Retirees looking to expand their minds, have a little fun and take a few trips should look into Southwest Mississippi Community College’s Institute of Learning in Retirement, according to Wendy Smith, the program’s director.
The ILR is open to residents age 50 and older.
“We have a great, great variety of people who are in our club,” Smith told the McComb Exchange Club last week.
“It’s geared toward people who are retired and don’t want to sit at home and do nothing,” Smith said.
The group provides continuing education for senior citizens, takes trips has monthly luncheons, banquets and free classes offered through the college, all for a three-year membership fee of $60, not including travel costs.
The membership year for ILR runs from July 1 to June 30.
Smith said participants can learn a lot through a series of lectures and workshops, including an upcoming program on Medicare.
“We always throw some computer classes in. Everybody wants computer classes,” Smith said.
Other topics of study this year include arts and crafts and mechanics.
“We’re going to bring back the lost art of sewing and maybe have some quilting classes,” Smith said of one upcoming class.
Other courses will include electrical, automotive, small engine and outboard motor repair, all of which are already offered through the college’s Workforce Training Center.
Smith said the outboard motor repair is a popular course. It started two years ago “and there’s been a waiting list ever since.”
Upcoming trips include a visit to the new Grammy Museum in Cleveland in September, the Canton Flea Market in October and Branson, Mo., in November.
“Now, you don’t have to be a member to go on these trips,” Smith said.
For more information, visit smcc.edu/rwtc/institute-for-learning-in-retirement.php or call Smith at (601) 276-3889.
