Astronomy Club
of Asheville
 "The Epic Journey of Apollo 11" Thursday, September 5, 7pm Mike Lucas, NASA Solar System Ambassador, will present on "The Epic Journey of Apollo 11." The Astronomy Club of Asheville meets the first Thursday of each month with an interesting line-up of speakers and topics. The group welcomes OLLI members to attend club meetings and star gazes, with club members on hand to advise and assist them in the basics of astronomy and the techniques of observing celestial phenomena. Participation at club meetings and events is free to OLLI members.
|
The Elisha Mitchell Audubon Society invites you to
Beaver Lake
Bird Sanctuary Celebration
 Sunday, September 8
1 to 4 pm
Beaver Lake Bird Sanctuary
1056 Merrimon Avenue
Asheville, NC
Please join us for an afternoon of special events celebrating our new boardwalk and wetland. There will be nature activities for children and adults, exhibits, music, and bird guides and naturalists along the boardwalk. A guided bird walk at Beaver Lake will be held on Saturday, September 7, 8 am.
No reservations needed; just meet at the gazebo. Handicapped parking will be provided on site. This celebration is to thank all who have donated time and money to help improve the sanctuary.
Free and open to the public,
|
Mark your calendar and plan to attend!
New Member Welcome Friday, September 13 10 am Are you new to OLLI at UNC Asheville and the Reuter Center? Are you returning after being gone awhile?
Come to the New Member Welcome on Friday, September 13, 10 am, to learn about all that OLLI has to offer and about ways to get involved.
Meet other members and discover your possibilities at OLLI.
|
Saturday,
September 21, 9 am
Pack Square,
Downtown Asheville
Because we want to be part of the effort to know and understand more about Alzheimer's and related diseases, we are excited to be organizing OLLI members to participate in the Walk to End Alzheimer's on Saturday, September 21.
Registration for Asheville's Walk to End Alzheimer's begins at 9 am and the walk begins at 10 am at Pack Square in downtown Asheville. Register in advance of the walk by contacting Carol Gillen, OLLI's team captain, at carol@gillen.com. You can click here to visit the website where you can find the registration form to print and complete. Turn in the completed form and check (made out to The Alzheimer's Association of WNC) to the Reuter Center office.
If you have questions, contact Carol Gillen at 828-253-2282 or email: carol@gillen.com.
|
 |
 The key to the
new hearing loop technology now installed in Room 102 is a "T-coil" (or telecoil). This tiny element- -found in most hearing aids and all cochlear implants--picks up an invisible signal that brings the presenter's voice straight to you. Check now to ensure that you have a telecoil (T-coil) in your hearing aid. Talk to your audiologist, if necessary, and be ready to access this great technology! Hearing loops are becoming the new standard in America for enhanced hearing in auditoria, houses of worship, and assembly halls. The Manheimer Room in the Reuter Center is among the first spaces in Asheville to be fitted with a hearing loop!
|
North Carolina's 5K (3.1miles)
Walk4Hearing
Saturday, October 12, 9 am Tanglewood Park, Clemmons,
near Winston-Salem
Proceeds from the event in October will go to the national programs and local chapters of Hearing Loss Association of America.
In our region, the Brevard chapter meets the second Saturday of every month (except this October) at the Transylvania Hospital in Brevard.
If you have questions, Ann Karson would be happy to hear from you. Contact her at 828-665-8699 or akarson57@gmail.com.
|
Stay Connected
 Click the icon to like OLLI on Facebook
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dear OLLI Members,
The good work of completing registration continues as volunteers enter the data to get our participants enrolled in classes. Many thanks to volunteers Marge Campbell, Jacob Cohen, Susan Coyle, Bob Davis, Mike Honeycutt, Barbara Jaslow, Ulana Mellor, and Gail Sobel.
Thanks also to Nina Kopesky, Martha Parry, and Donna Schramek whose names should be added to the list of volunteers we thanked for their help during registration on August 15.
We hope you will read the story about College for Seniors instructor and curriculum committee member Renée Melchiorre. Renée inspires our members to think about American history from new perspectives in the classroom and also continues to find ways to build on the foundation of our curriculum committee to strengthen the College for Seniors program.
