Speaker's Bureau Coordinator Mary Burritt and her dedicated volunteers have diligently worked on speakers to headline the 2025 program and just released a first glimpse of what we have to look forward to.....
Ready?......
January 15, 2025
Cochise, Geronimo and the Apache Wars
By Gregory McNamee
February 19, 2025
Arizona Colonists, Pioneers, and Immigrants:
A Multicultural History
By Jim Turner
March 19, 2025
Arizona's Cosmic Connections
By Marshall Shore
April 16, 2025
Jerome - Too Stubborn To Die
How The Town Survived
By Jay Mark
Stay tuned for more information as we get deeper into the winter season.
In the meantime, be sure and sign up for the October 9th program on Travel Safety, the November 13th program on Yellowstone Park and the January 15th program on Cochise, Geronimo, and the Apache Wars!!.......details below.....
Imagine yourself planning your dream vacation abroad, anticipating all the exciting and memorable sights you'll soon be experiencing for yourself. Now imagine yourself arriving at the first destination on your itinerary, navigating through the airport and proceeding beyond to embark on your carefully planned to do and see list only to find that somewhere along the way, two-legged predators had relieved you of your essential travel items.....money, credit cards and more. What would you do?
This very scenario is the topic of October 9th's program "Travel Safety - Conquering the Hidden Predators Lurking Within the Travel Wilderness".
Join presenter Carleen Watts to learn how to heighten your awareness to this threat and learn some basic but routinely ignored travel tips for safeguarding your most important personal items. And if the worst case scenario still occurs, she'll share the steps to take to make the remainder of the trip less stressful and hopefully salvage some of the anticipated enjoyment.
As a former US Special Agent (Criminal Investigator) for over 32 years, Carleen's unique career path has prepared her to speak on this topic in depth. Please refer to the flyer for additional details on her impressive credentials and experience.
Be sure to pre-register with the Community Center prior to October 9th for this interesting program that starts promptly at 1:00 pm.
Join our own Encore board member LuAnn Oburn as she shares her life-long passion for the wilderness offered by our country's diverse national parks and the significant role the "call of the wild" played in changing the trajectory of her life as well as husband Terry's.
Following lengthy careers in corporate America, LuAnn and Terry at long last heeded the call and headed to Yellowstone National Park where they lived and worked for two adventurous years in the midst of everything the wilderness had to offer.
Join presenter LuAnn Oburn on Wednesday, November 13th as she shares these two years of discovery, adventure and enlightenment that only nature can provide. The program begins at 1:00 pm at the Community Center. Please refer to the flyer for additional details.
The program is free and open to the public but please be sure to pre-register with the Community Center prior to November 13th.
The names Cochise and Geronimo are well known as their stories, legends and lore have been told and depicted in history books, movies and even TV westerns. But how much has been based on fact as opposed to the creative minds of Hollywood writers and fictional novelists?
Encore invites you to join writer/research fellow Gregory McNamee on Wednesday, January 15th as he unravels the tangled history that surrounds the Apache Wars, the notable warriors, the US Army and the other players who had roles in a terrible guerrilla conflict that lasted more than 25 years.
Speaker Gregory McNamee, who has written about the Apache Wars for Encyclopedia Britannica and other publications, is well versed in the complex story of this conflict and the decades of uneasy peace that followed. You won't want to miss this program as he shares his well researched knowledge and insights into this significant piece of Southwest history.
Please see the flyer for more details. As always, the program is free and open to the public but does require pre-registration through the Community Center.
Encore Volunteers are amongst the best and instrumental to the success of our varied programming efforts. A special thanks to Encore Volunteer Sandy Ursini for taking point and filling in for Program Coordinator Mary Burritt for May 15th's program.
Sandy reported that everyone had a good time and that speaker Dennis Kramp was fun, engaging, and entertaining......the smiles on the faces of the departing attendees was a pretty good indication.
Sandy did comment that many people asked about the next speaker, indicating enthusiasm for the next season's programs.
