Dear NCCCR members,  

 This past Thursday we had a standing-room only crowd for a performance of Appalachian and Celtic music by Dr. Douglas and Darcy Orr and by Joe and Karen Holbert, sponsored by Leadership Asheville Forum, one of our many community partners.  

Last Saturday, a beautiful warm winter day, we had another standing room only crowd for a lecture by Dr. Steven E. Nash on "Rebels and Tories in the Mountains," part of a series of lectures about the Civil War in Western North Carolina, sponsored by NCCCR along with the Western North Carolina Historical Association (WNCHA) and the Vance Birthplace Historical Site.  

This Friday, Februrary 10, you can look forward to being part of another crowd of intellectually curious people when the Asheville Symphony's music director and conductor Daniel Meyer presents another session of the ongoing series of symphony talks, this time exploring music by Beethoven, Liszt, and Wagner that will be part of the symphony's upcoming MasterWorks performance.

NCCCR fosters effective partnerships with many community organizations. In addition to Leadership Asheville Forum, WNCHA, and the Asheville Symphony, our members can regularly participate at the Center in programming provided by the Asheville Chamber Music Series, the Astronomy Club of Asheville, the Autumn Players of the Asheville Community Theatre, the Blue Ridge Orchestra, the Council on Aging that sponsors Senior Health Insurance Program sessions, the Elisha Mitchell Audubon Society, f/32 Photography, the Land of Sky Area Agency on Aging's RSVP program, the World Affairs Council, and others.   These partnerships allow us to provide engaging programming for our members in the Reuter Center, and partner programs bring members of the community to our Center and the UNC Asheville campus.  

We often speak of the Center as a community, and indeed, community and fellowship are essential to our mission and values as an organization.  Partnerships allow us to welcome the larger community to join us and share the many joys of lifelong learning.

I look forward to seeing you soon at one of our Center programs. As always, if you have questions or concerns, please let me know.  

Catherine Frank       

 Executive Director