LifeLong Learning’s 15th Season!
Cathy Lindstrom
It is really amazing to consider that this is the 15th season that LifeLong Learning (LLL) has been serving PebbleCreek! As a recap, it all started with a small group getting together and forming the PC Education Club, back in 2004. Our first president, Priscilla Naworski, led the club in beginning our educational offerings. Volunteers began to show interest and joined the club.
When Priscilla stepped back, Phyllis Minsuk and Dennis DeFrain became co-presidents and continued the club’s growth in a variety of new directions. The name changed, also, to reflect our commitment to Lifelong Learning in all our educational opportunities. After a number of years, Dennis stepped back, and Phyllis became president, leading us until 2017, when she retired, and the club elected me as president.
We have done some utterly amazing things in our 15 seasons of existence, growing from a few lectures to an expanded list of Premier Lectures, Monday Morning Lectures, classes, Great Decisions, trips (including the famous Luke Air Force Base trips), the Sunday Series of concerts and musical and dance experiences, PC Reads, TED Talks, and most recently, the LLL Guitar Group, which is strumming its way into the hearts of listeners.
Our success rests on several foundations, which include the support of more than a hundred of dedicated and hard-working volunteers to help plan, develop, and carry out our programs throughout the year, and the support of our audiences and the folks who steadily buy tickets and also donate to us, to help support what we do. I hope that you agree with me that LifeLong Learning is a gem for the PebbleCreek community. We look forward to continue shining brightly for you for many years to come!
If you wish to make a contribution in honor of our 15th season, visit www.lifelonglearningatpc.org/donate.
Brig. Gen. Linda Medler (USAF, retired)
Clinton Romesha
Premier Lectures Showcase Heroes
Lorna Bray
The LifeLong Learning Lecture (LLL) team is pleased to present two Premier Lectures in January. Both speakers are people who have kept our country safer. Both lectures begin at 7 p.m. in the Renaissance Theater.
Saturday, Jan. 18 – Recollections of a Medal of Honor Recipient
“Combat is not a motivation to hate…it’s a motivation to love your brothers,” is a quote of Clinton Romesha, a 2013 Medal of Honor recipient and inductee in the Pentagon’s Hall of Heroes.
Romesha will give an insider’s view of the conditions of modern military warfare and the tough decisions he and his comrades faced in combat. He will remind audiences of the power that ordinary people have for extraordinary bravery. He is deeply committed to telling the stories of soldiers who served with him. Drawing on his lauded service as a sergeant in the Afghanistan War and on his book, Red Platoon: A True Story of American Valor, Romesha will emphasize how a capacity for leadership and bravery resides within every one of us. He is a former U.S. Army staff sergeant, noted for his heroic actions during the 2009 12-hour Battle of Kamdesh.
Friday, Jan. 31 – Today’s Cyber Security Challenges: You Can Make a Difference!
Election tampering, infrastructure attacks, corporate hacking. All these frightening events, and many other types of attacks, are almost daily news. But cyber security isn’t just a concern for government officials and CEOs—we all have a role to play.
Brig. Gen. Linda Medler (USAF, retired) will provide PebbleCreek an overview of today’s challenging cybersecurity environment, including the relevancy to the average American and implications for industry and government. Her presentation will include a brief discussion of how the federal government is challenged with its ability to address the cyber domain. Medler will review some of the initiatives in Arizona and why our state is a bit unique in addressing cyber challenges, including Governor Ducey’s Arizona Cyber Team (ACT) and the Arizona Cyber Threat Response Alliance.
Medler will also address the strategic implications of several presidential executive orders, various state laws being implemented, and discuss some of the steps being taken regarding election security. The presentation will include video clips, as well as a list of the top ten steps each of us can take to improve cyber security. Medler’s impressive background makes her well qualified to address all of the above issues.
For more information on these lectures and to purchase tickets, please visit the LifeLong Learning website at www.lifelonglearningatpc.org or visit the LLL Center during office hours.
Sunday Series Begins
Dave Hungerford
Celebrate Sundays in PebbleCreek with LifeLong Learning (LLL). Four years ago, LLL initiated this enlightening and entertaining program of concerts held in the Chianti Room that include refreshments and snacks. Admission is free, but you must register to assure a seat for the performances on the LLL website, www.lifelonglearningatpc.org. We ask that you bring a non-perishable food item to contribute to St. Mary’s Food Bank. This season’s schedule is as follows.
Jan. 26, 2 to 3:30 p.m.: Dan Reed and his Hot Shots play Dixieland jazz. Learn about a style of music sometimes referred to as hot jazz or early jazz, which was first developed in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century. Registration began on the LLL website on Dec. 26.