Be sure and visit this page often to stay current on upcoming speakers and next season's schedule.
Arizona is rich with tales of the old west from cowboys, law men, and pioneer women to cattle rustlers, bank robbers and painted ladies but no other 1800's moniker creates a mind picture better than the infamous snake oil salesman.
Wednesday, April 10th's Speaker's Bureau featured presentation "Arizona Snake Oil Salesmen, Scams, and Hoaxes" should provide yet another interesting, amusing and even surprising look at the enduring profession of scoundrels taking advantage of unsuspecting and vulnerable "marks".
Presenter Christine Reid uses newspaper articles, quotes, photographs and all sorts of collectible memorabilia to share some of the most famous as well as the lesser known scams and hoaxes that have been perpetrated on early, gullible Arizonans.
Ms. Reid's interest in Arizona's diverse and rich western heritage developed and grew as a writer and researcher with the Pinal County Historical Museum and later as Community Scholar for the Anthem at Merrill Ranch continuing education program. She is committed to sharing the sometimes hidden or forgotten aspects of Arizona's characters and history and shares our state's history in a reliable and engaging manner. Mark your calendars for Wednesday, April 10th at 1:00 pm.
Encore is proud to contribute and participate in the three day event Flutter at the Fountain by bringing back popular speaker John Mack who presented his Grand Canyon
program last January.
For this special appearance he will present his "Scaling the Heights: A Human History of Four Peaks" program in the Fountain Park Amphitheater. One of the most recognized landmarks in central Arizona, Four Peaks will be a fitting backdrop for the program as Mr. Mack weaves his tale of these mountains that have filled the imagination of human beings who settled and lived in their colorful shadows.
You don't want to miss this special addition to the Speaker's Bureau schedule. Mark your calendars for Friday, April 12th at 3:00 pm.
Laura Tohe, PhD and daughter of a Navajo Code Talker, shared insights into the contributions made by this unique and integral group of servicemen. Not only did they develop a secret code that was used to help defeat the Japanese military, saving many American lives, they returned home and overcame obstacles that helped change the Navajo Nation and their communities.
An accomplished author, Dr Tohe has written an oral history book on the Navajo Code Talkers and is Professor Emerita with Distinction from Arizona State University and the current Navajo Nation Poet Laureate.
Attendees of the Wednesday, February 14 program enjoyed Win Holden's insightful and entertaining journey down the memory lane of Arizona Highway's 100 year history.
A member of the Arizona Tourism Hall of Fame, Mr. Holden shared little known historical facts and stories of how the magazine survived and thrived by attracting elite landscape photographers and using an unconventional publishing business model.
The Speaker's Bureau is quickly becoming one of Encore's most popular programs thanks to the efforts of coordinator Mary Burritt and her broadening search to find new and varied speakers. She's also looking for ways to expand the calendar. Be sure to check the new calendar page for upcoming events or become an email subscriber by signing up on the Contact Us page.....just scroll to the bottom of that page to submit your email.
There's nothing like the mystery and history of Arizona's own Wonder of the World to make for the interesting, insightful and compelling topic that Encore's Speaker Bureau presented on January 10th at 1:00 pm. Speaker John Mack presented "The Selling of the Grand Canyon: the Santa Fe, Harvey Company and the El Tovar" that focused on the significance of the American Southwest in the early 20th century when national attention turned to the canyons and deserts of the Southwest. As rails were aggressively laid making cross country travel easier and contributing to the development of the west, William Haskell Simpson, transportation, and the Harvey Company, development and promotion, played pivotal roles in creating the dominant mythology of the American Southwest which still remains today.
With a Ph.D in American History, John Mack has published multiple peer-reviewed articles on aspects of our rich past and was very received by all attendees.
Program Coordinator Mary Burritt reported that the evaluation forms on this program were excellent! Those in attendance said the speaker was very good and that they learned so much about the Tribe. Speaker Jacelle Ramon-Sauberan who charmed the audience will defend her doctoral thesis in April and will then receive her PhD from the U of A.
