May 2011

Alta Oakridge
10810 Sandy Oak Lane * Raleigh, NC27614 * 919.848.2088 * FAX 919.847.7332 *
From Your Director of Activities
When I was younger, my dad would ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I would think about it for awhile and then tell him, “I want to be a brain surgeon!” I’m not sure where that desire came from at such a young age, but obviously that didn’t pan out and I’m so glad that it didn’t because I would not be here at Alta Oakridge! Let me tell all of you that I am so excited to join the team here as the Director of Activities. I have been working with older adults for almost nine years and I cannot think of a better job. I have truly enjoyed spending time with men and women that have stories of World Wars, the Great Depression and what life was like when they were my age. I am just amazed at how hard life really was back then and it makes me realize just how blessed I am.
As you can see below, I am a very proud wife and mother. My husband, Evan, and I will have been married eight years this July. Evan is a high school math teacher in Louisburg, NC and enjoys tormenting, I mean inspiring young adults with numbers. The “tow head”, as many North Carolinians have called him, in the picture is our three-year-old son, Owen. He has brought so much joy to our lives and continues to amaze us every day at what he is learning from the world around him.
Many of you know that I had the
privilege of working with both
Greg Fox, the Executive Director,
and Clarence Johnson, the Director
of Dining Services at another
community and I am so happy to
be reunited once again! I have so
many great ideas and I look forward
to incorporating them in the months
ahead. Your suggestions for the
activity calendar are always welcome
so please come by the Activity Office
and see me. Thank you for making
me feel welcomed here and I look
forward to getting to know each and
every one of you!
~Kelly Schilling

Mendelssohn’s Elijah

Performed by the North Carolina Master Chorale

Sunday, May 1, 2011at 3pm

We will leave at 2:00 and return by 6:30pm

MeymandiConcertHall
ProgressEnergyCenter
Cost: $23.40
Seats will be located in the orchestra on the floor level
One of the greatest oratorios of all time.
The 170-voice Master Chorale is joined in performance of Elijah by the Tar River Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus, plus featured soloists Sally Thomas, Soprano; Jennifer Seiger, Mezzo-soprano; John Daniecki, Tenor; John Kramar, Baritone; and Noah Daniecki, Boy soprano.
From its very first performance, Felix Mendelssohn’s interpretation of the Prophet Elijah’s trials and triumphs has been popular with audiences. “Elijah is one of the greatest masterpieces of the vocal literature, a work that transcends theology and denomination.”
If you are interested in going, please sign up in the book and drop off your check with Kelly in the Activity Office or drop it in the box outside of the Activity Office NO LATER THAN WEDNESDAY, APRIL 27TH!!!
/
/ / Grand Adventure
John Wesley Powell and his Powell Expedition began a momentous journey on May 24, 1869. Powell and his crew of nine men, in four specially built boats, with enough supplies for three months of exploration, began their trip down the Green and ColoradoRivers in Wyoming. They would be the first people to explore and record the unknown depths of Arizona’s Grand Canyon. Of the ten men, only six would finish the journey.
Powell was a Civil War veteran who had lost his right arm in the Battle of Shiloh. He was strong and confident, and ready for whatever surprises the river and the canyons had in store. Many times their boats were nearly smashed upon the raging rapids. When Powell feared that the rapids were too great, the crews got out and carried the boats.
Less than a month on the river, one of the boats was sucked into a devastating rapid and wrecked. While none of the men were hurt, this boat carried precious cargo – barometers necessary for judging the river’s altitude, a major objective of the expedition. Powell mounted a rescue and retrieved the barometers, some thermometers, and a three-gallon keg of whiskey, but a third of their food was lost.
After many months of running rapids, making repairs, and surviving flash floods, they began to run out of food. The canyon around them was beautiful and majestic but it was also like a prison. How would they survive? Three more men decided that the river was too much. They left, but upon exiting the canyon were killed by Indians. Just a few days later Powell and the remaining explorers reached calm water with a new wealth of maps, data, fossils, mineral samples, and stories of the Grand Canyon. Powell’s personal journal of the adventure still remains a classic tale of exploration. / From Marketing
Please come to the Media Room on Monday, May 16th at 7:30pm for a presentation from Sole Dimensions,a unique Pedorthic business located in Wake Forest, North Carolina.
Ellie Penner is the owner of Sole Dimensions and is a Certified Pedorthist who specializes in the analysis of foot and leg mechanics. She provides expert knowledge about the design and fit of footwear and understands how foot function may also cause pain in the knee, hip and lower back. Her services offer accurate analysis through state-of-the-art methods for assessment of biomechanics, anatomy and gait. She carries a wide range of footwear and arch supports as well as fabricates custom orthotics. Her goal is to offer solutions that will prevent and manage pain and keep her clients actively enjoying life.