OLLI_TopBarNewsletter
 Calendar and Announcements
UPCOMING SCHEDULE OF EVENTS 
May 17, 2015
In This Issue
Quick Links
We Remember
Candle burning
Ted Seitz 
May 14, 2015 

Joyce Taft
May 15, 2015
Summer Registration Day!  mark your calendarMark your calendar for Tuesday, May 19 for summer registration day.   
  
Audubon Society Meeting
Tuesday, May 19,  7 pm
 
Reuter Center
Free and open to the public

"Saving the Cerulean Warbler: American Bird Conservancy Initiatives in Latin America"
 by Benjamin Skolnik

Benjamin Skolnik, director of international program development for the American Bird Conservancy (ABC), will discuss the accomplishments of the Cerulean Warbler Corridor project to date and provide an overview of the many activities underway in Colombia. He will also discuss the broader context of protecting migratory and threatened resident avian species in Latin America and provide a snapshot of some of the hot global debates regarding biodiversity policy where ABC is actively making a difference for birds.

Benjamin Skolnik
Benjamin received his MS in the sustainable development and conservation biology program at the University of Maryland. He was a Peace Corps volunteer in a high Andean village in Ancash, Peru, where he worked on community initiatives including providing technical assistance in watershed conservation activities.

Senior Softball Returns! 
 Senior softball is starting back up. Finish your spring College for Seniors classes and join us on the diamond at Weaver Park.  (Behind Luella's BBQ on Murdock Avenue. ) 
We had a good inaugural season last year and want to build on our success. We have bats and balls and gloves, so if you don't have any, you can use what we have.  
 Please call: Call Mickey at 
301-758-8606 or [email protected]
 for more information 

OLLI Art Bazaar

arts and crafts 

 Registration is now open for exhibitors for the Annual OLLI Art Bazaar scheduled for 
November 13-14, 2015. 
Click here to download an exhibitor registration form (also available at OLLI office) to complete and return with payment to secure your spot at the Bazaar.  Spaces are limited and go in a hurry, so act now!
Reuter Center Singers Perform
at Asheville-Buncombe 
Annual Memorial Day 
Concert and Ceremony
Monday, May 25, 2:30 pm

 
The Reuter Center Singers will perform as part of the the annual Memorial Day Concert and Ceremony on the Roger McGuire Green Stage of Pack Square Park in downtown Asheville starting at 2:30 pm on Monday, May 25.

The Reuter Center Singers will perform The National AnthemGod Bless America and Mansions of the Lord with the award-winning North Carolina Army National Guard's 440th Army Band.  The 440th Army Band will also be performing other selections before, during, and after the ceremony.  Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer will be the ceremony's keynote speaker, and Matt Mittan, owner of Independent Asheville Radio and commentator on News Talk 50, 1350 WZGM, will serve as master of ceremonies.

Volunteer Opportunity     

Volunteer to serve free lunches to children this summer
Volunteers are needed for free lunch distribution through Buncombe County Schools for low income sites Monday through Friday, June 15-August 7 for about two hours a day.  You can volunteer for one time only or for as many times as you can.
We are working with three sites located in Woodfin, West Asheville, and near the airport.  Contact OLLI member Judy Mattox:  [email protected] 
828-683-2176

Dear OLLI Members,
We are all anxious that our Summer 2015 catalogs have not appeared in the mail.  OLLI staff had everything to the printer on time, and the printer completed and mailed the catalogs on schedule.  We did not know that there has been a significant change in the way that bulk mail in our region is delivered.  Everything is now routed through Greenville, SC before coming back to Western North Carolina. While we used to mail and have the catalogs in your mailboxes within one or two days, we now have no way of tracking or predicting how long it will take for bulk mail to arrive.  We had been told that it has never taken more than six days from mailing to delivery, but at this point, it has been more than a week since OLLI Summer 2015 catalogs left Asheville. 