Feb. 23, 2 to 3:30 p.m.: Guitar Group plays Songs You Like to Listen to. Be entertained and informed about some of your favorite country, pop, rock, and other fun songs performed by members of the LLL Guitar Group. Registration begins on the LLL website on Jan. 23.
March 29, 2 to 3:30 p.m.: SoSco takes us Around the World with Music. This award-winning flute/guitar duo from the Phoenix valley will educate and entertain us on a journey of music from many cultures. Begin registering on the LLL website on Feb. 28.
Julie Arendall, Goodyear City Manager
Marvelous Monday Morning Lectures
Lorna Bray
The LifeLong Learning (LLL) Lecture team is pleased to offer the following Monday Morning Lectures in January. All lectures are at 10 a.m. in the Renaissance Theater. and tickets are $5 at the door.
On Jan. 6, join geologist Steven Semken when he explains Arizona’s deep history as we travel back in time to find answers recorded in its fossils, rocks, mountains, and landscapes. His lecture will include the origin of our magnificent Grand Canyon, the state’s copper wealth, the red rocks of Sedona and Monument Valley, the Mogollon Rim, and the Sonoran Desert community.
On Jan. 13, Julie Arendall, Goodyear city manager, will discuss “Building a Vibrant ‘Heart’ of the City.” Goodyear is partnering with the Globe Corporation to build the Goodyear Civic Square on 47 acres at 150th Drive and McDowell Road. The area will include city hall, a library, a two-acre park/gathering place, and upscale Class A office space. Learn more about this project and how it will affect Goodyear and you.
On Jan. 20, Dr. Mallary Tytel will help us explore our own cultural assumptions. In today’s turbulent world, Americans are more divided than any time in our lifetimes, rejecting as false the statements that don’t agree with their own positions. How did these positions become so calcified, and how can we learn to treat others with curiosity, kindness and respect?
On Jan. 27, LLL welcomes back M. Zuhdi Jasser, M.D. He will review the current state of affairs regarding the regional and global threat of radical Islam and its militant offshoots across Muslim majority countries. Jasser will discuss the theological underpinnings of Islam, and how an understanding of it is often obscured by the media, government, academia, and other cultural platforms. Jasser will also cover associated Islamist links to anti-Semitism, anti-Westernism, and their effort to block free speech and religious freedom, and will look at the problem posed by these ideological security threats and also present possible solutions.
For further details on these lectures, visit the LifeLong Learning website at www.lifelonglearningatpc.org or pick up a SCHEDULE, available in the clubhouse lobbies or the LLL Center.
Summer TED Talk extravaganza
TED Talk Winter Extravaganza
Bill Nee
Looking for ways to satisfy your intellectual curiosity? LifeLong Learning (LLL) is pleased to announce the return of the highly successful TED Talk Summer Extravaganza, which was held last June in the Renaissance Theater. If you are a snowbird or missed part of the summer event, our Winter Extravaganza will repeat the same 29 TED Talks and will be held in the Renaissance Theater the entire day of Jan. 30. Admission is free.
TED presentations will be grouped thematically in one-hour blocks. Residents are invited to join us for all or any part of the day’s TED Talks. Binge-watch for the entire program, or simply attend for an hour—the choice is yours! There’s no admission charge and all are welcome.
For residents unfamiliar with TED Talks, the first conference was held in 1984, and it was designed as a convergence among the fields of technology, entertainment, and design (TED). Six years later, organizers adopted the mission of “ideas worth spreading” and the TED phenomenon became an annual event in Monterey, CA. Today, there are more than 3,000 TED Talks, and the roster of presenters has broadened considerably to include business and religious leaders, musicians, philanthropists, philosophers, scientists, and many others. You can see the entire list of talks at www.TED.com.
More than four years ago, LifeLong Learning at PebbleCreek added TED Talks to its existing roster of special programs. Since then, interest in TED Talks has steadily increased and 61 talks have been shown to community residents with small group discussion following each one. The Winter Extravaganza uses a different format, and it “rapid fires” one TED Talk after another, without discussion.
The TED Talk Winter Extravaganza features a vast array of high-interest topics carefully selected for PebbleCreek residents. Are you fascinated by your pet’s behaviors? Are you curious about the boundaries of artificial intelligence or the latest technology breakthroughs? Do you ever wonder what’s going on with planet earth? If so, you’ll want to join us and learn more about these as well as other topics!
For details about the specific topics shown each hour, visit the LLL website at www.lifelonglearningatpc.org. Time and topic schedules will also be posted on bulletin boards throughout PebbleCreek and at each clubhouse kiosk.
The next regular small group TED Talks will be Jan. 9 and Feb. 13. Registration opens on the website 30 days prior to each event and is required to attend.
