by Dianna M. Kall
Greater Cleveland Volunteers will be presenting the David F. Leahy Award for Volunteer Excellence at their annual benefit, Viva Volunteers, on Friday, October 23, 2015.
This year’s recipient is Elaine Minch. Elaine’s name was submitted for her commitment to volunteering for over 15 years at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame + Museum.
Holly Kosalko, volunteer coordinator at the Rock Hall nominated Elaine because of her “work ethic, passion and professionalism that shines through her volunteer service. She is always willing to promote and explain the Rock Hall to members.”
Elaine has been a long-time “rock and roller,” so it seemed appropriate that after she retired as a Pharmacy Technician, she began volunteering for the Rock Hall.
“I grew up with rock and roll,” Elaine says, “My family owned and operated the Rollerdrome, a roller skating rink in Euclid, and during those days rising musicians would be booked with Bill Randle and his Cavalcade of Stars. They would perform live, sign autographs and mingle with the crowds at the rink.” Elaine has seen so many acts she can’t recall all of them however, she vividly remembers Dion, Chuck Berry, The Everly Brothers, the Supremes, Jerry lee Lewis, Tony Bennett and Bobby Vee.
Her volunteer assignments at the Rock Hall include serving as a docent, giving tours and cataloging donated vinyl record collections at the Tommy LiPuma Center for Creative Arts at Cuyahoga Community College Metropolitan Campus. The task is time consuming and one has to have an eye for detail and patience. These pieces of history just might make their way in an exhibit and accuracy is important.
Her favorite exhibits are any artists in the British Invasion; favorite band- The Beatles. She enjoys telling lesser known stories of the artists that she collects from museum visitors, especially those from England.
She first heard about Greater Cleveland Volunteers from another volunteer at the Rock Hall. She registered with Greater Cleveland Volunteers and enjoys being part of a larger volunteer group in Cleveland.
“We are fortunate to be working with over 100 nonprofit agencies in Cuyahoga County; by doing so this provides a variety of volunteer needs for the community.” Explains Joy Banish, Executive Director, Greater Cleveland Volunteers.
Elaine is the mother of two adult sons that both want her to slow down. “I tell them I’ll know when it’s too much and then I’ll quit.” Until then she plans on continuing with her usual schedule of 11-15 hours a week enjoying museum guests, discovering new rock music stories, interacting with her fellow volunteers and of course….all that rock and roll memorabilia.
For this and other volunteer opportunities in Cuyahoga County, contact Greater Cleveland Volunteers at 216-391-9500 or greaterclevelandvolunteers.org.
