Between hearing loss, mobility and health issues, getting older is not easy – on us, or on our partners!  By popular demand, instructor Judith Cornette is returning to the Chesapeake Forum with an expanded two-session version of her valuable course,  “Aging with Healthy Communication Skills”, starting September 19th.

In the first session, find out how typical aging and hearing loss effects receptive and expressive communication.  The instructor will share ideas that support and enhance communication skills for both patients with challenges, as well as their loved ones and caregivers.

The following week, learn how neurological challenges like stroke, aphasia, and dysarthria can affect receptive and expressive communication skills.  This is an excellent followup to Chesapeake Forum’s Stroke & Aphasia Recovery” on Sept. 20th.  Again in this session, the instructor will share ideas that support and enhance communication skills for both patients with challenges, as well as their loved ones and caregivers.

Judith Cornette has worked as a Speech & Language Pathologist (SLP) specializing in the treatment of communication differences with typical and non-typical neuro-developmental children and adults for the past 49 years.  Her passion is improving and supporting life-long communication skills.

“Aging with Healthy Communication Skills” is a two-session HYBRID course (in-person at the Easton YMCA, ZOOM or Recording), Monday, September 19 and 26 from 1-2:30 P.M., $25.

To register for this and other Chesapeake Forum courses, visit https://chesapeakeforum.org.

The Chesapeake Forum is a nonprofit dedicated to providing continuing education opportunities for residents of the Eastern Shore.

Do you have a story you want to tell but need a little help telling it?  Would you like to write about your life, your family, and its unique history?  The significance of particular events?  Chesapeake Forum’s popular class, Writing Reminiscences, led by Forest Hansen, Ph.D., will help you start your journey into the art of memoir writing.

Each week, participants write a 1-2 page piece, distribute copies, and read the piece aloud to the class, with other participants offering encouragement and suggestions for improvement.  This format requires a limited enrollment, and being in-person supports the abundant verbal exchanges and the warmly supportive spirit.

Forest Hansen earned a BA and MA in English and a Ph.D. in Philosophy. For more than 30 years he taught courses in both areas, as well as Greek Civilization and Classics in Western Thought.  He has been a discussion leader for The Great Books and was co-creator and director of a college travel program studying ancient Greek and Byzantine civilizations in Greece and Turkey.

Writing Reminiscences will be held in-person at the Peachblossom YMCA in Easton on Wednesdays, Sept. 14, 21, 28 from 10 to 11:30 a.m., $35. No recording.  To register for this or other Chesapeake Forum classes, visit https://chesapeakeforum.org.  If you would like to receive the Chesapeake Forum’s monthly newsletter, please email to [email protected] with your name and preferred email.

Have you tried meditation and found it too hard to sit still with so many thoughts rattling around your brain?  Maybe you’d like to meditate but don’t know how to start.  And possibly, you have questions: like, why meditate in the first place?

In this 3-week class, Minute Meditation Method, you will explore these questions and hopefully start on your way to realizing you are more than your mind or body.  Within you resides a well of compassion, forgiveness, unlimited patience, and unconditional loving. The access door is your Spiritual Heart Center.

We will learn a simple, yet profound practice that begins with a minute twice a day and allows the sitting time to expand naturally at your own pace. One minute is all of eternity when resting in the awareness of your Spiritual Heart Center area. You have nothing to lose and possibly everything to gain.

Instructor Mary Carpenter is a meditation guide, retreat leader, and author. She knows the difficulty of learning and maintaining a practice and teaches in an approachable manner. The Minute Method Meditation practice has transformed her, restoring relationships and bringing her a greater sense of purpose and fulfillment in life. Mary co-authored Spirituality: Your Dreams: States of Consciousness with her meditation teacher, Carla R. Mancari. Mary also authored Unfoldment: A Journey of Awakening, Reflections along the Way.

Minute Meditation Method is a HYBRID course (in-person at the Easton Family YMCA, ZOOM or recording).  The course is three sessions, Thursday, September 15, 22 and 29th from 10-11:30 a.m.  Cost is $35.  To register for this or other Chesapeake Forum classes, visit https://chesapeakeforum.org

Smartphones have become the Swiss Army knives of technology, going way beyond making and receiving calls while you’re on the go.  They are often described as a minicomputer in your pocket. But you may also have a radio, a flashlight — even a level for when you’re doing handiwork around the house.

