College for Seniors Classes begin tomorrow!
The OLLI Office and the Reuter Center will be closed on Monday, January 15 to observe the Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday.
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OLLI's Volunteer Spotlight Project II
by Carol Gillen
Beginning in January, 2017, I spearheaded our first OLLI Volunteer Spotlight Project, where we focused each week on an OLLI member who wrote about why they loved volunteering at OLLI. We ran these 'spotlights' each week for over 6 months in the OLLI Observer, along with a photo, what that person did as a volunteer, and a link to our
Volunteer Opportunities page on the OLLI web site.
Starting this month, we will start running the next phase of this series, focusing on our wonderful OLLI instructors. These folks, with great creativity and enthusiasm, have shared what makes their teaching experience fun and personally meaningful. I think that OLLI members will enjoy reading their responses.
We also hope that you will consider volunteering in some capacity at OLLI. Keep in mind that we each have a lifetime of meaningful experiences and skills that we can share -- a result of living long, complicated, interesting lives!
As always, many thanks to all of our instructors, volunteers and our remarkable OLLI staff - you make the magic happen!
If you want more information or want to give us your quote for the project, contact Carol Gillen: carol@gillen.com
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OLLI VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
Asheville City Schools
Give your time and make a difference
Music Works!
Using music to teach social skills, boost academics and build confidence
Roots Foundation
The garden is the classroom
VOLUNTEER NOW ... You can make a difference!
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Reuter Cafe Re-Opens!
 Plan to buy a fresh cup of coffee or some delicious hot soup or a tasty treat from the Reuter Cafe. Karen will be there to greet you with a smile!
Cafe hours:
Monday-Thursday, 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m.
Friday, 8:30 a.m.-2 p.m.
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More Dining Options
Welcome Back OLLI Members! Dining Services is starting the semester with food trucks for lunch and a coffee truck from 9 to 11 in the morning in front of Brown Hall. See below for all of the details and locations!
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Meditation Special Interest Group
Monday, January 8, 4:15 p.m.
Reuter Center Room 120
Jacquie Wollins
will lead us in a meditation focused on using your senses to achieve a state of relaxation and joy. Jacquie is a College for Seniors instructor and
teaches functional meditation based upon the work of Jose Silva. This method empowers students to access and utilize more of their brains and thus develop clarity about their lives and who they really are.
On Monday, Jan. 22,
Steve Stevens will present a program on moving meditation through T'ai Chi Chih.
We welcome all OLLI members at our meditation programs regardless of previous experience.
For more information, contact:
Sally Ekaireb
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Gardening Special Interest Group
Tuesday, January 9, 4:15 p.m.
Reuter Center Room 230
"T
he Hows, Whys, and What Nows of Starting Seeds" 
presented by Angie Lavezzo of
Sow True Seed. This will be followed by a plant raffle/giveaway and a time for tea and treats and to socialize.
All OLLI members are invited!
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f/32 Photography
Wednesday, January 10, 6:30 p.m.
Reuter Center Room 206
 f/32 is a diverse group that shares an appreciation and love of photography. Members range from amateurs who like to take point-and-shoot snapshots to working professional photographers. At monthly meetings, they share their work learn new methods, and keep abreast of the latest industry news and equipment. OLLI members are offered free membership in f/32.
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The Forum Special Interest Group
Friday, January 12, 1 p.m.
Reuter Center Room 205
Topic: "Should President Trump be Impeached and What Would Be the Consequences"
The Forum offers a free-flowing dialogue designed to enrich and expand participants' thinking on topics ranging from changing demographics of retirees to nuclear disarmament.
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Carolinas' Nature
Photographers Association
Sunday, January 14, 6 p.m.
Reuter Center Manheimer Room
Earth and Light Travelogue:
Traveling the World as a Wildlife and Nature Photographer
by Richard Bernabe
Alaska. The Amazon. The Galapagos. Morocco. Tanzania. These are among more than 50 destinations where you might find wildlife and nature photographer Richard Bernabe as he strives to capture the moods and character of the world's most amazing places. He's currently in Antarctica and his plans for 2018 include Barbados, Botswana, Greenland, Iceland, Namibia, Patagonia, and Uganda.
