| SEARCH OnWEAC |
|---|
A group of educators from the Green Bay area are finding a unique way to use their teaching skills – as tour guides at Lambeau Field.
 About half of the stadium guides at Lambeau Field in Green Bay are current or retired educators. The Packers organization finds the skills teachers excel at in the classroom are the same needed for the thousands of tours conducted each year. Among the guides are, from left, Among the guides are, from left, Ron Dauplaise, Pat Geigel. Kris Evans, Grant Turner and Darrel Patterson. |
The stadium is open 363 days a year, necessitating top-notch guides to shepherd thousands of visitors annually. Educators – whether retired or currently teaching – are a great fit for the Packers.
“About half of our stadium tour guides are teaching staff,” said Krissy Zegers, Packers Hall of Fame and stadium tour manager, adding the skills they bring from the classroom are valued by the Packers organization. This year, about 15 retired and current teachers conduct tours.
Educators naturally bring strong communication skills, a desire to teach, and flexibility to the position, Zegers said.
And, besides, the job is a whole lot of fun.
“It’s the best part-time job I’ve ever had,” said Darrell Patterson, who retired from Algoma High School as an English and physical education teacher.
“It’s been the best fun,” agreed Kristin Evans, who retired three years ago after working for 34 years in Green Bay Public Schools as a speech pathologist. She first met fellow guide Ron Dauplaise, also a retired Green Bay speech pathologist, when he interviewed her for a job in the school district. Decades later, when their paths crossed again, Dauplaise asked her what she had planned after retirement, suggesting she apply to be a guide.
Some retired educators work year-round, while others join current teachers in guiding public and private tours during the peak summer season, when 30 to 34 tours are conducted each day for 500 to 1,000 people. Some retired educators and coaches even officiate for Packer practices.
“It’s a dream summer job and an extension of the classroom,” said Pat Geigel, an English and U.S. History teacher and coach at Kiel High School who gives tours over the summer.
“The people taking the tours love that you are here. They so appreciate it,” Evans said. “You can be in the worst mood when you walk in here and leave with the biggest smile. It’s like education. You never know what new experience is in store.”
“You don’t go to work, you just go to Lambeau Field,” added Dauplaise, who estimates he’s given about 2,000 tours so far.
Grant Turner, a retired teacher, principal and coach, became part of the Packers’ team in 1994, at the urging of his son. “We took a tour of the stadium, and my son said, ‘Dad, we’re not leaving until you fill out an application,’” Turner remembered.
 Photo gallery |
He was hired part-time and it proved to be a great summer job. Turner took early retirement when the opportunity arose to become the tour guide supervisor and moved from New Holstein to Green Bay.
Geigel, who has been giving tours for three summers, said, “The best thing about the position is the people we get to meet, not necessarily Packers personnel, but people from all over the world.”
The guides have spent their time at Lambeau Field collecting memories of the people and players who have crossed their paths. True Packer fans often find ways to celebrate anniversaries and pop the question near the end zone. While most couples request these special celebrations on the 50 yard line, that’s off limits, the guides said.
There are visitors from all over the world who make special trips to Lambeau Field, said retired teacher Mary Mayheu, including recent visitors from Azerbaijan and Russia. “They are just so interested,” she said. The tour guides credit satellite television for the expanding fan base of the Green Bay Packers, although, admittedly, some of the game’s finer points might still be a foreign concept.
After an hour-long tour that utilized a translator, one man asked, “What are those big yellow poles for?”
WEAC Members Only! Play the "guess the score" contest for a chance to win a Packer sweatshirt. Enter |
The guides noted that they find the tours for special needs visitors especially fulfilling, and they work hard to make the Lambeau experience come alive despite disabilities. Stephen Mayheu remembered one of his favorite tours, which included 18 deaf visitors and one interpreter. “They had such an appreciation,” he said.
Turner agreed that all visitors appreciate the legend of Lambeau. “You get so much satisfaction,” he said. “They love the Packers so much.”
The draw of Lambeau Field to visitors from near and far isn’t hard to understand, the guides said. “We’re just plain folks and Packers,” Mary Mayheu explained.
“Everyone here is Midwestern friendly,” Geigel said.
The move from teacher to tour guide is a natural one, the educators agreed. Shepherding groups from one area to another, holding their attention and fitting nearly 100 years of history into an hour-long lesson is second nature. And when groups of children come to visit, “You step right back into educator mode,” Evans said.
“We get a lot of school groups that come in,” Zegers explained. “It’s great. These teachers know how to tailor-fit the tours to their age levels and abilities.”
Whether it’s Patterson and Geigel encouraging middle school students to develop their own end zone dances, or Evans pairing up students for the buddy system, the guides said they never give the same tour twice.
“The big thing is we know how to deal with people,” Geigel said. “We’re all good communicators.”
“We’re teaching people something,” Dauplaise said simply. “It’s storytelling.”
Posted September 21, 2007