To unlock the features and functions of your smartphone, join Chesapeake Forum instructor Al Kubeluis for Cell Phone Workshop on Thursday, Sept. 15th.  Al will cover security, useful applications, setup and answer your questions so you can harness the power of your smartphone and banish frustration!

Al Kubeluis earned a bachelor’s in Mathematics and a Master’s in Public Administration.  He has taught a number courses for Chesapeake Forum starting with “Appreciating Awesome Astronomy,” in 2006.  Al was an early adapter of mobile phones, tablets, and laptops and has been teaching others how to use them ever since.

Cell Phone Workshop is a HYBRID course (in-person at the Easton Family YMCA, ZOOM or recording), one (1) session, Thursday September 15th from 1-2:30 P.M., $15.  To register for this or other Chesapeake Forum courses, visit https://chesapeakeforum.org

Be sure to bring your cell phone along!

There’s an old saying in aviation: “flying is hypnotic and all pilots are willing victims to the spell”.  On a special docent -lead tour with the Chesapeake Forum on September 13th, you will hear the story of how four local friends came under the aviation spell to build the Massey Air Museum and Aerodrome in Massey, MD.

Carved from cornfields in 2001 with a 3,000’ grassy runway, the Museum is home to vintage aircraft used during WWI and WWII plus captured or downed enemy aircraft, uniforms and memorabilia.  Visitors can tour the aircraft collection and library, see some of the current restoration projects, or just watch airplanes come and go. The small museum also houses news and materials from around the globe as well as information on aircraft of nearly all varieties, both domestic and foreign. Special media coverage from the past is also displayed.

To register for the Massey Air Museum and Aerodrome Tour or other Chesapeake Forum classes, visit https://chesapeakeforum.org.  The tour is one session (1), in-person at the museum (33541 Maryland Line Rd, Massey, MD 21650), Tuesday, Sept. 13 from 10:30 AM – 1 PM, $30.  Price includes a docent-led tour and a box lunch.

The Chesapeake Forum is a nonprofit dedicated to providing continuing education opportunities to residents of the Eastern Shore. If you would like to receive the Chesapeake Forum’s monthly newsletter, please email to [email protected] with your name and preferred email.

Find out what’s up at the Chesapeake Forum this fall and meet some of the instructors during the organization’s Open House September 7th from 3:30-5 PM, in-person at the Peachblossom YMCA in Easton or via Zoom (starting at 4 PM).  Enjoy light snacks and beverages, meet the instructors, find old and new friends as you hear about the eclectic lineup that includes everything from palm reading to stroke and aphasia recovery.

The event is free and open to the public but requires registration due to limited space.  To sign up, visit https://chesapeakeforum.org.

The Chesapeake Forum is a nonprofit entity dedicated to providing continuing education opportunities for residents of the Eastern Shore.  Classes are offered online, in-person at the Peachblossom YMCA in Easton or via recording.  To view the fall lineup, visit https://chesapeakeforum.org.  Registration begins August 29th.

Learn to make Paella, read palms (or a Greek play), find out what this cryptocurrency thing is all about, tour the Library of Congress (without leaving home) and more as part of Chesapeake Forum’sfall 2022 lineup. Registration kicks off on August 29th with more than 30 new and refreshed classes.

As a special event,  astrobiologist Pam Conrad, Ph.D, who gave the Distinguished Visiting Scholar lecture last year, will return to talk about Earth’s most extreme environments and how discoveries there have helped scientists think about life forms on other planets.  Dr. Conrad’s lecture will be simulcast from St Michaels Middle School to Chesapeake Forum students and Easton High School.

To register for Dr. Conrad’s lecture and see the full lineup of courses visit https://chesapeakeforum.org.  Registration begins August 29, 2022. Classes begin September 15, 2022.  Classes are offered via Zoom, by recording or in-person at the Peachblossom YMCA in Easton. The Chesapeake Forum is a nonprofit dedicated to providing lifelong learning opportunities for residents of the Eastern Shore. If you would like to receive the Chesapeake Forum’s monthly newsletter, please email to [email protected] with your name and preferred email.

