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Learning in Retirement, Inc. , University of Georgia, Athens
Taken from the May, 2006 issue of the LIR Newsletter and reprinted
here with permission.
President’s Address at the 12th Annual Meeting
April 28, 2006
By Albert Ike
We have now completed twelve years of operation. I am happy to report
to you that we are a pretty healthy 12-year-old. We started this past
year with a full head of steam and good momentum provided by our predecessors,
and we are grateful for that. For this very productive year, we owe
a sincere vote of thanks to several very strong committee chairs, whose
leaders we will recognize in a few minutes.
Here are some of the year’s accomplishments. Athens has been
spotlighted in two national magazines as a good place to retire which
has generated several inquiries about our program. We have a new and
improved web site. We have fitness programs designed to help us live
longer, as well as mentally stimulating programs to make those “extra”
years even more interesting and enjoyable. We have an LIR Development
Fund, which John Rudy will describe here today and discuss further in
a later newsletter. Clearly, whether you look back to our accomplishments
or forward to our new opportunities, things look good either way.
As we look forward to the future, we need to be prepared for some challenges.
Here is my top ten list of suggestions and admonitions.
1. Our ranks will increase. We might easily reach 400 or 500 members
next year.
2. Our members will continue to demand more and better classes and activities.
3. The emphasis on quality will not subside.
4. We will probably continue to be pestered by agents and merchants
who want to access seniors as customers through LIR.
5. We need to continue to search our ranks for new talent to take on
new volunteer opportunities.
6. We need to strive to keep our good committee chairs from burning
out.
7. There are talented people out there who are willing and capable of
giving exciting classes. Not all of them are university faculty. We
need to work harder to discover them and encourage them to teach classes
for us.
8. We need to find new and creative ways to thank these talented people
who serve as our instructors.
9. We need to find appropriate ways to thank and reward those members
who go that extra mile to make LIR work well by serving on committee
or as officers.
10. Finally, we need to stimulate and encourage the creative ones among
us who come up with such good and timely suggestions that make our program
both fresh and interesting.
And FINALLY, thank you again for giving me the opportunity to serve
such a solid organization full of such curious and interesting people.
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September 7, 2008
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