived in Athens for 2 1/2 years but has been involved here for 15 years. She and her sister, Susan Hable, own a furniture, textile and design firm that has been in Athens for 10 years. She says, “Athens holds a huge place in my heart and I am thrilled to be here and would love to serve my community in any way I can. Our company is based on original art and we are inspired by the iconic works of Gio Ponti (amazing exhibit last summer!) and cultivating any increase in the art world is a goal whether in the fine art world or in the commercial world.” Hable served on the board of Families First in Brooklyn; she currently serves on the board of Cine in Athens and will be working with the nonprofit Strong Girls Serve this year.
Christina LaFontaine
LaFontaine was an active member on the after-party/publicity committee for Elegant Salute 2019 and frequently attends museum functions. She is also a member of the worship committee at Watkinsville First Baptist Church and has headed special services there during Christmas for the last 10 years. She is a member of the Athens Master Chorale and a Junior League sustainer. She previously sat on the board of the Lyndon House Arts Foundation and worked with Community Connection on Taste of Athens.
Melissa Lee
Lee is a graduate of UGA’s Lamar Dodd School of Art and has been a supporter of the museum since 2015. She has a master’s degree in nonprofit arts communication and a “general love for museum outreach and education.” She previously served on the Athens Cultural Affairs Commission, helped coordinate and write the grant for downtown Athens’ NEA-funded Hot Corner mural project, coordinated the Southern Circuit Film Festival from 2017 to 2018, served as a Georgia 4-H Arts & Crafts project judge, volunteered at the American Alliance of Museums conference in Atlanta and was an artist assistant with Living Walls.
Julia Slatcher
Slatcher is new to Athens, but was was thrilled to learn that the official state art museum was located at UGA and has visited regularly, including bringing out of town guests to show off the museum. She has since joined the museum as a Friend + Contributing Member. She worked professionally for 12 years in international health nonprofits. She has years of service and volunteering in a wide variety of capacities in her children’s schools and previously worked with newly arrived refugees, providing interpretation for non-English speakers and needed transportation for appointments. She has a strong personal interest in art and cherishes her collection of family portraits and other art that date back almost two centuries. She even created a board game featuring 75 masterpieces so that her sons could get more out of the art they ended up seeing during the year they lived in Europe.
Welcome to all our new Friends board members! All Friends + Contributing Members are eligible to serve on the Friends board of directors. Nominations are due by January 31, 2021. If you are interested in serving or in nominating a Friend + Contributing Member please email jointhemuseum@uga.edu and request a nomination form.
Authored by:
Hillary Brown
