Category: Volunteers

I’m originally from Tampa, Florida, and made my way to Nashville about three-and-a-half years ago. Professionally, I work as a contract sports statistician, and I'm currently working toward my MBA at the University of Florida. Outside of that, I try to stay plugged into the community through volunteering with groups like Second Harvest, Hands On Nashville, and Cheekwood.

I love golf, running, food, and spending time in nature. I’m currently training for an IRONMAN 70.3, so that takes up a big part of my schedule right now.

My favorite garden is the Color Garden. I appreciate how the seasonal displays remind you that every season has a purpose. Some are for growth, and some are about slowing down to appreciate what’s around you.

Holiday LIGHTS. It combines tradition, craftsmanship, and atmosphere in a way that makes people slow down and enjoy the season with the people around them.

I’ve helped with a mix of things, from hands-on work in the gardens to behind-the-scenes support for Holiday LIGHTS, community outreach, and admin assignments. I’ve enjoyed seeing the operation from different angles.

I wanted to get more involved in Nashville, and volunteering here is a great way to learn about the gardens hands-on while contributing to a place that brings a lot of value to the city.

The chance to slow down, do meaningful work, and connect with people. The teamwork with the staff and other volunteers is a great reminder that community is built through simple moments.

While helping with the Christmas décor in the Mansion, Laura Dowling gave me a shoutout for my contributions. It was pretty cool, especially since some of the work was as simple as folding paper. It reminded me that even small details can help bring a display together.

Show up as yourself and be ready to learn. You don’t need a gardening background; part of the fun is figuring out what you enjoy. Just come ready to help and be part of the community.

I spent most of my life around Syracuse, New York. After graduating from Syracuse University I worked for 31 years for the same company and became the Manager of Computer Programmers. When that company left New York State in 1995 I became the Business Manager of our Catholic parish for 19 years. My wife and I were married for 42 years before she passed away from ovarian cancer in 2012. I reconnected with the girl that introduced my first wife and I and we were married in 2014 and I moved to Tennessee where she lived.

When I arrived in Tennessee I started volunteering. I volunteer 3 days a week at Williamson Medical Center (hospital in Franklin), also do Meals On Wheels and volunteer at Cheekwood. Why these specific jobs? Because they offer me exercise and sociability, the two things I need most in my life now. I also take Life Long Learning classes at Lipscomb. And I enjoy day trips around Tennessee with Fifty Forward and the Williamson County Enrichment Center. Over the years my wives and I have enjoyed much travel in this county and abroad. Our favorite - Ireland. Next favorite - the Vatican and southern Italy. My wife is in Assisted Living so those kinds of trips are out. At home I have two lovely kitty cats. Love them dearly.

The Color Garden because it is the first garden people see when they come in to Cheekwood and it is so beautiful especially during Cheekwood In Bloom. Second would be the trains.

Not a favorite artwork but I loved the decorations inside the mansion last Christmas time.

To show first time visitors how to best see the various exhibits whether it be Cheekwood In Bloom or Harvest or Holiday Lights or the trains or the differing summer exhibits.

Being around nice people and beautiful surroundings.

Definitely volunteer. The people (staff and other volunteers) are very welcoming and the exhibits change from season to season and are beautiful regardless of season. (And the Volunteer Director is pretty nice also.)

My husband and I moved to Franklin, Tennessee, from Texas eight years ago. Before that, I lived in various places from California to Massachusetts. I've worked for Bank of America for the last 16 years and plan to retire from there in about eight years. We have two children. Our son, James, and his wife, Linzi, live in Tampa, Florida. Our daughter Rachel recently moved to Atlanta to be closer to her boyfriend, Frank. We were all together for Thanksgiving plus our dog, Charlie, who is everyone's favorite, and had a great time. We toured Cheekwood Holiday lights for a great holiday memory with some great pictures too!

My husband and I are very involved in our church, as our faith is very important to us. We also enjoy spending time with our family and friends, playing games, cooking, and listening to live music. Fortunately, living in Music City makes it easy to enjoy live music!

I really like the Herb Garden at Cheekwood. It's a great place to go and just be quiet and enjoy the peace and quiet. It's hard to pick just one favorite garden, but this is definitely one of my favorites.

I had so much fun this summer watching the children find the Trolls and then scream "TROLLS" as they ran up to them. It was truly a magical moment.

I became a Cheekwood volunteer after attending an event sponsored by Bank of America in the fall of 2022. I had so much fun being outside among happy people that I signed up to be a volunteer. I've loved every minute of it, and it has become my happy place.

I especially enjoy talking to first-time visitors at Cheekwood. I love seeing their excitement and getting to know them. Since I've lived in so many places, I can usually find something in common with them.

