Amherst Club Notes, January 25, 2011 Hub Smith presided while Vivienne basked in the Mediterranean sun. Guests: Jim Scott had as his guest his wife, Nina, who retrieved the mugs for us from their hiding place. Trudy Darity hosted Aisjah Flynn, a colleague at Realty World Sawicki. Sabine Holub brought along her assistant, Rebecca Dufault.
Announcements: Phyllis Lehrer told us that our cancelled speaker from the week before, Mr. Sacerdote, had sent her word that the train show will be going on this weekend for two days at the Big E. There is a charge for admission. Carolyn Holstein announced that Chris Blauvelt had done a fabulous job in securing Love Notes sponsors, but nevertheless, the economy precipitated a slight downturn in income from them. Jim Scott once again urged folks to sell and turn in money for tickets. Jean Miller said that envelopes for cash donations for Love Notes food will be on the tables for the next couple of weeks. Also, she will e-mail folks a list of what they donated in food or drink last year, but asked that they not donate sodas because the event is a gala. Just donate wine or sparkling drinks. Michael Greenebaum said he will ask Jacquie to send PDF flyers of the Love Notes poster to everyone so that they mail e-mail them to friends, inviting them to the program and party. He also emphasized that we tell people tickets are available at the door, since that info is not on the poster. Ruth Miller emphasized that we let people know what is on the program so as to entice them. Hub Smith announced that Historic Deerfield is looking for docents for their guiding program. They want folks interested in American history, early family life and the arts. Good candidates are: former teachers, retired educators, and people who enjoy working with the public. Guides are trained as a group over a six week period in the spring, and then smaller teams of guides will learn one of the historic houses together. Guides are paid. For more information, contact: Amanda Rivera Lopez nat413-775-7216 or arlopez@historic-deerfield.org.
Harry Brooks introduced our speaker, Sabine Holub. Wearing a bright orange sweater, her favorite color, Sabine warmed up her audience on this 15 degree day with an honest and humorous account of what it means, as a young woman, to be “the chancellor’s wife.” She told she has had good access to the community through her volunteer work at the Survival Center and the United Way. She also served on the board of ABC House for two years. Another way of learning to know Amherst has come through her role as parent to three young children ages ten, eight, and four. She has also made friends at her health club. In a further attempt to connect with the Valley community, Sabine and her friend Kevin Chrobak, an architect with Juster Pope Frazier joined with Loretta Yarlow and Eva Fierst of the University Museum of Contemporary Art (formerly the University Gallery) to form a salon in the style of those in Europe during the nineteenth century. Using a presentation style known as “Pecha Kucha,” three or four visual artists are allowed 20 images of their work each, shown for 20 seconds. The artists may comment on the work, but each one has only six minutes and 40 seconds to do so. This gives an even playing ground to all presenters. After the presentation, Sabine leads what she termed a “non-academic approach” to questioning the artists about their work. The salons are held in the living room at Hillside and have been highly successful. They are free, but reservations are needed as space is limited. Artists may apply to be included, but are selected by the museum staff to inssure quality. Sabine holds a Master’s degree in English and German from Wellesley College and further education at Ohio State, where she met her husband. She spent time with him at Berkley which she compared to Amherst, but felt the entrepreneurial spirit there had led to many accomplishments for the community, whereas Amherst is suspicious of change. Before coming here she spent time in Knoxville, where her husband was provost of the University of Tenessee. She said, to her surprise that she loved the South, as she is neither religious nor conservative. She found the people to be most warm and welcoming. She returns to Knoxville with her three daughters for a two weeks visit each year. Although Sabine finds that her new role gives her very little time with her husband, she is nonetheless happy to be here and we are delighted to learn she doesn’t plan to leave us very soon!
|
|
|