KEY Magazine Fort Worth

GUEST SERVICES

Spotlight On Guest Relations
by Don Patterson

Charles Garner moved from a successful career in lighting design to a similarly successful vocation in guest relations. Serving as concierge at Fort Worth’s newest museum for the past three years has helped him realize how similar both jobs are. The National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame has given Garner the opportunity to do what he does best - shed light on the popular attractions housed in the museum and throughout the city of Fort Worth. Garner is no st ranger to area history. Born and raised in Cowtown, he has collected a treasury of facts, fables, and fiction attributed to his hometown. “That’s why I so thoroughly enjoy my role as concierge,” Garner says. I love to tell visitors about the intricacies of our community – the little known tidbits that make Fort Worth so special. “For example, many visitors aren’t aware that American Airlines got its start right here in Fort Worth, but when I show them the museum’s photo and provide information about the airline’s early days, they are impressed.”

Garner’s expertise isn’t all exhibited at the museum’s Information Booth. He has served as spokesman on a bus tour, welcomed visitors in the gift shop, and hosted guests on walking tours of the museum’s more than 2,000 artifacts. On Saturday’s Garner also acts as Museum Manager. Personal memory and museum archives are just two of Garner’s hosting tools. “I use Key Magazine as a major information resource, then I add some local color. People want to know more than what they might find in a travel brochure or pamphlet,” Garner reports. “I try to share with them the little bits of personal history, unusual events, oddities, and memorabilia that aren’t contained in a travelogue. I like to make folks feel like they are en route to an adventure rather than a routine museum tour.”

Garner’s success is well established among both local and world-famed visitors. He has greeted or observed a host of country music performers, theatrical artists, and key political celebrities including First Lady, Laura Bush. Garner speaks fondly of his mixed careers. “I loved lighting design work, meeting customers, and showing them how well things appear under proper lighting. I also enjoy lighting up local attractions so visitors can see them better.” Garner applies his lighting design experience to his work as concierge, spilling light on Fort Worth attractions and helping visitors discover a whole new vista of education and entertainment.

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