Cathy Lindstrom is the outgoing LLL co-president and newly appointed LLL secretary.
Leadership Transition Encourages Reflection
Cathy Lindstrom
At the end of June, I will be stepping down from my current role as co-president of LifeLong Learning (LLL). This will complete my third year of serving as either president or co-president, so it’s a good time to look back on the changes to LLL during those three years.
During my first year or so, LLL steadily increased its number of volunteers, as more residents discovered the fun to be had by volunteering for LLL. From lobby staffing for lectures, to reviewing fascinating TED Talk videos for the extravaganzas, to scheduling unique and engaging teachers for classes, there was a lot to do and even more to enjoy.
I had the pleasure of talking with some of our lecturers before and after their presentations, and I heard from them how much they enjoyed speaking to our PebbleCreek audiences. Susan Marie Frontczak’s rendition of Eleanor Roosevelt sticks out in my mind, as does Brian Schul, who piloted the SR-71 Blackbird and had the audience in stitches with his funny stories.
The clamor of demand for the ever-popular InstaPot classes was great, as was our dedicated group of PebbleCreek readers, who came up with entertaining and thought-provoking books to read.
We were really on a roll, with great plans for the 2020 year, and then came that March when everything shut down. One thing about LLL volunteers and leaders, when faced with a crisis, they really get creative in solving it. We had to cancel our remaining educational offerings and refund payments.
So, what to do after that? Thanks to Neal Wring and John Fox, we learned to use Zoom and began to explore offering our classes and lectures virtually and at no cost to the community. That was made possible, in part, by many instructors who generously donated their speaking fees back to us and by some anonymous donors who gave great support. We offered classes, lectures, and PC Reads throughout fall, winter, and into March this year, via Zoom, with success, due to your support!
Now we are actively planning for our future offerings next season, with hope that we will be able to see each other face-to-face again as more opens up in PebbleCreek. The journey I have been on has had its ups and downs, but always, always stalwart and creative colleagues remained right there with me as we transitioned from the familiar to the new (and sometimes scary) approaches online and as we all learned, adapted, and grew. I am so confident that LLL, under the leadership of my dear co-president, Paul Polk, will continue to grow, adapt to change, and offer the wonderful educational opportunities you have come to expect from us. I will still be around, too, as they talked me into becoming LLL’s secretary! Stay tuned!
LLL Contact Information
Pat Ingalls
* Website: www.lifelonglearningatpc.org
* Email: [email protected]
* LLL Center hours: Closed until further notice
User, or Product, of Social Media?
Bill Nee
Many social media platforms try to entice us to stay online so that we view more ads, and they make more money. They feed us what we want to see and buy. That is Facebook and Google’s model.
Many of us have Alexa or other connection devices that provide convenience but also target our wants and biases. With artificial intelligence algorithms becoming more powerful and our data more saleable, where and how do we draw the line? This insightful TED Talk, titled “We’re building a dystopia just to make people click on ads,” by techno-sociologist Zeynep Tufekci, takes an eye-opening look at human behavior and the use of artificial intelligence—and who gains. We are the product being sold and manipulated.
To view this 23-minute talk, go to TED.com, click watch in the header, then TED Talks, then in Search talks input “We’re building a dystopia just to make people click on ads,” scroll a little lower, and click on the talk you selected.
Focusing on the Future
Ruth Shaffer
In an ongoing effort to delight PebbleCreek audiences, LifeLong Learning’s co-directors of marketing and communications, Ruth Shaffer and Barb Younker, held a focus group on April 30 with eight newer residents of PebbleCreek to ascertain their interests.
The group met in person at the LifeLong Learning (LLL) Center and discussed a variety of ideas about future possible lecture and class topics.
Many LLL programs originate as a result of residents’ suggestions. If you have an idea for a speaker, teacher, topic, or trip, email it now to [email protected] for consideration during summer planning for next season’s LLL programs.