2018-01-03, Jim McKinney, Academy for Learning in Retirement

In Lya’s absence, Bill Harty opened our meeting at 12:12 pm. Ana Mangino did the invocation. This was followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. In memory of Ross Ramsey, John Pickett led us in singing “Auld Lang Syne.” After our meet & greet session, Bill Harty noted that we had only one Rotarian with a birthday in the month of January. We had 2 guests of Rotarians and one visiting Rotarian.

Happy Bucks:  As usual, we had many responders in our happy bucks time. Marc Santiago was mistaken at the meeting for a woman. John Hernandez was glad to be here in 2018. Patty Groth kicked in a buck or two because her surgery was successful, and she noticed Mary Ellen McKay’s furry purse.  Mary Ellen held it up for all to see and said that it is known as a “pet kilt.” Patty also noted that there was a temporary computer glitch in her recent records.  Jim Parks donated money to the can in recognition of the Arizona Bowl in which the Aggies won the game!  Barry Fisher was happy for many NMSU athletics programs and games. Bill Harty (another NMSU athletics fan) noted that the Arizona Bowl victory moved us way up in the “mid-major rankings.” After the game in Arizona, Bill got to hold the bowl trophy! John Pickett made a donation to the can in honor of his wedding anniversary. Daniel Payne, another NMSU sports fan, kick in a buck for Aggie football and basketball victories. Richelle Ponder was impressed with the NMSU band, and announced that her daughter injured herself but is recovering.

The Program—Jim McKinney: The Academy for Learning in Retirement

John Pickett introduced the speaker as a fellow Rotarian who John has known for a long time. John wasn’t sure what Jim was going talk about but he said “I’m sure it is important.”

Jim McKinney is a member of the Rotary breakfast club. He is also active supporter of the Academy for Learning in Retirement. ALR is a learning seminar series wherein college professors meet with community folks to present interesting topics from their respective disciplines. Since1992, Virginia Higbee and Tom Gale (NMSU) led ALR.  The lecture series are tailored for nonacademic audiences who never want to stop learning.

ALR serves as a “town & gown” function on interesting topics.  There are no textbooks, no exams, and no grades.  Audience members pay $5 for four separate sessions with the professor.  The presentations are usually 90 minutes long. NMSU does not provide funds for the program.  Costs are covered by the $5 fee. The programs are presented in the Good Samaritan Auditorium.  Every year the lectures are offered from September to May.

Some topics from the past include: The History of New Mexico, The Civil War, The History of Food, How Memory Works, Scarcity of Water, Jazz Music, and Chocolate & Beer. The auditorium is usually filled with learners both young and old.  “Hamilton” presented my Megan McQueen is coming up next starting January 9. Don’t miss it.

After the Program

Patty Groth announced that the “can” collected $75 for the club school project.  The pot for the card drawing game is valued at $30. Will Schroeder, grandson of Steve Loman, held the winning red ticket. While Will did not pull out a joker from the deck, he was given a prize from the consolation basket. Next week, we do it again. 

The meeting was closed with the 4-Way Test.

<prior week   following week>

Guests of Rotarians

Visiting Rotarians

Student Guests

Make-ups

January Birthday

January Wedding Anniversaries

January Club Anniversaries

Submitted by Blaine Goss