History Lesson

Any good Kennedy Center Friend knows the history of the volunteer program. Who started it? When? Why? And what did that person like to eat for breakfast.

I, being a great candidate for Friend, know the history and would like to tell you just a bit about one of the program's founders.





Geri Lewis

Geri Lewis was born and raised in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin and attended the University of Wisconsin - Madison where she studied speech and drama. She married Gilbert Lewis in 1955, and moved to Washington, DC and now has three children and four grandchildren.

Geri was originally a member of the Service Guild of Washington, DC which provided twelve volunteers to the Kennedy Center during the Center's construction.

Now, for some, that would be enough information. And by "some" I mean horribly inadequate candidates for Friend. I, on the other hand, dig deeper. I want to know every last detail about her. After all, she leads the most prestigious corps of volunteers in the world. Well, here's a fact that you won't find on the Kennedy Center website. Before Geri Lewis became a hero to us all, she had quite a career in secretarial work. Check this out!