Volunteer Spotlight: Linda Chesnut Receives 2016 Smitty Award

Linda has chaired the museum’s Decorative Arts Advisory Committee (DAAC) since 1999, and she has been a tireless advocate for the power of the decorative arts. Every year, at the annual meeting of the Friends of the Georgia Museum of Art, one special person receives the M. Smith Griffith Volunteer of the Year Award (the Smitty, for short). In 2016, the award committee, which is made up of Friends members and Friends board members, was astonished to discover from nominations by staff that Linda Chesnut had never received the award.

Linda Chesnut with Dale Couch, curator of decorative arts

Linda has chaired the museum’s Decorative Arts Advisory Committee (DAAC) since 1999, and she has been a tireless advocate for the power of the decorative arts. Her contributions as its leader have helped the Henry D. Green Center for the Decorative Arts grow into a regional and national voice in the field. Linda is always willing to write a letter, make a phone call, donate a treasured object or talk another collector into doing so. She is both strategic in her aims and unafraid of doing the nitty- gritty grunt work that often needs to take place to ensure lofty goals become reality.

Linda’s leadership is a huge part of the Green Center’s success. In previous years, she received both an award for volunteerism from the Georgia Association of Museums and Galleries and the Governor’s Award for the Arts and Humanities, presented to her by Governor Nathan Deal. She has lent her time and efforts to the DeKalb County Historical Society, the Georgia Archives, the Georgia Trust and alumni groups from regional colleges and universities, as well as to our museum, and they are equally appreciative of her hard work.

Upon hearing that she had won the 2016 Smitty, those DAAC members who were unable to attend the annual meeting chimed in with enthusiastic congratulations via email, repeatedly using the word “gracious” to describe Linda’s manner and leadership style. It is that willingness to yield the spotlight and focus on the mission of the museum rather than on herself that makes Linda Chesnut a most deserving addition to the list of those volunteers who have received the Smitty.