LLL looking forward: Strategic planning begins soon
Strong organizations take time every few years to look at their mission statement, ensuring it reflects the organization’s direction, what they are currently doing to meet their goals, what is working well for the organization, what may need to be tweaked or modified and what new opportunities the organization might want to pursue.
LifeLong Learning will be going through that process beginning in October. The process will be led by a team of members that includes John Boudreaux, Marty Chambliss, Linda Holland, Ted Ingalls, Carole Korzilius, Phyllis Minsuk and Priscilla Naworski, Nancy Wilson-Smith and will be facilitated by Cathy Lindstrom.
While the team will be taking the lead on looking at the items listed above, input will also be requested from members throughout the process. This is an inclusive process, so people with ideas are welcome to offer them to the team as we proceed. Information can be sent to Cathy Lindstrom at [email protected].
Hello? Can you hear me?
Shannon Tyree
Yes, we’re listening and paying attention. It takes quite a bit of planning to create the variety and depth of programs offered by LLL. To keep the content fresh and interesting, we’ve begun a process to uniformly collect and consider the feedback on all our programs-trips, lectures, classes and special programs.
“We’ve been collecting your impressions of our speakers, classes and trips and now will create a more unified system for evaluating the information and making decisions based on your feedback,” explained LLL President Phyllis Minsuk.
A group of dedicated LLL volunteers met to identify the advantages of consolidating this information, how the group can use the information and the actual methods by which to solicit this information. The goal is to have this completed this season.
“Capturing our participants’ comments and interests is essential and furthers our goal of continuous improvement,” Minsuk said.
How can you do your part? Please take a few minutes after the event you’ve attended to respond to the survey you receive. Your comments will be taken seriously and will help ensure LLL continues to provide our community with exceptional programming.
“We thank everyone who has participated in these surveys in the past and encourage more to respond in the upcoming season,” she said, adding, “It’s important for people to know their voices will be heard.”
LifeLong Learning will announce more information about the feedback process as it is completed. For more information about LLL visit www.lifelonglearningatpc.org.
Changes coming October 1 to LLL online sales
Office open to help you get ready
As LifeLong Learning moves toward online sales only, we hope to avoid problems that occurred last year by requiring sales be completed and paid for within 60 minutes or they will be cancelled.
Those who want to pay by check will need to come to the LLL Center with their check during office hours, but they may find the events they wish to register for are already closed.
Why 60 minutes?
Last year, when several trips and classes sold out shortly after registration opened, we found a big problem: people signed up for events in October but did not pay, taking up a space that others wanted. Then, as the events neared, they would not attend–and by then many on the waiting list had already made other plans.
To get ready for registration and sales, which begin at 8:00 a.m. Sunday, October 1, please do the following after September 19, when the website will reveal our full schedule of events for the season.
New to www.lifelonglearningatpc.org?
Please go to www.lifelonglearningatpc.org/register and complete the form. Please use both your first and last names – they are needed for class and trip lists – and complete the rest of the required fields correctly. If you enter incorrect information your transactions may be delayed or even fail, and we will not be able to contact you if there is a change. Please note your information is secure and we never share it with anyone.
Already registered for an account?
Check to make sure you remember your login and password by going to: www.lifelonglearningatpc.org/register. If you forgot your user name or password, use the links to update. Once you’ve logged in, please go to “Your Profile” and make sure your first and last names, your email and phone are correct. This is crucial for our attendance lists for trips and classes.
Get prepared for online registration
LifeLong Learning uses PayPal as the gateway to online payments because, as a non-profit, we are charged a low transaction rate by PayPal. It will be easiest for you if you set up a PayPal account before October so your transaction is quickly completed; however, if you prefer, you will be able to pay with a credit card without setting up an account. To learn more go to www.paypal.com. If you are worried at all about payment fraud you can go online to sift.com and see how they can be of service to you.
Get ready for October 1.
Trips are always the first items to sell out, so plan to register for them first. The full calendar of events will be available online on September 19 at www.lifelonglearningatpc.org. Have questions? Please send them to [email protected].
Need help?
We will hold limited office hours after September 19 to help you with your accounts. Please watch the LLL eNews (subscribe by sending your name and email address to [email protected]), PebbleNews and the PebbleCreek egroup for times and dates.
Retired Colonel Mark W. Tillman
Six great premier lectures scheduled for the season
Once again LifeLong Learning has scheduled an outstanding series of Premier Lectures and you’ll want to mark your calendar now so you don’t miss any of them. We anticipate large turnouts for these lectures, we urge you to purchase your tickets in advance.
Saturday, October 14
LifeLong Learning kicks off its 2017 – 2018 season with a first-hand account of President George Bush’s 9-11 activities by Air Force One’s pilot on 9-11, retired Colonel Mark W. Tillman who served as pilot and commander of Air Force One, 2001 to 2009. He will share his firsthand account of piloting the President on September 11, 2001 and keeping him safe.
Saturday, November 4
Impossible Dreamers is an exciting and inspiring documentary about athletes, professional and ordinary, who are 60 or older. Eric Goldfarb, the director of the film, will show an excerpt from his film and recall his reflections on its making. He will share how it changed his perspective on seniors and the difference a positive attitude makes about aging.
Friday, January 12
After a break in December for the holidays, we’ll go deep into the ocean when Alanna Mitchell, the award-winning author of Sea Sick: The Global Ocean in Crisis shares how the global ocean is undergoing vast chemical changes and why that matters.
Friday, January 19
One week later, Admiral Vern Clark, our distinguished PebbleCreek neighbor and the country’s Chief of Naval Operations on those oceans from 2000 to 2005, will share the challenges the military is facing in the 21st century.