LifeLong Learning’s (LLL) January Events
Events with an asterisk are free but require registration, which opens 30 days prior to the event. Monday Morning Lectures begin at 10 a.m. in the Renaissance Theater and are $5 at the door. Premier Lectures begin at 7 p.m. in the Renaissance Theater and are $15 per person in advance or at the door. Check the LLL website, www.lifelonglearningatpc.org, for times, costs, and to register.
Monday Morning Lectures
Jan. 6: Geologic Forces that Formed Arizona
Jan. 13: Goodyear’s Proposed Civic Square
Jan. 20: Exploring Cultural Assumptions
Jan. 27: Islamic Terrorism
Premier Lectures
Jan. 16: Recollections of a Medal of Honor Recipient
Jan. 31: Cybersecurity Challenge
Trips
Jan. 15: The Musical Instrument Museum
Jan. 21: REI and Goodyear Police 911 Call Center; Artisan Bread
Classes
Jan. 9: Vegan Lifestyle, Get Organized
Jan. 14, Artisan Bread
Jan. 15: The Making of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
Jan. 20: 1 p.m. Cooking with an Instant Pot Class, Great Decisions 1 and 2
Jan. 21: Artisan Bread class; Great Decisions 3 and 4
Jan. 22: Cooking with an Instant Pot, Harvey Girls class
Jan. 23: Cutting Cable
Jan. 24: Great Decisions 5
Special Programs
*Jan. 2: PC Read
Jan. 8: LLL Guitar Group drop-in
*Jan. 9: TED Talks
*Jan. 26: Sunday Series, Dixieland Jazz
TED Talks Extravaganza Jan. 30.
LLL Contact Information
* LLL Center office hours Tuesdays through Fridays, 9 a.m. to noon.
* SCHEDULE available in each clubhouse lobby.
* Website: www.lifelonglearningatpc.org.
* LLL Center: 623-535-8875.
* Email: [email protected].
Classes Filling Fast
Carole Korzilius
Seasonal residents of PebbleCreek will find many of our LLL (LifeLong Learning) classes already filled, but some openings remain and registrants can always join a waitlist. Remember, registration and payment are required for all classes as space is limited.
For those dealing with smaller spaces, Get Organized: Downsizing for Seniors on Thursday, Jan. 9, will offer advice on what to keep and where to sell or donate unneeded items. Beatles fans can still find seats at Vinnie Bruno’s discussion of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band on Wednesday, Jan. 15. On Thursday, Jan. 16, you will take a trip around the world with gemstones. You will learn about diamonds, amber to zircon, mining techniques, and unusual historical facts about gemstones.
Fans of the Grand Canyon will enjoy hearing about Fred Harvey, the coming of the railroad, and the many contributions of the Harvey Girls on Wednesday, Jan. 22. For recent retirees, we offer Your Social Security Benefits with Jack Burns from the Social Security Administration on Thursday, Feb. 20, and Making Your Money Last in Retirement, a financial planning discussion, on Wednesday, March 4. And finally, for those with elderly parents or uninitiated offspring, David Kampfschulte returns for End-of-Life Talk on Monday, March 30.
There is still a lot to learn! Check out the LLL SCHEDULE at the clubhouse lobby or visit our website at www.lifelonglearningatpc.org.
Looking for an LLL Trip in 2020?
Sue Roth
While several trips have already sold out, there are still opportunities for some great outings with LifeLong Learning (LLL). You can also add your name to a wait list as cancellations do happen.
January: There are still some openings for the trip to the Musical Instrument Museum (MIM) on Wednesday, Jan. 15. The curator at the MIM will address how the museum acquires instruments and objects, the creative process in selecting objects and how they’re displayed, and how they integrate the videos and sounds in each showcased country.
The REI/911 Call Center trip is sold out.
February: The trips to the Arizona Commemorative Air Force Museum, plus Falcon Field, on Tuesday, Feb. 18, and the Dwarf Car Museum plus Shamrock Dairy on Thursday, Feb. 20, still have some openings.
The ASU trip is fully booked.
March: The Lake Pleasant Sunset Dinner Cruise on Wednesday, March 11, is almost full. There are openings on the Wednesday, March 4, trip to the Arizona Capitol Museum plus Eddie Basha Collection of Contemporary Western and Native American art at the Salmeri Gallery; the Friday, March 13, trip to the University of Arizona SIM Lab trip; and the Friday, March 27, LLL Gives Back at St. Vincent DePaul trip.
Each of these trips will give you unique opportunities for learning and an enjoyable experience that you may not consider travelling to on your own. You can sit back, relax on a comfortable chartered bus, and visit with friends. A delicious restaurant lunch is always included as well as all gratuities. We even offer a candy treat on the bus ride back to PebbleCreek!
To read more about each trip and to sign up, just visit www.lifelonglearningatpc.org.
If you need help signing up, stop into the LLL Center any Tuesday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to noon. Volunteers will be available to help you.
Looking forward to seeing you in 2020!