Dodona Manor Volunteer Resources

Other Info & Contacts

This page contains links, contacts and other information for volunteers that are useful in carrying out your volunteer obligations and furthering the understanding of George C. Marshall International Center.

LINKS:

Docent Signup Sheet

George C. Marshal International Center Website

George C. Marshall Foundation Website

Garden & Grounds Tour - Self Guided Tour

Architecture Tour - Self Guided Tour

Art Tour – Pending

Tom Bower House Tour 

Current Tour Video

George Marshall and The American Century Video

New Tour Video – Pending

CONTACTS (Email Links):

Lead Docent – Bill Brooks

GCMIC Executive Director – Valerie Beaudoin

George C. Marshall Awards Gala - Buzz Baker

Camp Marshall - Buzz Baker

Any Other Questions - Buzz Baker

OTHER INFORMATION (Click Link):

Notices

Docent Advisory Committee

Garden Volunteers

Garden & Grounds Tour- Docent Guided Tour

Middle School Program

Book Club

Foreign Policy Forum

NOTICES

FEBRUARY 23, 2026 - Public tour operations resume this coming Friday, the 27th. Please sign up to fill all docent and greeter positions for the weekend.

Docent Advisory Committee (DAC)

Ref: DAC Charter Adopted by Board of Directors on 09/18/2021 — Click to View PDF

Purpose: Docent Advisory Committee (DAC) is designated and appointed by the Board as necessary to advise and assist the Executive Director in the performance of its duties:

•Screen, indoctrinate and train new docents as well as conduct recurrent education for all docents.

•Collect and disseminate to docents “Best Practices” and other museum operations lessons learned.

•Solicit and respond to docent recommendations, queries and concerns.

•As appropriate, periodically advise the GCMIC Executive Director and Board regarding docent activities, recommendations, queries and concerns as well as other docent related information requested by the Center’s leadership.

•Execute house activities as directed by the Executive Director.

Description: The DAC shall consist of a chairperson designated by the GCMIC Board and no less than two or more than six additional members. Some DAC members may, on a one-time or ongoing basis, be assigned additional responsibilities by the committee chairperson. At a minimum, one DAC member shall be assigned on an ongoing basis as the Director of Docent Training.

Roster: Click to Send Email

Bill Brooks (Chairperson)

Marty Marks (Director of Docent Training)

Rick Berry

Richard Rhoades (Docent Rep Real Estate Committee)

Bob Holcomb (Docent Librarian)

Alexi Von Keszycki

Bob Pohtos

Latest DAC Meeting Minutes: March 12, 2026 – Click to View PDF

All docents are welcomed to attend DAC meetings. The DAC usually meets monthly every 2nd Thursday at 10am in the Haub Room at the Marshall House.

Garden Volunteers

Contact - Casey Koester - Garden volunteers at Dodona Manor play a crucial role in maintaining and enhancing the beauty of the gardens. They assist in various tasks such as planting, weeding, watering, pruning, and general garden maintenance. Garden volunteers also help with seasonal tasks like mulching, composting, and preparing the gardens for events and visitors. Their efforts contribute to the overall preservation of Dodona Manor's historic gardens.

Grounds and Garden Tour - Docent Lead

Contact - Silas Matteson (Click to Email)

For the tour map (Click Link) and script (Click Link) for docents to use in conducting a grounds and garden tour.

The tours are seasonal, commencing in the spring and ending in the fall. They are scheduled at 11 am each Saturday. Note, tickets for the tours must be bought online in advance of Saturday. If a tour is not pre-booked, it will not be conducted on Saturday. Ticket prices are the same as a house tour. The tours are conducted by designated docents.

If designated docents are unavailable, the staff will notify all docents by email that a tour has been requested, and a volunteer is required to lead the tour aided by the map and script. These tours are listed in the Public Tours portion of the Marshall Center Docent Schedule. Then someone can sign up to conduct the tour.

Volunteers interested in becoming a designate docent contact Silas Matteson.

Middle School Program

Contact - Mike Cash (Click to email).

One of the outreach missions of the George C. Marshall International Center (GCMIC) is to partner with teachers in the Loudoun County Public School 7th grade (middle school) history classes. Generally, April-May each year GCMIC docents provide middle schoolers an instructive, interactive presentation on George C. Marshall, focused on his impact on WW II and the European Recovery Plan.

Attached is the typical class outline, taking up the full class period of approximately 75 minutes. (Click to view Outline)

Attached is the typical chronological template for the 75-minute 7th grade class presentation. (Click to view Template)

Docents will receive an email early in the new year with a schedule of schools, dates and times in which to sign up as instructors.

Book Club

CONTACT - Bill Clifford - Online Zoom meeting on the first Wednesday of every month, 12-1pm. The group discusses an assigned book. The Loudoun County Public Library purchases paperback books chosen and leaves them at the Information Desk at Rust Library for participants to pick up and drop off. Admission is free and rsvp is not required.

Foreign Policy Forum

CONTACT - Stephen Eisenbraun - Online Zoom meeting on the third Thursday of every month, 12-1pm. A guest discusses some relevant Foreign policy topic. The participants can ask questions and discuss.

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