Telfair docents travel the globe

When Laurie Milano and Katharine Marshall both enrolled in the Telfair docent training program in Fall 2015, learning about the museum’s art and history was just the start of a world of experiences.

“It was wonderful that Katharine and I met during our docent training class. While we live in the same community we had never met one another. We soon realized that we both love to travel and so the adventures began!” Laurie says.

Since then the two docents have traveled together to Southeast Asia and the Middle East. Among their experiences:

• Celebrating Chinese New Year in Hong Kong
• Receiving a Buddhist “blessing of the flowers” ceremony in Cambodia
• Climbing through the ancient temples at Angkor in Siem Reap
• Sailing through the fog in a luxury junk boat in Ha Long Bay, Vietnam
• Praying at the Western Wall in Old City Jerusalem
• Trekking to Petra, Jordan, one of the “New Seven Wonders of the World”

Along the way, they encountered some ties to Telfair. In Jerusalem, Yad Vashem, the stunning World Holocaust Remembrance Center, was designed by Moshe Safdie, Jepson Center’s architect. And in Tel Aviv, a side trip to the city’s Museum of Art led to a patron’s noteworthy collection of French impressionist and post-impressionist art.

Back in the United States, you’ll regularly find Laurie leading a tour at the Telfair Academy. Katharine often leads adult daily and group tours at Jepson Center.

“We’re both curious people who like to keep learning,” Katharine says. “It was serendipity that we met at Telfair. The combination of Telfair volunteer work and global travel has made our retirement really special.”