If you haven't signed up for the remaining spring speaker, do so today!
The links to do so accompany the posters above.
This program received mostly good to excellent evaluations from the 60 plus attendees who attended the program. It was amazing the similarities of these figures and symbols that have been found around the globe.
If you haven't signed up for any of the remaining spring speakers, do so today!
The links to do so accompany the posters above.
Allen's slideshow was excellent showing petroglyphs with commonalities around the world.
This program received 100% excellent evaluations from the 32 attendees who reported that the speaker was wonderful and gave a great talk. Everyone really enjoyed it.
If you haven't signed up for any of the remaining spring speakers, do so today!
The links to do so accompany the posters above.
This program received very positive comments from the 38 attendees who also enjoyed samples of fudge and brownies provided by the speakers. Encore's president Gail Pape reported that the creamy fudge was the best she's ever had!
Interesting slide that showed what each part of the chili is used for....the top and hottest is used in pepper spray!
The slide presentation included excellent visuals enhancing the speakers narrative and explaining the relationship between the two opposites.
Sitting on the table in front of Darla is a large dinosaur egg that looks like an oversized brown and grey muffin. She also had a cast of sphere shaped eggs from a T-Rex and photos from a dig from which she was able to retrieve some samples.
Speaker's Bureau Coordinator Mary Burritt introduced local enthusiast and "Dino Lady" Darla Roberts to kick off the November 17th program "Dinosaurs Matter" at the Community Center.
There was a good turn out for the presentation and a lively discussion followed.
Darla's presentation was both fun and educational thanks to the variety of fossils that she passed around the room for closer examination and the hands on experience.
She had claws and teeth from different sized dinosaurs, both meat and plant eaters.
Darla is holding a vertebrae from a large meat-eater dinosaur and provided a human sized counterpart for comparison.
Mayor Dickey asked if Darla had ever encountered anyone who doubted that the earth was really 4 billions years old. Darla did recall a property owner who thought the earth only dated back 6,000 years and therefore let people remove any fossils they may find.
The good news for those in attendance is that Darla is working on Dinosaurs Matter Part 2 and hopes to return next year.
Special thanks to Rose Gonsoulin for photos and recap!
Native Houstonian Rose had always felt a strong connection with her city's name sake and it showed when she started recounting his unique and consequential life.
Dispelling common misinformation while revealing little known facts about his contributions to the history of our country, Rose shared a compelling story abo.
After spending the last 20 years spreading the word about the fascinating and complicated life of Sam Houston, Rose spent the last 5 digging deeper into the man's personal story, traveling out of state to research locations, libraries and archives.
In spite of being deemed hopeless by his father and running away from home at 16 to live among the Cherokee in the wilds of east Tennessee, Sam Houston rose to prominence as part of Andrew Jackson's inner circle. Rose carefully revealed the depths of character, perseverance and courage that motivated the man to achieve his place in history.
As Speaker Bureau's Coordinator Mary Burritt introduces author Rose Gonsoulin, the camera captures her preference that the spotlight be on her subject matter rather than herself! Rose is a very accomplished member of our community who contributes behind the scenes on many levels.....much like the unsung hero of her book.
Rose was clearly at ease and in her element as she fielded questions following her presentation. Her extensive research equipped her to analyze and summarize aspects of Houston's character and situational behavior.
Leaving an audience wanting to learn more was Rose's goal and one she accomplished. As she signs her first book, we hope that she is already contemplating the next journey she plans to take while writing her next book.
Program Coordinator Mary Burritt reported that all comments received following Speaker Jacelle Ramon-Sauberan presentation were very positive. In addition to information on western author Zane Grey, attendees learned about some less well known authors as well and expressed interest in seeking out some of their titles. There was also a consensus among many attendees that Zane Grey had been quite an attractive gentleman!
Make sure to check back to the Speakers Bureau web page for updates on possible speakers for next season.