Outstanding opportunities planned
Ruth Shaffer
Although it is only August, plans are almost complete for the 2019-20 LifeLong Learning (LLL) at PebbleCreek season, with the LLL teams hard at work since the spring to bring you unique learning opportunities.
With 20 different classes planned, you are sure to find something you’d like to try. In addition to popular classes offered in the past, new offerings include “Do-It-Yourself Succulents,” “Interior Design for Seniors” and classes on the Harvey Girls, The Great (Black) Migration and the Intriguing World of Gemstones.
New trips this year will include a dinner cruise on Lake Pleasant, the REI Distribution Center and ASU’s School of Earth and Space Exploration.
As always, a mix of lectures about health, Arizona, law enforcement and the media will be offered at the Monday morning lectures.
Lectures will inform us on many topics including China and U.S. issues, advances in cardiac care, sustainability of water in the West and unmanned aircraft for fire and police and North Korea.
You will be able to see all the LLL offerings when the 2019-2020 website goes live on Sept. 1. In mid-September, printed copies of the schedule will be distributed throughout the community. You can also visit the LLL website at www.lifelonglearningatpc.org.
If you don’t have an LLL account yet, go to the website and create one so that you will be ready when registration opens. Contact [email protected], if you need assistance.
LLL to continue closed captioning lectures
Lorna Bray
LifeLong Learning (LLL) offered closed captioning (CC) on a trial basis for Monday Morning Lectures and Premier Lectures this past lecture season so that those residents who are hard of hearing can enjoy the lectures. Early feedback was mixed, but by the end of the lecture season, the negative feedback had lessened in favor of the more positive aspects that CC offers.
Many people with hearing loss may have felt excluded from attending our lectures prior to the use of CC. Many audience members appreciated the clarity CC brought by being able to ignore distractions in the theater, understand the presenter better if they spoke too fast and especially during the Q and A after the lecture.
The hearing loop in the theater helps some with hearing aids, but closed captioning helps everyone. All factors were considered by the LLL board at its June meeting and voted to continue offering this service.
As one of our hard of hearing audience members remarked, “I loved going to PebbleCreek LLL lectures, but could no longer fully understand the speakers and had generally stopped attending. The installed hearing loop was helpful but depends on how clearly the speaker enunciates and uses the microphone. Now, with captioning, every word can be understood, and I am back to enjoying the speakers. No more worries about understanding speakers with accents or soft voices, and I can understand the question and answer time.”
LLL is proud to offer this service to PebbleCreek residents.
Exciting line-up of speakers for Premier Lecture season
Emily Grotta
LifeLong Learning (LLL) has once again created a wonderful lineup of speakers for its Premier Lectures, including several who spoke here previously to rave reviews. We expect you may find each so fascinating that you’ll want to purchase a “Premier Lecture Season Ticket” (see the correlating article in this issue).
PebbleCreek’s Steve Chealander opens the season on Friday, Nov. 8, with his “Recollections of Ronald Reagan.” Chealander was a military aide to President Reagan and carried the “nuclear football.”
The second speaker, Clinton Romesha, was awarded the Medal of Honor in 2013 for his service in the war in Afghanistan. His book, Red Platoon: A True Story of American Valor, emphasizes how the capacity for leadership and bravery resides within every one of us. He will present on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2020.
On Friday, Jan. 31, 2020, Brigadier General Linda Medler, director of cyber security for Raytheon Missile Systems, will discuss U.S. cyber security and its ability to prevent election tampering, infrastructure attacks and hacking of government databases.
Susan Frontczak will offer a living history performance as Erma Bombeck on Friday, Feb. 15, 2020, and tell us how Erma turned the average American housewife into an American legend by exposing the everyday struggles of a wife and mother. You may remember her outstanding appearance as Eleanor Roosevelt two years ago.
On Friday, Mar. 3, 2020, Gary Marchant, ASU law professor, will discuss artificial intelligence and how it needs to be controlled to benefit, not hurt, individuals, businesses and society.
The final lecture on Friday, Mar. 20, 2020, brings Mark Randol back to PebbleCreek to discuss migration and how social media has accelerated the migration of people seeking a better life for themselves.
New this year – Premier Lecture series season tickets
Jeff Young
For the first time, LifeLong Learning (LLL) will be offering Premier Lecture season tickets, which provide an opportunity to guarantee a seat at each of the six lectures and save money, too.
Premier Lecture season tickets will cost $75. You pay for five tickets and get the sixth free. In addition, you’ll receive two free tickets to any of the season’s 16 Monday morning lectures.
LifeLong Learning is excited about this year’s program of Premier Lectures (see article in this issue for more information).
Worried that you might have scheduling conflicts? Not a problem. Your ticket can be given to a neighbor or friend who would like to attend the lecture.
Sound interesting?
The Premier Lecture season tickets will be available for purchase during a four-week period, from Monday, Sept. 16 through Saturday, Oct. 12. Single tickets for Premier Lectures will go on sale on Oct. 14.
The easiest way to purchase season tickets is online at www.lifelonglearningatpc.org. Volunteers are at the LLL center during office hours will be able to assist you as well.
NEW: Registration will be easier as LLL sets staggered registration dates
Emily Grotta
To make registration for classes, trips and lectures easier, LifeLong Learning (LLL) is staggering the dates for registration for the 2019-20 season.
Registration for the Luke Air Force Base lottery will be open from Sept. 8 to 20 (see accompanying article).
Registration for the new Premier Lecture season tickets (buy five, get six!) will be open from Sept. 9 to Oct. 12. Registration for single Premier Lecture tickets will begin on Oct. 14.
Registration for classes begins Oct. 1, while trip registration, other than for Luke, begins Oct. 7.
Registration for PC Reads, TED Talks and the Sunday Series will, as before, open one month prior to the program.
As always, the easiest way to register for LLL events is through LifeLong Learning’s website at www.lifelonglearningatpc.org. We hope this new system will make it easier for you to register for events and eliminate some of the Oct. 1st frenzy of previous years.
Lottery for Luke AFB trip
Barb Younker
To help alleviate the frustration and give everyone who has not been on a trip to Luke Air Force Base a fair shot, LifeLong Learning (LLL) will be holding a lottery for the one Luke trip that we will offer on Dec. 3 for the 2019-20 season.
We are still working on the final details, but you will be able to enter the lottery both online and at the LLL center during office hours. Entries will be for a single person and will be checked to verify that the registrants live in PebbleCreek and have not been on a Luke trip before.
As always, the capacity for the Dec. 3 trip will be 30 people, including the required LifeLong Learning escorts.
You may ask:
* Why have Luke AFB tickets sold out in five minutes or less? Unfortunately, there are only 28 seats available per trip, and hundreds of people attempt to purchase a ticket at the 8:00 a.m. sales opening. Tt is likened to winning (or losing) a lottery.
* Why doesn’t LLL offer more trips to tour Luke Air Force Base? We would like to offer more trips, but we can only offer what Luke makes available to us. Trip opportunities vary depending on base activity and base status.
* Are there LLL volunteers on the Luke trip? Yes, two LLL monitors are required to be on the trip to assist passengers and coordinate with Luke Air Force Base personnel along the trip route.
You will be able to register online for the Luke Lottery from Sept. 8 through 20. Please note only one registration per PebbleCreek resident is allowed.
Please watch the PebbleCreek Post and your emails for details once they are finalized.