Sheryl Archer, LifeLong Learning’s
Volunteer of the Year, leads the LLL
website’s customer-service function.
Patricia Ingalls
LifeLong Learning (LLL) volunteers celebrated completion of another successful season at the organization’s annual spring meeting, held April 22 in Tuscany Falls Chianti Room. Active members of five committees, as well as LLL’s board members, gathered for Club President Tim Pisarski’s season review summarizing the year’s accomplishments, ahead of the group’s summer break. Refreshments and socializing followed.
“We applaud and value our wonderful volunteers serving as team members, board members and technical crews who plan and present an amazing array of learning experiences for PebbleCreek residents,” said Pisarski.
Sheryl Archer was named LLL’s Volunteer of the Year. Archer is responsible for and leads the customer-service function for the organization’s website, Pisarski said, and is “many residents’ first interface with LifeLong Learning.”
The Trips Team, led by Susan Roth, arranged nine bus day trips to nearby sights, ranging from State Farm Stadium to Ballet Arizona to ASU’s Moon and Mars Gallery, enjoyed by 470 registrants.
The Speaker Team, led by Paul Polk, set up 11 weekday series for 1,347 attendees, and six premier evening series for 2,212 attendees. Presentations about Border Patrol, Mark Twain, and AI were audience favorites.
The Classes Team, led by Marianne Boechler, arranged 32 classes for 654 attendees. New big hits included: How AI Works, Motown and the Civil Rights Movement, Inflammaging and iPhone Tips for Better Hearing. Participation in Great Decisions increased to 74 this season, and PC Reads totaled 183 attendees over two groups.
The Website Team, led by Barbara Younker, developed a new QR-code ticket-delivery process this past season for Premier Speaker Series and initiated electronic filing of LLL’s event-Information forms.
The Lobby Team, led by Jeff Young, has a slate of 27 active members, allowing full team support at every event, making theater entry smoother and providing a cleaner theater after exit.
“The Lobby Team provides for ticket sales at the door, and our on-site sales of 42 for the Premier ‘Memory Man’ was the highest we’ve ever had, since we started offering advance purchases,” Pisarski reported.
The Marketing Team, led by Gene Walther, uses multiple methods to publicize LLL’s offerings, such as Constant Contact Connections emails, eGroup emails, and Facebook messages; flyers at both clubhouses; and published articles in Robson’s PebbleCreek Post newspaper and PC News Monday-morning email. More than 200 publicity announcements supported the tremendous community involvement for this season’s events.
The AV Team, led by Doug Jameson, supported classes with audio-visual help, supported all 17 of the speaker series in the theater and the new hearing assistance system: Dual-techology Wavecast/Auracast hybrid systems, to help attendees hear classroom activities better.
Financially, LLL remains sound fiscally, using a break-even approach.
Effective July 1, three directors are retiring from their positions after years of service: Cathy Martell (multiple years, board secretary), Paul Polk (8 years, past president and Speakers Team leader), and Barb Younker (11 years, webmaster, QR training of lobby workers, trips support).
Board members approved to lead next season are: Tim Pisarski, Susan Roth, Pam O’Shea, Gene Walther, Jill Burnham, Lindsay Laven, Doug Jameson, Stacy Duncan, Marianne Boechler, Jeff Young, Phil Korzilius, and Wendy Frumkin.