We apologize for this inconvenience and are going to create a plan to time the printing and mailing differently for future catalogs and to investigate our alternatives to bulk mail.  We are also planning to create an online catalog that is easier to navigate for future terms

We know that many of our members prefer having the print catalog, even though the catalogs have been online for over a week.  We do not have enough extra catalogs in the office to meet the demand for everyone who receives a catalog in the mail.  We will have catalogs available for use in the office tomorrow for those who cannot navigate the current PDF version of the catalog. We will distribute printed copies of the registration form for those who can use the online catalog to choose courses but cannot print the forms for registration.

We will tomorrow afternoon send a detailed email message about the registration process.  We will be going back to the first-come, first served line-up process for the summer 2015 term. We will NOT be taking memberships for 2015/16 until June 1. We are reaching the finish line in the purchase of an online registration system, so we anticipate being able to announce our plans for next steps some time this summer.

During the coming week we will be interviewing candidates for the position of College for Seniors program manager.  Thanks to Maryann Jones, Judy LaMee, Jim Lenburg, Debra Liles, and Luis Uranga for serving on the committee and to the many College for Seniors teachers and leaders who responded to our questions to help determine the kinds of qualifications we seek in a new leader for this position.  We will keep you posted on our progress.

We want to thank the Reuter Center Singers for two great spring concerts and hope you will be able to celebrate Memorial Day by seeing their performance in Pack Square Park on Monday, May 25 at 2:30 pm.  We also want to thank all of our OLLI "Call to Action" volunteers for the great work they have done in the Asheville City Schools as tutors, mentors, and classroom assistants.  We understand that teacher value "OLLI volunteers" (as we all do in the OLLI office) for their intelligence, diligence, and compassion. We want to extend special thanks to Sarah Reincke, Chuck Rosenblum, and Kathy Rouse for the great work they have done building relationships with the Asheville City Schools Foundation and the VISTA volunteer coordinators at each of the schools and for the careful ways they have worked with OLLI members to make this a meaningful and satisfying opportunity.

We appreciate the passion each of you brings to your creative retirement, 
Catherine Frank
Executive Director

Around the Center
  
Reuter Center Singers director Chuck Taft begins the show.

Reuter Center Singers gave a spirited performance at their Spring concerts featuring Beatles and Beach Boys tunes.
Volunteers Make a Difference!  
Volunteers celebrate their service in local schools
by Sarah Reincke

OLLI volunteers contributed approximately 3000 service hours to Asheville City Schools during the 2014/15 school year, adding up to $50,000 worth of in kind donated time!
 
The partnership between Asheville City Schools Foundation and OLLI's Civic Engagement Committee is truly a win/win relationship!  We have trained and placed more than forty volunteers in Asheville City Schools in a number of capacities and programs. OLLI volunteers are directing their effort towards the Read To Succeed Program, classroom assistants, tutors, administrative help, test proctors and acting as field trip chaperones.
 
The relationships OLLI volunteers are developing with teachers and students in various Asheville City Schools is amazing and truly benefits both the students and teachers.  Each of the volunteers also receives great personal gratification.
 
On May 14 OLLI's Civic Engagement Committee hosted a year-end celebration to honor the OLLI volunteers and the Americorps VISTA Volunteers who work for the Asheville City Schools Foundation and act as our liaisons within each of the schools where OLLI volunteers are placed.
 
During our celebration, Dr. Gordon Grant, principal of Hall Fletcher Elementary School, inspired us all with a wonderful speech about educational challenges in today's society.
 
We look forward to more good works from the fabulous OLLI volunteers as we continue our Call To Action for Asheville City Schools during the 2015/2016 school year.
 
Interested in joining the fun? Please contact Chuck Rosenblum ([email protected]) or Kathy Rouse ([email protected]) for more information.
Special Interest Group (SIG)
The Forum Meets 
Friday, May 22,  1 pm, Room 205
 
At the next Forum meeting, the topic under discussion will be 'What are the issues concerning marijuana?'