Collectively, these and many other places and spaces mark Richard Bernabe's 30-year journey from Greenville SC with camera in hand. You can join him on some of these ventures. But, hurry! He is often booked two years ahead with 10-12 countries per year.
Or, you can simply mark your calendar for Sunday, January 14, 2018, 6-8 pm. That's when Richard is scheduled as the featured speaker at the monthly meeting of Carolinas' Nature Photographers Association-Asheville Region in partnership with OLLI.
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Travel Special Interest Group
Friday, January 19, 2 p.m.
Reuter Center Room 206
"Travel for Fun and Enrichment" SIG will hold its second meeting. The Travel SIG was formed to act as a resource for information and personal contact among OLLI members who are interested in particular travel destinations, different types of travel and meeting potential travel companions. All OLLI members are invited to attend. We hope to see you there!
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Dear OLLI Members,
We look forward to the beginning of the Winter 2018 term tomorrow, January 8. Some forecasters are calling for a wintry mix of weather tomorrow morning. We will post information about cancellations and delays on our website as soon as we can and send an email to members to let you know when there is a weather impact on our programs. In general OLLI closes when the rest of the university closes for adverse weather. Sometimes we make a call to close even when the rest of the university is open, to accommodate the unique needs of our members and because of our unique position on the campus. UNC Asheville Spring 2018 classes don't begin until Tuesday, January 16, so we will be making our own call on Monday. The good news is that we should have higher temperatures beginning on Tuesday and through the rest of the week. Always remember that OLLI offers learning for the love of it. We rely on our members to make the best decisions about whether or not it is safe to travel from their homes to the Reuter Center.
Next week,because undergraduate classes will not have begun, there will not be shuttles running. Parking during our first week of classes should be available close to the building. The Reuter Cafe will be open, but other campus dining facilities will not. Instead, from 8 to 11 a.m. there will be a coffee truck and from 11 to 2 there will be food trucks in front of Brown Hall on University Heights.
Remember that in addition to College for Seniors courses, we have many opportunities to learn. We know many people will want to attend the free Leadership Asheville Forum presentation on China this week. Many SIGs are holding their first meetings of 2018. Fab Fridays will begin on January 12, and Michelle Alexander will speak on January 18 in Kimmel Arena. You can cheer on various athletics teams and hope that you will save the date of Friday, January 26 for a panel discussion of the monuments issue, organized by Bill Carpenter and the Inclusion Committee.
If you have resolved to sharpen your mind in 2018, OLLI is the right place! Wishing you a 2018 full of learning and new ideas,
Catherine Frank
Executive Director
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Check the links here to see OLLI and UNC Asheville current events:
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College for Seniors Winter Term Begins
Monday, January 8, 2018, 9 a.m.
College for Seniors program draws from the experiences and professional expertise of its members as well as from the UNC Asheville and other area institutions and people. Courses range from Chaucer to technology, from foreign affairs to opera, from the
History of Modern China to
Asheville on the Cheap. Courses are non-credit with no tests or grades and are open to all OLLI members.
Please note that you must be registered to attend College for Seniors courses.
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A Free Evening Forum at UNC Asheville
China: Key to the North Korea Threat?
Tuesday, January 9, 7 p.
m., Reuter Center Manheimer Room
Many Asia experts believe that China holds the key to preventing further escalation of the nuclear threat from North Korea. That theory and more will be discussed by two China scholars, Dr. Jim Lenburg, professor-emeritus at Mars Hill University, and Dr. Sarah-Ann Smith, an author and former member of the U.S. diplomatic corps in Hong Kong.
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Jim Lenburg
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Sarah-Ann Smith
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Elizabeth Colton
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The program will be moderated by Dr. Elizabeth O.Colton, also a veteran of the U.S. diplomatic corps. This free event is co-sponsored by Leadership Asheville Forum and OLLI.
