The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum relies on a team of volunteers to serve as tour guides, exhibit hosts, and Shipyard interpreters to enhance the guest experience through engaging and accurate conversations and activities.
Back in 2005, Lloyd Devigne was recently relocated to Easton, Md., and looking for a way to get engaged with his new community. A newspaper article about volunteer training at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum caught his eye.
More than 10,000 volunteer hours later, Devigne is part of the fabric of CBMM and a leader within the team of volunteers that shares the Chesapeake story with guests throughout the year.
“The maritime history of the Chesapeake Bay is a fascinating one,” Devigne said. “Sharing the stories of the peoples that have lived here and the artifacts and exhibits at CBMM is personally rewarding to me and a lot of fun. And meeting new people and enjoying the camaraderie of the Volunteer Team is an added bonus.”
CBMM is looking for newcomers to join Devigne in the vital role of volunteer interpreter with a busy 2025 season ahead. These volunteers serve as tour guides, exhibit hosts, and Shipyard interpreters to enhance the guest experience through engaging and accurate conversations and activities.
Prospective volunteers are invited to a Volunteer Interpreter Info Session on Saturday, Jan. 25, at 10am in the Van Lennep Auditorium. Light refreshments will be served, and a brief campus tour will be offered afterward. Registration is encouraged but not required. Learn more at cbmm.org/
Over the coming weeks, CBMM will host a series of trainings for its interpreters highlighting CBMM’s mission and all that its waterfront campus has to offer, including sessions on Working with Guests, Chesapeake Explorations, and Shipyard Interpretation as well as tour-specific training.
The benefits of volunteering at CBMM can include free programming, festival entry, and branded gear, early access to new tours and exhibitions, continuing education opportunities, social events, and more.
No experience is necessary, but an enthusiasm for the Chesapeake’s history, environment, and culture and sharing it is essential.
“We are excited to add to our passionate and talented team of volunteer interpreters,” Vice President of Education & Interpretation Jill Ferris said. “These volunteers are key to sharing stories and making connections across our campus to help guests to have a meaningful and personalized experience. We encourage anyone who might be interested to come out and learn more about the opportunities available and the training we provide to get you started.”
At the info session, participants will meet current volunteer interpreters like Tom Dalrymple, who has been a part of the team for seven years.
One of Dalrymple’s favorite parts of the role is the opportunity to continue learning. There’s so much to explore at CBMM with an 18-acre campus filled with historic structures and purpose-built exhibition buildings, a floating fleet of traditional Chesapeake watercraft maintained by a working Shipyard, and a collection spanning more than 80,000 objects.
He takes pride in his ever-growing mental rolodex of fun facts and interesting anecdotes that bring the Chesapeake story to life for guests of all ages from across the region and often far beyond.
“Quite simply, I love the Chesapeake Bay,” Dalrymple said. “As a CBMM interpreter, I can share something I love with guests, and whether they are visiting to learn, explore, reflect, or simply to enjoy being here, that makes me happy.”
Lead Interpreter Bill Hough said the joy of the role is rooted in the people. He’s met thousands of them at CBMM over the past 15 years, from the CBMM staff who lead the program to the like-minded community of volunteers who have become his friends to the many guests he’s led on tours while sharing Bay history and convivial conversation.
With spring on the horizon and dozens of tours and interpretive opportunities on the schedule, Hough is excited for a new group of volunteers to join the team and get to experience all that makes CBMM special.
“The fine folks at CBMM have given me a whole new challenge in retirement,” Hough said. “There’s always something new and exciting going on, and what a blast it is sharing the knowledge I have with people from all over the world!”
CBMM offers volunteer opportunities across its campus spanning every department to complement and enhance the work of its professional staff. To learn more about all the roles available, visit cbmm.org/volunteer, where prospective volunteers can complete an online application to get started. For questions and further information, contact [email protected].
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