Since the USS Midway Museum opened to the public more than 20 years ago, volunteers have and continue to be the lifeblood of the museum. Whether it’s docents openly engaging with guests on the flight deck or the air wing team quietly toiling in the restoration of a historic aircraft at Hangar 805, the unparallelled passion of each of the museum’s volunteers is the driving force behind Midway’s success.
Patty Forest embodies the quintessential passion of Midway volunteers, and then takes it up a notch.
“The work I do honors every person that served their country while stationed on the USS Midway,” said Patty, a Massachusetts native. “Volunteering at the Midway gives you a purpose to wake up each day and continue to make sure the history of this ship will live on for future generations.”
Although not a military veteran, Patty was intrigued about Midway shortly after it arrived in San Diego and opened as a museum.
“One Sunday morning I was watching the KUSI Sunday Morning News, and one of their reporters was broadcasting from the USS Midway Museum,” said Patty, who has been a volunteer since 2007. “I thought, wow, I am not doing anything today, so I think I will take a tour of the museum. From the moment I saw her from the pier, she took my breath away and I wanted to help keep her memory alive. During my first visit, I got a brochure on the museum’s volunteer opportunities. The rest is history.”
Like many of Midway’s volunteers, Patty wasn’t satisfied with lending her talents to just one department. She currently splits her time between the safety and ship’s restoration departments and outreach programs. While enjoying the work regardless of what color shirt she’s wearing on any given day, her contributions to ship restoration bring her a special satisfaction.
“I love restoring or repurposing the Midway to align with our core values especially as it relates to preserving this historic aircraft carrier and the legacy of those who served,” said Patty, who worked in accounts receivable for California Coast Credit Union after moving to San Diego in 2000. “I love seeing the excitement on the faces of our guests as they tour the Midway and knowing I helped put that smile on their faces.”
Patty’s impacts as a multipurpose volunteer have not gone unrecognized. In 2016, she was named Midway’s volunteer of the year.
“I was humbled and honored to be named volunteer of the year for something I love to do,” said Patty, who has amassed more than 11,500 volunteer hours. “Volunteering gives me a great deal of satisfaction in my life knowing I have made a difference in keeping various aspects of history alive for future generations.”
“Patty is self-motivated, pro-active, focused, organized and dependable,” said Laurie Switzer, Midway’s director of volunteer programs. “She continues helping Midway, not just in restoring the ship, but also working on our outreach team, promoting the museum as an ambassador, and as a member of the safety team. It is the efforts of volunteers like Patty that have made Midway such an exceptional place.”
As one of Midway’s longest serving volunteers, Patty has seen a significant evolution of the museum experience over the last two decades.
“The exhibits are currently becoming more sophisticated to relay the history of the Midway to our guests as opposed to solely refurbishing areas to their time,” said Patty, who has lived in San Diego for more than 35 years. “After all these years, I just keep asking myself ‘where did the time go.’ I look around the ship and I see all the projects I have worked on and then say, ‘that’s where the time went.’”
Although Patty dedicates her time and talents to Midway, she feels strongly that everyone should look for volunteer opportunities in their community.
“Volunteering gives people a daily purpose for their lives,” said Patty, whose family are first generation Irish and Italian immigrants. “Non-profit organizations like Midway depend on volunteers to help keep their overhead costs down with more money being available to those in need.”
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