Director's Corner: Thank You WISE

• focus on member satisfaction, hoping we can hear and address membership complaints and suggestions;
• recruitment and recognition of volunteers because WISE, like other lifelong learning programs, is largely run through the contribution of volunteers;
• training in the use of technology;
• working with Group Leaders/Instructors to offer the best possible educational opportunities; and
• monitoring change and growth of WISE in order to maintain quality and sense of community.

New Summer Course Program

by Joe Corn, Summer Task Force Coordinator 

This past June and July, WISE conducted its first comprehensive Summer Course Program, in response to a lot of interest in recent membership surveys. For our first year, we were able to offer nine (9) courses with great variety – from academic courses such as poetry, history, and memoir writing, to a course on theater improvisation.  From classroom courses such as “Floral Paintings Through the Ages” to outdoor courses such as a trip down the Blackstone with Massachusetts Audubon to walking tours of Worcester with docents from Preservation Worcester, in short – there was something for everyone! 

We were also able to vary the time the courses were offered to accommodate the busy summer schedules of our many members. Two of the courses were just one-day events, while the rest met during the traditional five sessions. Some of those met once-a-week for five weeks, but others met several times a week for a shorter duration.

Non-WISE members were welcome to attend, and about a dozen of those who participated have now become full-time WISE members!

Most of the courses were offered for just $40, making the cost of attending them very reasonable. (The Audubon course was $80 to pay for transportation and museum admissions, and the one-day poetry workshop was only $25.)

Feedback from the course participants has all been very positive, and all of our Group Leaders received “excellent” or “superb” evaluations. In addition, participants were asked to suggest other courses for future summers, and many, many great ideas were received. So we already have a head start in planning for next summer!

Our Early-Morning Registrants

By Karl Hakkarainen 

Nothing demonstrates WISE members’ enthusiasm for learning more than their passion for the course selections. Nearly two-thirds of the people who signed up for Fall 2019 courses on the first day of registration did so in the first hour – between midnight and 1 AM. Stunning!

Not everyone, of course, is keen on staying up later. One couple outsourced their registration tasks to their children. Another WISE couple was traveling in California and took advantage of the three-hour time difference to make their selections at 9 PM. 

Summertime is vacation time, sometimes taking our members to places where WiFi is unavailable. While a respite from the ubiquitous connectivity might be welcome, missing out on WISE course sign-up meant missing too much; they used their smartphones. 

B Session starts in a few weeks. From Socrates to Shakespeare, the industrial revolution to railroads, moors of Britain to the Spanish Second Republic, and Harlem Renaissance to Willa Cather, there are plenty of great learning opportunities available this fall.

Save the Date

December 12, 2019 
WISE Annual Holiday Luncheon
Val's restaurant in Holden

February 12, 2020
Brown Bag Lecture presented by actor Cheryl Fay
"Eleanor Roosevelt"
Assumption College campus, La Maison

March 12, 2020
WISE Annual Worcester Night Dinner
Leo’s Ristorante in Worcester

April, 2020
Brown Bag Lunch
Planning in process

May 14, 2020
Trip to Hartford, CT
Planning in process

The Events Calendar on our website shows the upcoming events of interest for the WISE community. 

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