On Thursday this week, we had a performance by graduates of Janet Parkerson's intermediate class on hammered dulcimer. The performance was full of joy and laughter and the fellowship that comes with trying something new and challenging and with working together to produce beautiful harmonies.

On Friday we celebrated Veterans Day at the Reuter Center with the presentation of colors by the Asheville High School Color Guard, a few words from NCCCR member Jim Tyson, and a performance of patriotic music by the Reuter Center Singers under the leadership of Chuck Taft. In the audience we had members of the "Greatest Generation" along with baby boomers and even a few members of future generations of service men and women. The ceremony was a touching reminder of the human cost of war and the dignity of military service.

On Saturday we had a celebration attended by graduates of the Center's Leadership Asheville Seniors program, a program that has been around at the Center for 25 years and is the oldest program at the Center. We had 250 people in attendance, with representatives from every single class of the program.

Former UNC Asheville chancellor Dave Brown was head of the university when the idea for the Center began and his wife Lin was the first director for the College for Seniors. Chancellor Brown talked about the founding of the program and the statewide impact it had as representatives from the Center went to every part of North Carolina to begin similar programs. Current chancellor Anne Ponder gave stirring remarks to highlight the many ways that LAS graduates have contributed to Western North Carolina and the many ways that the Center for Creative Retirement contributes to the life and distinction of the university. Ron Manheimer, Denise Snodgrass, and Cissie Stevens, who put the Center on the national map with their vision and creation of forward-thinking programs, all attended and added meaning to the event. Many thanks to current LAS program director Michelle Rogers who worked with Denise and Cissie and the usual army of volunteers to coordinate the event

The sight of so many graduates of the program was the most moving and memorable aspect of the program. It is always the members and the volunteers who are the life of the work that we do. The strength of all of our programs consists of the willingness and ability of our members to think big and to roll up their sleeves and act decisively. The life of the Center is possible only because of the active involvement of so many people, who share their joy, their talent, and their hard work to make extraordinary things happen every day.