Duke Lemur Center volunteers share their love for lemurs with the public

Giving tours comes naturally to George Kolasa. For 24 years he worked in the Duke University Accounting Department, and every time he had new employees join his staff, he would give them a tour of Duke. George enjoyed sharing Duke’s history and interesting tidbits of information about the institution. He would always end with the Lemur Center. He said, “Duke is so big. I didn’t want people to miss this unique opportunity.”

Now George is semi-retired – and as busy as ever. He approaches his volunteer efforts with the same eye for detail and willingness to share that he did during his days in Duke Accounting. Once George started serving as a docent at the Lemur Center, he put together a massive binder of facts and anecdotes about Madagascar and about lemurs and other prosimian primates. He likes to be able to target his audience and adapt his presentation to the group in front of him. George says, “The kids want to see the lemurs. Adults want more detail. I like to be able to pick and choose what will interest the group I’m with.” Judging from the faces of the groups George leads, he does that very well!