Friday, February 16
We go back in time with Susan Marie Frontczak, a storyteller who brings Eleanor Roosevelt to life on stage. She will present a monologue and a question and answer time with both Eleanor and Susan.
Friday, March 16
Wrapping up the premier lecture season Friday, March 16 is Sergei Sikorsky, the son of Igor Sikorsky, founder of the legendary Sikorsky Helicopters. Sikorsky will present a riveting story of the founding and history of the company and this American icon.
Tickets for Premier Lectures will once again be $15 a person and may be purchased in advance, either online at www.lifelonglearningatpc.org or at the LLL Center beginning October 1. Premier Lectures are held in the Renaissance Theater and begin at 7:00 p.m.
Monday mornings are about to get a whole lot more interesting!
Think Monday mornings are blah? Think again! Designed to both educate and entertain, the LifeLong Learning season’s interesting lineup is sure to do both. Lectures begin at 10:00 a.m. and run between 60 to 90 minutes for lecture and for questions and answer time.
The schedule for October through January is as follows. The full schedule will be available after September 19 at www.lifelonglearnigatpc.org.
October 16: The FBI and Internet Crimes Against Children
Every year thousands of children become victims of crime through kidnappings, violent attacks, sexual abuse or online predators. Phoenix Police Department Sergeant Jerry Baker, supervisor of the Arizona Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, explains how the FBI and other agencies investigate such crimes.
October 23: Surviving an IED Explosion in Iraq
Sergeant Matt Slaydon, who defused bombs during three tours of duty in Iraq, tells how a buried IED detonated and changed his life forever. While the drama of being an IED specialist may be over, Slaydon is not sitting on the sidelines. He shares his story and inspires soldiers and civilians alike.
October 30: The Incredible Journey to Saturn
NASA Ambassador Ted Blank returns to bring us news from the planet Saturn as he recounts the Cassini-Huygens Mission to explore the second largest planet in our solar system, its spectacular rings and its many moons.
November 6: What is Your Dog Telling You?
Ever wonder what makes dogs so special? ASU’s behavioral scientist Clive Wynne, Ph.D., has studied animals all over the world, but has a particular fascination with dogs. He will explain why they are so lovable and how their intelligence compares to other animals.
November 13: African Adventures through the Eyes of an Artist
The thrill of surviving the charge of an African bull elephant will come alive when artist and wildlife expert Fred Krakowiak, an authority on wilderness safari on foot, leads us on a virtual safari, bringing the magic and mood of Africa to the Renaissance Theater.
January 15: Prevent and Even Help Reverse a Stroke
Stroke is the leading cause of serious disability among older Americans. Dr. James Grotta, former chair of neurology and director of the stroke program at the University of Texas Medical School in Houston, will discuss the causes and warning signs of strokes and what you can do to prevent and even help reverse them.
January 22: Stalin and Organized Terror
Robert Niebuhr, Ph.D. an Arizona State University faculty fellow, will focus on how Stalin consolidated his power through the dramatic yet purposeless reign of terror that left a million Soviets dead and as many as 10 million sent to the gulag.
January 29: Flying with President Reagan
PebbleCreek’s Steve Chealanders will talk about his service as a military aide to President Reagan from 1985 to the end of his term in office and carrying “the football” with its nuclear codes.
Take off with LLL 2017-18 trips
Got your calendar handy? This season’s LifeLong Learning trips will have you stepping out all around Arizona. With 16 trips planned for the 2017-2018 season, from Prescott to Tucson and places around the valley, there is something for everyone.
We’ll have specific information available after September 19, when the new season’s events are revealed on the LifeLong Learning website. Mark your calendars to go to www.lifelonglearningatpc.org then.
Trips fill quickly, so don’t delay in registering when registration opens at 8:00 a.m. Sunday, October 1. Remember: new this year, trips must be paid for within one hour of your registration. If you wish to pay by check you will need to come to the LLL Center, but be aware trips may be filled by the time we can help you. You’ll be able to charge to your preferred credit card or via PayPal.
Thursday, November 9: A trip to Prescott full of art. Visit the Bronzesmith and Fine Art Foundry and Gallery and Sharlot Hall Museum.
Tuesday, December 5 or January 9: Luke Air Force Base
Tuesday, December 19: Celebration of Christmas Extravaganza, a Broadway-style musical at Dream City Church, Phoenix
Wednesday, January 17: Goodyear Airport and University of Arizona Stadium
Thursday, January 25 or Thursday, February 1: Learn how medical marijuana is grown, processed and dispensed at Arizona Natures Medicine, Phoenix,
Wednesday, February 7: Western Maricopa Education Center (West-Mec) Glendale and Buckeye.
Saturday, February 17: Ballet – Cinderella, Phoenix Symphony Hall
Wednesday, February 21: OdySea Aquarium and Butterfly Wonderland, Scottsdale
Friday, February 23: Phoenix Symphony Brahms and Schuman
Tuesday, February 27: Pima Air Museum and Davis Montana AFB “Boneyard,” Tucson
Sunday, March 11: Opera – Barber of Seville
Tuesday, March 13: Casa Grande Ruins, Greek Orthodox Monastery, Pinal County Historical Society Museum, Florence
Friday, March 30: PebbleCreek LLL Gives Back – St. Vincent De Paul, Phoenix
Tuesday, April 3: Discover Tucson. Bryant Bannister Tree Ring, Arizona State Museum, DeGrazia Gallery in the Sun, Sabino Canyon