We are trying to expand our reach and the kinds of information we provide to our members through the use of social media. Click here to check out our Facebook page. We are offering information specific to our program and also posting up-to-date information about aging and retirement. We often ask questions based on research, and we'd love to have you engage in a dialogue with us through social media. As we grow as an organization, we want to try new ways of communicating as a way to strengthen and extend our sense of community.
Let me know if you have any questions or concerns about any of our initiatives. We all work together to sustain the work that has made our organization successful and are also committed to taking our work in new directions that continue to fulfill our mission. All of us have a part to play in our continuing improvement.
Have a great week,
Catherine Frank
Executive Director
|
This Week August 25-31, 2013
Friday, August 30, Fall class schedules sent
Friday, August 30-September 1, Paths Workshop (Reuter Center closed to all other activities)
|
Next Week September 1-7, 2013
Monday, September 2, Reuter Center closed for Labor Day
Tuesday, September 3, 8 am, Add/Drop for College For Seniors classes begins
Tuesday, Septeber 3, 7 pm, World Affairs Council ~"Venuzuela after Chavez"
Wednesday, September 4, 7 pm, Blue Ridge Orchestra Open Rehearsal
Thursday, September 5, 7 pm, Astronomy Club of Asheville ~ "The Epic Journey of Apollo 11"
Click here to see the OLLI calendar and then click on each event to discover times, event specifics and more.
|
And Beyond
Sunday, September 8, 2:30 pm, Autumn Players Readers Theatre ~ " Mary, Mary" Wednesday, September 11, 7 pm, Blue Ridge Orchestra Open Rehearsal Wednesday, September 11, 7 pm, f/32 Photography Group Meeting Thursday, September 12, 9 am, Faculty Orientation and Development Workshop
(registration required, contact Anne Mock amock@unca.edu)
Friday, September 13, 10 am, New Member Welcome
|
|
CAMPUS EVENT HIGHLIGHTS Week of August 25, 2013
Now through 9/17-- UNC Asheville Annual Art Faculty Exhibition - Studio art faculty exhibit their current work in the S. Tucker Cooke Gallery in UNC Asheville's Owen Hall. Free and open to the public. Exhibit on display 9 am-6 pm weekdays through September 17. Info: 828/251-6559 or art.unca.edu
8/26 Humanities Lecture--"Celestial Empire of China," Grant Hardy, Humanities director and history professor. 11:25 am in UNC Asheville's Lipinsky Auditorium. Free and open to the public. Info: humanities.unca.edu or 828/251-6808. Park in white striped spaces not designated as visitor parking.
8/26 Sports -- Bulldog Athletic Association Golf Tournament and Alumni Day at the Country Club of Asheville, August 26 and 27, presented by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina. The tournament will honor former UNC Asheville men's basketball Eddie Biedenbach and benefits scholarships for Bulldog student athletes. There is a fee to participate. For more information contact Aaron Sanders, Director of Athletics Annual Giving, at 828-250-3858 or asanders@unca.edu or click here to find out more about the tournament.
8/29 Sports -- Women's Soccer: UNC Asheville vs. Univerity of South Carolina Upstate. 4 pm at UNC Asheville's Greenwood Field. $5 adults, $3 youth. C lick here for more information about UNC Asheville athletics and season tickets or call 828-258-7900.
|
Renée Melchiorre reflects on the past, respects the present  by Judy LaMée
Raised by her Sicilian grandmother, Renée Melchiorre is a fascinating blend of reverence for those influential people who helped shape the woman she has become and respect for her OLLI peers and others working to make a difference today. A baby boomer of postwar America, Renée grew up on the south side of Chicago, a child of divorced parents. She says her grandmother "created awareness in me as a young girl of the importance of defining what mattered in the past and understanding what has shaped the world we live in today. It's not coincidental that my research and writing in graduate school focused on those postwar years in the American experience."
She grew up with her grandmother's stories of being poor as a young girl in Sicily, of the hard times she experienced as an immigrant in America, then as a widow with eight children during the Great Depression and of life on the home front during World War II when her only surviving sons were fighting the war in the Pacific.
