We offer year-round and seasonal volunteer opportunities in these areas:
Gardens & Grounds
Gardens
An exciting opportunity in garden archaeology! Help us restore Selma Steele’s formal garden from the 1910s-1920s to its former glory. Contact Grounds Supervisor Anthony Joslin about the many projects planned for this year.
Trails
Maintain and make improvements to the site’s five hiking trails, originally developed by the Steeles!
Programs & Events
Event Planning
Assist with art projects, logistics, photography, publicity and other aspects of event planning and special programs. Email us to get involved.
Tour Guides
Learn the history of the site and present tours to visitors and school groups.
Administrative
Technology & Media
Update website, produce online newsletter, coordinate mailing lists.
Museum Shop
Inventory, price, order and display gift shop products.
Office
Greet visitors, answer phones, prepare mailings and other office tasks.
Internships
Internships in Programs and Gardens and Grounds are available Spring, Summer and Fall. If you’re interested in learning more about events and Programs, or Gardens and Grounds, contact Program Developer Cate Whetzel or call the site at (812) 988-2785.
Apply for the Board
The Friends Board of Directors accepts and reviews applications from individuals who are especially interested in helping promote and preserve an important Brown County and Indiana cultural treasure.
Design your volunteer job or contribution
If you have a unique skill or idea about how you, a group, or family would like to contribute, we’d love to hear about it. Email your proposed individual, group or family volunteer idea to us and we’ll be in touch.
Volunteer of the Year
2021: Kathy Truelove-Barton
2020: David E. Steele
2019: Ron Dieter
2018: David E. Steele
2017: Martha Fox
2016: Betty Wagoner
2015: Caroline Gilchrist
2014: Tina Jernigan
2013: Kesha Minns
2012: Charles Matson
2011: Stephanie Dean
2010: Linda Badger
2009: Marsha Bradford
2008: Ann Johnson
2007: Mary Martz
2006: Lydia Hoffmann
2005: Michael Ely
2004: Margaret Franzen
2003: Wayne T. Newton
2002: Great Lakes Valley Conference Student Athlete Advisory Committee
2001: Nancy Schmidt
2000: G. Edward Maxedon; Phyllis Taylor
1999: (no award given)
1998: Lydia Hoffmann
1997: (no award given)
1996: (no award given)
1995: Jack Gallien; John Kay
1994: Neil Burchett
1993: Margaret Franzen and Heydon Franzen; Dorothy Mussett and Arthur Mussett
Our volunteers report to the historic site manager, hours are logged, and each year a selection is made by the site manager and an officer of the Friends of T.C. Steele board to name one or more individuals as “Volunteer of the Year”.
Consideration criteria includes volunteer hours, any unique contribution during the year that may involve individual talent, and overall engagement in volunteer assignments that ensure our history, art and visitor experiences remain exceptional.
Business Partner of the Year
2021: Smart Scale Consulting
2020: Media Nouveau
Notes:
A new category, Business Partner of the Year, was created in 2020 to honor a key business partners who partnership has been critical to the success of the Friends of T.C. Steele. The inaugural winner in 2020 is Media Nouveau, headquartered in Bloomington, Indiana.
The first year Volunteer of the Year awarded was for 1993, two years after the Friends of T.C. Steele was incorporated. That first year the award was shared by two couples, charter members who were instrumental in formation of the Friends organization and driving the success of the first projects.
Several people have won Volunteer of the Year more than once, and there has been one organization that has won: a student group worked at the site several times during the year in 1999 for a truly remarkable number of volunteer hours. There have also been a couple of years when two people shared the award, and three years (1996, 1997 and 1999) no award was given.