Two new board members will be joining the Chesapeake Forum this fall as the program continues to grow and expand access to lifelong learning on the eastern shore.  Claudia Dziobek Ph.D, an international economist, will serve as vice president.  Pamela Getson, Ph.D., an applied scientist and biostatistician will co-chair the marketing committee with a focus on outreach.

Dziobek recently retired from the International Monetary Fund where she advised governments on macroeconomic issues, financial stability and global economic statistics.  She leveraged that experience for a fascinating Chesapeake Forum class last spring, International Economic Perspectives (available at no charge https://chesapeakeforum.org/course/international-economic-perspectives/.)  She’s says she is looking forward to helping Chesapeake Forum pursue its mission of lifelong learning on the eastern shore.

Shortly after moving to the eastern shore, Gerston began helping the Chesapeake Forum find grants, connect with new members and expand access to learning – all things that are perfect for her new role!  She has served on the faculty of the George Washington University School of Medicine in pediatrics and as the director of the Statistical Core Group at Children’s National Medical Center.  She and her husband enjoy aquaculture of oysters, and sailing.

The Chesapeake Forum was founded in 2019 to provide life-long learning opportunities to adults on the Eastern Shore.  Fall classes begin in mid-September.  To find out more, visit https://chesapeakeforum.org.

Swooping Swallowtails, bold Brushfoots, dainty Gossamerwings! Join Chesapeake Forum instructor Mary Helen Gillen as she goes “In Search of Butterflies” in the meadows and wetlands of Pickering Creek Audubon Center Thursday June 23rd from 10 a.m. to noon.

Watching butterflies as they float effortlessly among blooming flowers is a true source of summertime joy. If you admire the dazzling colors of swallowtails, the incredible migration of monarchs, or you wonder about the transformational process of metamorphosis, join naturalist Mary Helen for an enchanting summer butterfly walk. Participants will have a chance to practice identifying common butterfly species and will learn about the native plants that can support these winged wonders.

Mary Helen Gillen began studying monarchs as a volunteer docent at a winter resting site in California 12 years ago. After returning to her home state of Maryland, she dove into the butterflying hobby and has spent the last seven years at Pickering Creek, searching high and low for butterflies small and large, stunning and subtle.

To register for “In Search of Butterflies”, visit www.chesapeakeforum.org.  One session, June 23rd from 10 a.m. to noon, $10.  IN-PERSON at Pickering Creek Audubon Center, 11450 Audubon Ln, Easton, MD.  To find other classes you might enjoy, scroll down the page.  Classes are available as HYBRID (In-person at the Easton Peachblossom YMCA or  Zoom), Zoom only, or Recording.  If you would like to receive the Chesapeake Forum’s monthly newsletter, please email to [email protected] with your name and preferred email.

Chesapeake Forum was formed in 2020 to provide life-long learning opportunities on the eastern shore.

Have you recently retired or are you planning to soon?  You may have questions about how your tax returns will affect your Medicare eligibility; how to plan for the unexpected, or develop a retirement budget.

Financial planner Neressia Lowers covers those questions and more as she d ins and outs of financial planning and effective tax handling for retirees in Financial Concerns for Those 55 or Better on Wednesday June 1, 8, 15 from 10  – 11:30 am.  Zoom. To register visit https://www.Chesapeakeforum.org.  $30

Neressia Lowers retired from the United States Navy after a 22-year-long successful career. During her time in the military, Mrs. Lowers completed a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting. She served as a Command Financial Specialist for 10 years, instructing service members on budgeting, car buying, and credit health. She also managed an IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistant (VITA) site, and served as a VITA assistant for several years. Neressia now owns a Tax Preparation and Office Management company, preparing individual and small business tax returns, and providing bookkeeping services for small businesses

To register for Financial Concerns for Those 55 or Better, visit https://www.Chesapeakeforum.org..  3 sessions, Wednesday June 1, 8, 15 from 10  – 11:30 am.  Zoom.  $30