My husband was very sick in May of 2023. Thursday Night Out gave me a much-needed break from my caretaking duties and allowed me to get out of the house. Being outside in a beautiful setting with friendly, happy people and live music was just the medicine I needed to make it through another week.

I volunteer at Cheekwood because it's a fun and happy place to be. I like that there's no pressure to work certain hours, and I can choose the activities I want to be involved with. Also, each season is different, so I get to experience a variety of areas at Cheekwood.

I grew up and went to college in Ohio for social work. I started out my career there and then traveled to different countries doing some volunteer and mission work. After coming back to the States, I’ve lived in Ohio and Florida prior to moving to Nashville. I moved here almost 5 years ago and have loved discovering Cheekwood and all Nashville has to offer.

I enjoy hiking, traveling, and volunteering/being involved in my community; as well as, being out in nature and reading a good book. And of course, spending time with family and friends.

The Robinson Family Water Garden. I love being by the water and there are benches or tables to be able to sit and read or journal or chat with others or just to be still. You can also still see the beauty of some of the surrounding areas.

I’ve enjoyed the outdoor exhibits like Bruce Munroe and the new troll exhibit. And inside the mansion, I really loved the exhibit from Sarah Nguyen.

I’ve helped out in various ways over the past year or so. I’ve helped with the different events as a greeter or in the children’s activities. With the Holiday Lights, I helped put together the s’more boxes, was a door greeter to the mansion, a Santa line guide, and also helped with the gift shop.  I’ve also helped with the “Weed Wrangle” in the Spring and helped at the Cheekwood booth at different outreach events.

I volunteered with Cheekwood starting a little over a year ago through Hands on Nashville. I work from home and was looking for ways to get out into the community. I enjoyed being there the day I volunteered and another volunteer talked about signing up to volunteer with Cheekwood directly so I decided to do so that day!

Being able to enjoy Cheekwood, all while getting to interact with others. And getting to know the other volunteers and staff.

It’s great seeing all the cultural events and how Cheekwood is for everyone. Helping with some of the kids activities, you can see the care Cheekwood staff puts into planning as it isn’t just for fun but also educational. It’s been fun to be a part of and see adults wanting to take part as well.

Do it. Even if through Hands on Nashville to see if you like it and want to get involved more. Talk with Amy (the volunteer coordinator) or any of us volunteers – we’d be happy to answer any of your questions.

I’ve been married to my wife and best friend, Christine, for 48+ years! We lived most of our lives in Naperville, Illinois, a suburb 20 miles west of Chicago. We have 5 wonderful children and 6 terrific grandkids. Five years ago we retired and moved to Tennessee where we established new roots in the Nashville area and absolutely love it here! <br><br>Before I retired, I worked initially as a product engineer and then as a regional or national sales manager for various manufacturing companies.

My wife and I love spending time with our kid’s & grandkids, being involved with our church, traveling, playing pickle ball, socializing with friends, and going bike riding on Tennessee’s beautiful green ways! I also like fishing, kayaking, exercising on my rowing erg and volunteering, especially at Cheekwood!

It has to be Cheekwood Trains! My dad and I had a Lionel model train set back when I was growing up. We spent many a day working side-by-side building and playing with the train layout! I find the Cheekwood Trains exhibit absolutely MAGICAL! Anyone who likes model trains or enjoys being in an enchanted place that makes you feel like you’re in a fairy tale world, would love the Cheekwood Trains exhibit!

My favorite Cheekwood exhibit or event would be Holiday Lights! They do such an amazing job decorating the entire grounds, including Cheekwood Trains!

I have been volunteering at Cheekwood for two years now. Although I have spent many hours helping in the various gardens, most of my time is spent coming in each week to help maintain the trains exhibit…scrubbing the tracks, rotating and cleaning the contacts on the engines, and switching up the theme cars. While I’m there, I also enjoy engaging with the enthusiastic kids (and adults) many of which come to Cheekwood specifically to see the trains. When time permits, I pull a spare Thomas the Tank Engine out of the roundhouse and do an impromptu show and tell with the young visitors!

Being retired I have plenty of time on my hands and like to keep active. I enjoy helping and meeting people and also love the outdoors & working with my hands so Cheekwood is a perfect choice for me!

There are several things that I love about volunteering at Cheekwood...I enjoy my serene walks through the gardens, appreciating their beauty during my walk to the Trains. It helps me connect to nature as well as to God! I thoroughly enjoy meeting and engaging with the visitors that I meet, especially the children! That can also be said for the Cheekwood employees (gardeners, managers, etc) and the other volunteers that I’ve met. They are all wonderful people!

