Members of the Women’s Council of the Dallas Arboretum gathered to honor one of its most dedicated volunteers, Kathleen Cunningham, who received the Founders Award at the council’s December luncheon.

Kathleen Cunningham began volunteering at the Arboretum in 2004. She started as a DeGolyer House Docent and in 2011 wrote and recorded an audio tour of DeGolyer House.

Kathleen created the Speaker’s Bureau and became its Director in 2005. She scheduled 27 talks in the first six months which were presented in digital format showing photographs she took for each program. As the Speaker’s Bureau grew, she added eight additional volunteer speakers featuring programs including The Diamond in Dallas, A Woman’s Garden, The Children’s Garden and other special topics. To date, the Speaker’s Bureau has presented over 800 programs reaching over 30,000 people and raising over $25,000 in honorariums. She represented the Speaker’s Bureau on the Volunteer Advisory Board for ten years.

Kathleen served on the Arboretum Board of Directors from 2007 through 2012. During her tenure she served as Membership Chair, established a program to sell Membership Gift certificates to the local real estate community. Kathleen has been an active member of the Women’s Council since 2004 and a Board member from 2006 to the present. She served as Honorary Chair of A Writer’s Garden Symposium and Book Review Series in 2008. She has also served as Emcee for numerous Women’s Council events.

Kathleen has been a member of Friends of the Arboretum since 2005 and became a member of the Caroline Rose Hunt Society in 2011.