Renée shares generously: "For me, teaching in the College for Seniors (CFS) at OLLI at UNC Asheville, working on committees with the terrific people who help administer our programs, and meeting the interesting people who enroll in courses keeps me engaged. I especially love the collective idea behind lifelong learning here. We have so many terrific people who bring such a great wealth of knowledge and experience to OLLI, many of whom already volunteer their time to teach. But at this stage of life, we're all teachers as well as learners, so I'd encourage other members to take the leap, participate by teaching and sharing what they know. It's what makes us work...and it's very rewarding."
Renée earned her BA from the University of Michigan in communications while simultaneously pursuing a career in sales and marketing at Ford Motor Company. After a twenty-year career with Ford, she entered graduate school at the University of Kansas, earning an MA in US history for an award-winning thesis on "The Culture of Paternalism and the Ford Motor Company: The UAW, Women and Wartime Priorities." She taught classes at the University of Kansas on early twentieth century US history and enjoyed working with students on how to develop conceptual tools for the study of history.
She teaches history classes to packed classrooms at OLLI, having recently completed one on post-World War II society in America, 1945-1960. She recently signed up as a mentor in a pilot program with UNC Asheville undergraduates.
Married to John Sweets, Professor Emeritus of history at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Renée says John's work has greatly enriched her own learning in that his research and publications focus on Occupied France during World War II. The two traveled widely in France and Italy. They lived in France in the mid-1990s when John was a visiting professor at the University of Franche-Comte in Besancon. They even exchanged residences with a French family.
Renée weaves her life experiences and research methodology into content-rich CFS courses. She delivers with conviction and passion. Class participants respond with enthusiasm and respect.
|
ASHEVILLE CHAMBER MUSIC SERIES ANNOUNCES 61ST SEASON
 For more than a half a century the ACMS has taken its place as a valued cultural resource in Asheville, bringing world-renowned chamber artists to the city. As one of the nation's oldest continuous performing chamber music organizations, it has been recognized for its outstanding programs and for its unique education component through a collaboration with the strings program of the Asheville City and Buncombe County Schools and our other cultural partners in the community.
The Escher String Quartet with classical guitarist Jason Vieaux, Friday, October 4, 2013, 8 pm (Unitarian Universalist Congregation)
The Modigliani Quartet with pianist Joyce Yang, Friday, November 15, 2013, 8 pm (Biltmore United Methodist Church)
The Ciompi Quartet, Sunday afternoon, February 23, 2014, 4 pm (Unitarian Universalist Congregation)
The Minguet Quartet with pianist Andreas Klein, Friday, April 4, 2014, 8 pm (Biltmore United Methodist Church)
The American Chamber Players, Friday, May 2, 2014 at 8 pm (Biltmore United Methodist Church)
|
United Way seeks volunteers for
Middle School Success Initiative
Each fall United Way of Asheville and Buncombe County works with the YMCA's 21st Century Learning After-School programs and Asheville City Schools Foundation's After-School program, In Real Life. We provide training in the best practices of running quality youth programming as well as tools for self-assessment. We also train volunteers to provide external assessments of these programs. Our External Assessors are trained to administer the Youth Program Quality Assessment (YPQA), an evidence-based, field-tested tool designed to provide research-quality data vital to the improvement of youth out-of-school-time programs.
Ann Von Brock, United Way Vice President of Planning and Community Investment, has served as an external assessor for several years and offered the following about her experience:
"I've completed about a dozen assessments in the past two years, and it's been very rewarding for me to have a chance to observe such amazing programs. The staff I've seen at a variety of after-school programs are wonderfully committed to their work and to the students. I've been amazed at their patience, humor and affection for a group that can test you every step of the way!
"Once you complete the training to be a qualified assessor, it's a matter of choosing the programs and the dates for reviews. The programs last 60 to 90 minutes, and it takes about 60 minutes to complete the assessment form. The program manager recommends completing at least three assessments to be able to put your learning to good use.
"Some of the fascinating programs I've reviewed include cooking, telescope constructing, mapping with GPS, improvisation-theater and song writing. I've learned quite a bit along the way to helping strengthen after-school programs for middle schoolers. I know this is important volunteer work."
Opportunity: External Accessors
Dates: Training takes place on September 10 & 11, 2013. Programs take place during October and November, 2013.
Click here to visit the United Way website and sign up
Questions? Laura Elliott 828-239-1155, laura elliott@unitedwayabc.org
|
|
|
|
|