Mark your calendar to attend this lively group and join in a  free-flowing dialogue designed to enrich and expand participants' thinking.  For more information contact:  Lou Millin, 828-298-3863, [email protected]

OLLI membership required to participate.
Special Thanks  
OLLI would like to thank its Creative Retirement Exploration Weekend (CREW) tour leaders, Alyssa Augustine & Bethany Behrmann

Alyssa Augustine
Mosaic Realty
828-633-5051
[email protected]
www.mymosaicrealty.com

Bethany Behrmann
Dixon Pacifica
828-777-3040
[email protected]
www.dixonpacifica.com

 CREW helps those considering relocation in retirement examine all their options carefully and make an informed decision about this major life transition.
 
Pack Library Programs 
All programs are held in Pack Memorial Library's Lord Auditorium and are free and open to the public
  
Musicke Antiqua, TuesdayMay 26,  3 pm 
Asheville's own early music ensemble will perform music from the 13th through the 20th century.  The consort performs in costume on replicas of a wide variety of early music instruments including recorders, double reed instruments, strings, and percussion.


The following four programs are held in conjunction with the Library's 2015 Chautauqua Series.   

 

A Night at the (Silent) Movies, Wednesday, June 3, 6 pm

Local film historian and WCQS host Chip Kaufmann presents a showing of silent film star Mary Pickford  and comedy greats of the silent screen.  A Little Princess with Mary Pickford (1917, 62 min.) and The Butcher Boy with Fatty Arbuckle and Buster Keaton in a parody of   A Little Princess (25 min.)

Orson Welles' The Third Man,  Thursday, June 4,  3 pm
"The Third Man" is a 1949 British film noir, directed by Carol Reed and starring Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, Orson Welles, and Trevor Howard. It is considered one of the greatest films of all time, celebrated for its atmospheric cinematography, performances, and musical score.  Novelist Graham Greene wrote the screenplay. Anton Karas wrote and performed the score, which used only the zither; its title music "The Third Man Theme" topped the international music charts in 1950.

Gordon Parks' The Learning Tree , Tuesday, June 9, 3 pm

Written and directed by Gordon Parks, The Learning Tree, based upon Parks' 1964 semi-autobiographical novel of the same name, is a 1969 film which tells the story of a young African American growing up in rural Kansas during the late 1920s and early 1930s, when racial discrimination was a social norm and legally sanctioned in parts of the United States.  It is the first Hollywood studio film to be directed by an African American.

Walt Disney's Saving Mr. Banks,Thursday,  June 11, 3 pm

Saving Mr. Banks is a 2013 period drama film directed by John Lee Hancock. The film depicts the development of the 1964 Walt Disney Studios film Mary Poppins and stars Emma Thompson as author P. L. Travers and Tom Hanks as filmmaker Walt Disney, Referring to the father in Travers' story, the film depicts the author's fortnight-long briefing in 1961 Los Angeles as she is persuaded by Disney, in his attempts to obtain the screen rights to her novels. In addition to being a compelling story, the film gives a peek behind the Disney curtain, showing a little of how the magic is made. 

 

Click here to view a program flier 


The 2015 Chautauqua Series is a yearly program hosted by Buncombe County Libraries.  This year's Chautauqua theme is "America at the Movies" and includes four performances highlighting individuals important to the motion picture industry.
These programs, unlike the movies above, are held at the Warren Wilson College Morris Pavilion.
Tuesday, June 16, 7 pm, Orson Welles

Wednesday, June 17, 7 pm, Gordon Parks

Thursday, June 18, 7 pm, Mary Pickford

Friday, June 19, 7 pm, Walt Disney  

 

For more informaton about Asheville's Chautauqua 2015, click here. 

Osher Lifelong Learning Institute | 828-251-6140 | [email protected] | http://www.olliasheville.com
Reuter Center, CPO #5000
UNC Asheville
One University Heights
Asheville, NC 28804