Customizing UMRA
One of the gratifying things for UMRA in the difficult past year was that our special interest groups flourished. Attendance for Armchair Traveler programs soared. The Book Club spun off a second club because of the demand. The Photo Club and the Finance & Legal Issues Group held well-attended meetings. A new Family History Interest Group instantly became one our most popular groups. A small group of UMRA members formed a Zoom Team and stepped up to put on our monthly Zoom programs. And our brand-new Hiking Club had to clone its first planned hike to accommodate all the people who wanted to participate.
All these developments demonstrate the potential to customize UMRA to make it come alive for you. The members of the Program and Social Activities committees do our best to come up with an annual slate of programs to appeal to wide swaths of our 700+ diverse members. But we’re not set up to take deep dives into a given subject or take on niche interests. We can’t, but you can!
We can help
If you’d like to find others to join you in pursuing a subject or talking about a particular need or problem, and if you’re willing to organize and run a group or an event, UMRA can help by giving give it our backing and promoting your plans to the membership.
So, think about something you might like to do with other UMRA members to have fun, learn, or support each other. Fun things like birdwatching, pickleball, or a restaurant club; educational things like a meeting series that looks at the untold history of Minnesota, or social equity issues; or support groups like a caregivers group or an over-80 group.
If you have an idea you’d like to discuss, please email [email protected] to let me know.
—Ron Matross, UMRA president-elect and Program Committee chair
News
Make your own discoveries in Portugal in 2025 on this journey to medieval monasteries, fertile vineyards and cities that are equal parts history and modern energy. Deadline to express an interest is Friday June 7, 2024.
Spend eight nights in Madrid and Barcelona in 2025. Express your interest by June 7, 2024.
Embrace the colorful history of the Canadian Maritime provinces for 11 nights in 2025. Express your interest by June 7, 2024.
Spend four nights in Québec City in 2025. Express your interest by June 7, 2024.
Spend 9 nights on the Douro River in Portugal in 2025. Express your interest by June 7, 2024.
Embrace and explore Mexico City as it showcases all facets of Mexico’s national character in 2025. Deadline to express an interest is Friday, June 7, 2024.
Bright and bold living history awaits you in beautiful St. Augustine, Florida in 2025. Express your interest by June 7, 2024.
The election of UMRA officers and new board members for 2024–25 will be conducted via an online poll from May 13 to 19, with the results to be announced at our annual meeting on May 21. Look for the ballot in your email inbox on May 13. Diane Young has been nominated to be president-elect.
“I convinced myself I could handle this problem without support groups or doing additional research, but that’s only because I didn’t want to make it any more real than it already was. Denial comes in many forms, and one is to avoid thinking about the problem any more than need be.” —Alice A. Larson
Meet UMRA member Peter Moe. He retired in 2023 after a career that spanned nearly half a century at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, and is credited with developing the “Arb” into one of the few in the U.S. with world-class fruit and landscape breeding programs.
The University Retirees Volunteer Center (URVC) has welcomed two new members with valuable skills and experience to the URVC Leadership Council: Lynn Slifer and Jeanne Jacobson.
The University plans to remove retirees from the @umn.edu internet identity domain on December 7. UMRA has advocated for ensuring continued access to this identity (including email, Google Workspace, and associated services), citing University retirees’ enduring contributions to and engagement with the University. Thus far, our efforts have not prompted any change of plans.
Leading the online Journal of Opinions, Ideas & Essays has been a labor of love for Kris Bettin. Alas, a change in family needs has necessitated her retirement. So, JOIE is seeking a new leader to join a savvy editorial committee of five and bring fresh ideas for continued development of the UMRA-sponsored journal.
If you’re looking for an opportunity to explore your photographic interests, hone your photographic skills, and hear what other retirees are up to, the UMRA Photo Club is a great place to be. We have fun! And whatever your skill level, there is room for everybody.
Soon you will receive an email or letter inviting you to renew your UMRA membership for the 2024–25 year. Please renew before you get busy with your summer activities. Your support helps to make our programs and many other member benefits possible!
This will be a new regular column where you can find organizational tasks that need your help! We are currently looking for help researching a new UMRA Membership Database and URVC volunteer database, and a co-producer for UMRA's Zoom webinars. See more details: