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Horizons Unlimited kicks off twentieth year Monday
Published 11:52am Thursday, September 13, 2012The Alexander City Board of Education is once again helping people broaden their horizons with Horizons Unlimited.
Ellen Martin, director of support services for the Alexander City School System, said the program “provides an opportunity for mature learners to meet in an information environment.”
“Usually it’s more of a retirement age, but that doesn’t necessarily mean folks have to be retired,” Martin said.
The program, in its 20th year, begins Monday with registration at 1 p.m. and the speaker beginning at 1:30 p.m.
“I just enjoy it because of all the varied speakers that we have and the different topics that we have,” said Pat Bice. Bice, who is a member of the board for Horizons Unlimited, said she has been participating in the program for many years and she would encourage people to come.
“I think they would take away something from every program that would be meaningful to them,” Bice said. “I just think we have a wonderful program schedule this year.”
The first speaker, Delores Hydock, will talk about O. Henry, pen name for William Sidney, an American writer.
“We like the idea of having her just as often as we can,” said Beverly Thomas, another board member. “It’s a great combination – you walk out of there often having been well-informed, but it’s been such an enjoyable presentation.”
Other sessions for the 2012 fall series include Dr. Gunter from the Maxwell Air War College, Eileen Kilgore Henderson who is an award-winning author and a look at the da Vinci Surgical System at Russell Medical Center.
“That’s going to be so interesting to go to the hospital and see what’s current with surgery,” Bice said.
Thomas said she hopes people will gain insight from the speakers.
“We have found that we have a lot of retired people in our community from different areas,” Thomas said. “It gives us an opportunity – we have this diversity of members, and we like to offer a wide range of topics, but we also find there are specific areas people want to keep learning about.”
Martin said they have a number of regulars who attend the series, but they also always have newcomers.
“They love hearing from different authors and presenters,” Martin said. “They get to ask questions about the different topics … Research has shown that if you keep your brain and mind active, it helps to keep you healthy.”
Bice said she thinks the Alexander City Board of Education has done an excellent job with the program throughout the years, and she and the other board members were glad to be able to step up and choose the speakers for the program this year.
“It’s just a good thing to come to, because you always learn a lot,” Bice said.
Martin said people can register at any point during the series. Each class typically runs from 1:30–3:30 every Monday.
For more information call the Alexander City Board of Education at 256-234-5074.