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OLLI Members Help Fight Hunger in Asheville
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Asheville Terrace Volunteers at a Recent Food Distribution
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OLLI members are partnering with the residents of Asheville Terrace Apartments (ATA) and the
MANNA Foodbank to improve the residents' access to healthy, nutritious food. Asheville Terrace Apartments, managed by the City of Asheville Housing Authority, provides safe, affordable housing to over 250 low-income residents, 90% of whom are over 62 years old and 10% of whom are handicapped.
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Thomas Wolfe Book Club
"The Anatomy of Loneliness"
Discussion Leader: Terry Roberts
Thursday, January 11, 5:30 p.m.,
Thomas Wolfe Memorial
52 N. Market Street, Downtown Asheville
 Beginning in January of 2018 and continuing through April, a
 monthly Thomas Wolfe Book Club will meet in downtown Asheville at the Thomas Wolfe Memorial State Historic Site. Each month a different local educator will lead the club in discussion of a pre-selected short story written by Thomas Wolfe.
Sponsored by the Wilma Dykeman Legacy
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Fab Friday Lunch and Learn Lecture
Friday, January 12, 11:30 a.m. - 1:15 p.m., Manheimer Room
Purchase lunch in our Reuter Café or bring your own brown bag. Don't miss these great programs.
"Muscle and Joint Injuries" by Dr. Aaron Vaughan, M.D.
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Aaron Vaughan
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Dr. Vaughan will offer a review of the more common injuries to muscles and joints as we age.
He will help you
understand why these pains present more
frequently as we age and what we can do to reduce their frequency and s
everity. Attention will be given to how you can best develop self-care strategies and identify when you need to call in help from medical and other health care providers.
Dr. Vaughan is board certified in family medicine and sports medicine, practices at Asheville Orthopedic Associates, and serves as the Primary Care Sports Medicine Fellowship Director at MAHEC. He is team physician to many local athletic teams including UNC Asheville, the Asheville Tourists, and Asheville High School and has served as team physician to the Carolina Hurricanes and UNC- Chapel Hill. This lecture is part of the
Health Education Series.
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The Confident Caregiver Series
Beginning Friday, January 12, 2 p.m. Reuter Center Manheimer Room
 Offered through the
Alzheimer's Association Western Carolina Chapter, the Confident Caregiver is
a series of three presentations that provide answers to the questions that arise in the middle stages of the disease. Hear from those directly affected and learn what you need to know, what you need to plan and what you can do at each point along the way to maintain quality of life for both the caregiver and the person with the disease.. Here are the topics that will be covered in each presentation:
- Friday, January 12, 2 p.m., Mid Stages I -Communication, Relationship Changes, Personal Care and Hospitalizations.
- Friday, February 9, 2 p.m. Mid Stages II -Behavior Changes, Medications, Home Safety, Driving, Living Alone and Wandering
- Friday, March 9, 2 p.m. Mid Stages III -Day Services, In-Home Care Services, Senior Living Options and Caregiver Needs
Free and open to everyone. |
Thriving in Community: A New Special Interest Group (SIG)
Friday, January 12, 2 p.m., Reuter Center, Room 207
 "Thriving in Community" is a new OLLI SIG for those who
want
to
learn about
ways of
living and aging
as independently as possible at home,
in
the neighborhood of our choice,
with
the support and services we need,
for
as long as we can. SIG members will
explore and
build creative alternatives to
the
conventional
institutional
path (CCRC's).
Join
this dynamic group for a participative
discussion led
by Fred Cardina to explore
whether
this journey
is for you.
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Thursday, January 18, 5 p.m.
Reuter Center Room206
OLLI Authors is a book talk
series designed to recognize the many very talented poetry and prose writers among OLLI members. OLLI Authors begins with readings. On Thursday, January 18, 2018, 5
p.m. in Room 206 Carol Booth and Mark Yungbluth will be the featured writers, reading from their works.
This series is free and open to everyone
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Michelle Alexander
MLK Week Keynote Speaker
Thursday, January 18, 7 p.m., Sherrill Center, Kimmel Arena
Michelle Alexander's best-selling book,
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, both crystallized and amplified public discussion about racism and civil rights, the war on drugs and the prison system. As an attorney, Alexander clerked for Justice Harry Blackmun at the U.S. Supreme Court, directed the Racial Justice Project at the ACLU of Northern California and brought discrimination suits in private practice.
