As I communicate with you today, we are coming to the end of another great year -- our 25th year of WISE. I am also coming to the end of my two-year term as your WISE President. From our original seven founders, our first President, Jean B. Griesheimer, our first Director, Charlene L. Martin, and our office manager Pat Masiello, we’ve blossomed into a vibrant and dynamic organization of over 400 members. We’ve become a vital resource for both Assumption College and the Greater Worcester Community.
As I look back over my past two-years as President, I can see many, many changes. We have grown tremendously as an organization, becoming stronger and more energetic. All of that is due to our great leaders, mostly volunteers, and our brilliant and engaged membership. Rapid change can sometimes be difficult, but the changes have enhanced our benefits and allowed us to engage and interact with each other in ways we never could do before. We are, of course, first and foremost, an organization run by members for members.
At the core of WISE are our Council, Executive Committee, Director, Office Manager, and Assumption College. Assumption College President Francesco Cesareo and his entire staff have been great sponsors of WISE throughout, and we could not exist without their support, guidance, and facilities. It has been my great pleasure these past two-years to work hand-in-hand with our Director, Dr. Susan Perschbacher, who works tirelessly to make sure that WISE continues to improve and grow. And of course, we all rely tremendously on Jill Lagana, our Office Manager, who keeps everything running smoothly. Jill arrived last year, taking over for Pat Masiello who recently retired. When you call the office and speak with Jill, you will always hear her laugh through the constant smile on her face. And of course, she’s there to answer your questions and solve your problems. She’s also key to getting information out to members, helping to put together our course catalog, record your payments for dues and trips, and do a million other things.
Helping me and advising me throughout my tenure as your President has been a great group of volunteers who make up the Executive Committee. Marsha Addis has served as our 1st Vice President and will soon be stepping up to be WISE President, and Karl Hakkarainen, who not only serves as 2nd Vice President, but as our Technical Advisor, and our go-to tech guy. The technology we’ve incorporated over the past five years, including on-line registration and dues payments, and our enhanced communications, is primarily due to the efforts of Karl. We now have over 80% of our members taking advantage of on-line registration, and we’ve become a tech leader among Lifelong Learning Institutions!
Rounding out our Executive Committee are our Secretary, Donna Crocker, who maintains the records of our Council Meetings, and Sue Tellier, our Treasurer, who serves in the vital role of maintaining our balance sheet and assuring we remain as a fiscally-sound organization.
The heart of WISE is the great courses that we offer throughout the fall, winter, and spring. Barbara Groves, a former WISE President, currently chairs the Curriculum Committee and works tirelessly to arrange and present over 70 courses every year! Elaine Bloom, as chair of the Communications Committee, gets notices out to you about upcoming events, publishes the WISE Bulletin every month, updates our Facebook page, maintains our photo archive, and oversees WISE communications to the outside world.
Organizing our Brown Bag luncheons and day-trips is the Special Events Committee, chaired by Ann “Cookie” Nelson. If you enjoyed hearing some of our great speakers, such as Dianne Williamson or Jim Welu, or took a day trip to Stockbridge or Andover or New Bedford recently, you can thank Cookie and her committee. We also have an active Travel Committee, co-chaired by Barbara Kupfer and Anna Krendel. There is an upcoming trip to four Canadian cities, and more great trips will be in the offing!
Keeping the flow of talent coming to our leadership positions is the work of Zelda Schwartz, chair of the Nominating Committee. Doing the long-range planning for WISE and setting our strategic vision is Marsha Addis, who chairs the Strategic Planning Committee. The chairmanship of that committee goes to the 1st Vice President, so Karl Hakkarainen will be taking over the reins of that committee soon.
During my tenure as President, we’ve also added two new committees to WISE. One is the Finance Committee, headed by the WISE Treasurer, Sue Tellier. Sue and her committee have done an outstanding job monitoring WISE income and expenses, performing long range financial planning, deciding on the benefit and advisability of significant expenditures, overseeing fundraising activities, and helping to assure that WISE remains strong financially for the foreseeable future. Our other new committee is Outreach, chaired by Pat Hurton. Pat and her committee have done a wonderful job getting the name of WISE out to the Greater Worcester Community. There was recently a WISE display in the new Shrewsbury Library. More and more people are now hearing about WISE and the great programs we offer. As a result, we continue to attract new members, keeping WISE growing and vibrant.
In addition to the many volunteers who chair and serve on committees, we also have several coordinators who serve vital functions and keep WISE humming along. As mentioned above, Karl, our 2nd VP, also serves as our Technical Advisor. Joyce Abdow-Dowd organizes our Book Club, and Jack Ross, one of our Group Leaders who presents many courses on the law and the Supreme Court, recently started a Supreme Court Discussion Group. Bobbi Corn serves double duty as both the Movie Club coordinator and the Class Assistant coordinator. With over seventy classes each year, and every class needing a Class Assistant, there is lots to do to line them up. And of course, there are the Class Assistants themselves, who volunteer to pass around attendance sheets, collect course evaluations, and convey useful information to each and every class. And speaking of course evaluations, Jane Gilligan is the recipient of all of those. She reads every one of the hundreds submitted each term and summarizes the evaluations and comments in letters to our Group Leaders. This vital feedback assures that we continue to improve on the high quality of our courses.
Recently Kathy Drew took over organizing our new member orientation program. She has done an outstanding job each fall and spring, making new WISE members feel both welcome and informed. And of course, as we wrap up our 25th year, I need to acknowledge the great work of the 25th Anniversary Planning Task Force, chaired by Marsha Addis. The special events we had throughout the year, including the Kick-off Brunch, the special talks by Stephen Kurkjian and Maria Sirois, and the upcoming Celebration Event could not have happened without the great efforts and dedication of that group.
As you can see, WISE continues to grow as a vibrant organization, thanks to the great work of our Director, our Office Manager, and the dedication of the many, many WISE members who volunteer their time, energy, and talents. Although my term as President is soon coming to an end, I will still be here, taking courses, teaching a few, and benefiting from the great organization that is WISE.
Joe Corn, President
Mission Statement
The Worcester Institute for Senior Education (WISE) at Assumption College is a member-directed organization providing lifelong learning opportunities for older adults.