I love the pure joy of the “little” visitors that I meet! Their excitement, abundant energy and sheer happiness is truly contagious!

If you have time on your hands, enjoy nature, like helping others, and/or meeting or working with friendly people… Don’t give it a second thought! Inquire about the many volunteer opportunities that Cheekwood has to offer! You won’t regret it!

John: I'm originally from a small town in Michigan. My wife and I met in Kalamazoo Michigan and had four children which have blessed us with 9 grandchildren that range from 10 to 18 years old. After I retired, we came to Tennessee to help one of our daughters. I worked in the pharmaceutical industry for 25 years ending my career working for Pfizer. From there I went to work for Monsanto in St Louis, Missouri which is now Bayer as a “gene jockey “(that is someone that puts new genetic information into plants for GMO).

Carolyn: As my husband stated, we are both from Michigan. We lived in Kalamazoo, then moved to Ann Arbor, then to St. Louis, then to Virginia Beach, which finally brought up brought us to Tennessee. I have worked as an RN in each location. My main interest has always been obstetrics and related fields. I worked as a labor and delivery nurse, postpartum, education, and Neonatal intensive care, as well as surgical IVF.

John: I enjoy being a hobby farmer and Beekeeping. I have a strong background in computers and biology where I try to keep up with new science developments.

Carolyn: I have been retired for three years. I now find myself riding my horse, kayaking, gardening, reading, and helping my husband with this busy farm.

John: This is a hard question to answer because there are so many beautiful gardens among the estate, I think I like the natural Trillium Garden the best because it's something that is truly natural.

Carolyn: There are so many beautiful spots at Cheekwood! I enjoy the Carell woodland and Sculpture trail. It’s beautiful and I enjoy a lovely walk in the woods. Although the flowers all throughout Cheekwood are always a joy!

John: My favorite room within the estate is the museum section in the mansion. There's periodically different art that comes in which I always enjoy! These displays stimulate different ideas, the most recent one last year was the Adams exhibit. It was full of great sketchings with funny characters.

Carolyn: I enjoy the antiques throughout the mansion, but my favorite area is the art collection. It is so beautiful.

John: For my favorite piece of art within the estate is the “crawling lady hare”. It's back along the trails and is just an interesting mixture of art and wildlife.

Carolyn: The only exhibition I have seen is the current Bruce Monroe exhibition. It's amazing what he has done with the lights to illuminate Cheekwood and create a wonderful experience.

John: I've been involved with a lot of the event activities. Some of the best ones are the Classic Cars, Christmas lights, Under the Star’s series, Bruce Monroe lights, and the Fall Festival where they have thousands of pumpkins. They had a gentleman that carved pumpkins faces that was just unbelievable.

Carolyn: We have been volunteering for two years. My husband and I have volunteered for a wide variety of events and enjoyed them all. Variety is the spice to volunteering at Cheekwood!

John: My wife and I both enjoy the gardens and we're looking for fun activities where we could meet new people and provide a service to the community. Cheekwood gave us an opportunity to do both.

Carolyn: After volunteering for holiday lights, which was our first visit to Cheekwood, I was taken in by Cheekwood's beauty and felt the draw to get more involved. It is fun to meet new people as well as have a variety of experiences while providing a service to the community.

John: My wife and I enjoy working together as a team and go to most events together. There seems to be multiple opportunities for us to do things together. This is a great thing. Not only did it allow us to help other people, but we were able to attend many of the events for free by helping during that day. Volunteering has exposed us to different events that I might not have gone to. By going there, I feel I've benefited from the excitement of the event and the opportunity to talk to new people.

Carolyn: I have enjoyed meeting other volunteers and the Cheekwood staff of varied ages and backgrounds, while experiencing different events. My husband and I volunteer together frequently, which is a fun time for us.

John: At our very first ground service event we showed up not knowing where to go for sure and we're told we were going to help work in the gardens that day. Unbeknownst to us, The Rose Society was also working at Cheekwood, so we joined in and helped them. At the end of our shift, we found out that they were not associated with our work group that we were supposed to work for. We did learn about roses!!

Carolyn: I think my funniest was as my husband stated – working with the rose society. They asked us how we found out about them, and we kept saying “on the website” and got very quizzical looks!

John: Every task you get assigned will be different, just look around you when you're doing it, generally you'll be with others, and they will be doing the same task you're doing. It's a great way to meet people, start conversations, and learn new things.

Carolyn: My advice for others considering Cheekwood is “try it you'll love it! “. It is easy to volunteer because there are no minimum requirements. You can volunteer 4 hours a month a week or a day and at any type of event that interests you. It's fun, it's enjoyable, and you meet awesome people while spending time in a beautiful and interesting environment.