She now is a visiting professor at Union Theological Seminary and a forceful public speaker who argues that mass incarceration is today's version of Jim Crow segregation. Alexander will deliver the keynote talk for UNC Asheville's observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Week.
Arena doors open at 6 pm.Lecture is free and open to the everyone. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.
This event is presented by UNC Asheville with support from the Blue Ridge District of the United Methodist Church.
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Basketball and Barbecue!!
Wednesday, January 24, 6 p.m.
Sherrill Center, Kimmel Arena
For the first time ever, fans of the UNC Asheville Bulldogs men's b
 asketball team and friends of the Asheville Symphony will have an opportunity to support both organizations at a
Musical Feast on Wednesday, January 24, 6 p.m. in Kimmel Arena. A barbecue dinner with all the trimmings, including beer, will be served at
6 p.m.
Janet R. Cone, Director of
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Janet Cone
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Athletics at UNC Asheville will speak on her unique career as one of only four women to serve as athletics director at the university level in the country. Then, the UNC Asheville Bulldogs will play Gardner- Webb in the Kimmel Arena at 7 p.m. Participants will have a special section to enjoy the game. Tickets for the game are included in the price of the event. The UNC
Asheville Bulldogs have been named the most likely to win the Big South Conference this year, and the game should be very exciting to watch.
Proceeds from the feast will go to the Asheville
 Symphony Orchestra. Feast tickets are limited. You will find more information at the Symphony Guild website,
ashevillesyphonyguild.org. When you enter the site, click on Musical Feasts on the top bar, then scroll down the list of feasts to January 2018, Musical Feast: Basketball and Barbecue for more information and tickets.
This feast will be hosted by Sam and Robin Harben, members of OLLI and the Symphony Guild. They are hoping for a good turnout of interested OLLI members to support both of these organizations and UNC Asheville.
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New to Medicare Class
Friday, January 26, 2-4 p.m.
Are you new to Medicare? Are you confused by the many choices? Unbiased and accurate information is available from trained volunteers from the North Carolina Seniors' Health Insurance Information Program. This class will provide important information to assist you in understanding how Medicare works and what you need to do to obtain benefits and save money. Spaces are limited, so reserve your space by registering online at
www.coabc.org. In addition, beginning at 12 p.m., representatives from the Social Security Administration will be available to answer questions about Social Security benefits and Medicare enrollment. They will also provide detailed instructions for accessing the Agency's online services at
www.socialsecurity.gov
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Confederate Monuments: Their History and Their Future
Friday, January 26, 2 p.m.
Reuter Center Manheimer Room
As 21st century America continues to reconsider monuments, building and street names, and memorials of all kinds in public spaces in light of contemporary ideas about slavery and racism, OLLI at UNC Asheville will present a distinguished panel to discuss the history and the issues.
Dr. Darin Waters, UNC Asheville a
ssistant professor of history and special assistant to the chancellor for community outreach and engagement will moderate a panel whose members include:
- Deborah Miles, director, UNC Asheville's Center for Diversity Education
- Sasha Mitchell, chair, African American Heritage Commission for Asheville and Buncombe County; creator/editor of the Color of Asheville at colorofasheville.net
- Steven E. Nash, associate professor of history, Eastern Tennessee State University; author, Reconstruction's Ragged Edge: The Politics of Postwar Life in the Southern Mountains
- Dan Pierce, professor of history and NEH Distinguished Professor at UNC Asheville; author of numerous books on Southern and Appalachian history
- Sheneika Smith, newly elected member of Asheville City Council; founder of Date My City
This panel discussion is part of the More Than A Month series created by members of OLLI, the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UNC Asheville, who have come together to promote and celebrate inclusivity at OLLI, develop partnerships with people of all backgrounds, and raise awareness among fellow OLLI members and the greater Asheville community of issues of concern to minority communities.
For more information, visit olliasheville.com or call 828.251.6140.
This event is free and open to everyone.
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