Lifelong Learning at the Mayborn Museum
Spring 2025 Newsletter
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Message from the LLL President Bill Dube
Welcome to Spring!
Dear Members,
As I write the President’s message, today happens to be the first day of spring. It was a little windy but still a beautiful day! This afternoon, I attended the first of four classes for the LLL Course: “The Voice of Media in Waco’s History” with Ken Sury as speaker, and tomorrow, Friday (3/21), the LLL Spring Bus Trip heads to Corsicana for the day which includes a stop at the Russell Stover Chocolate Factory. Life is good!
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The class I attended this afternoon is just 1 of 15 courses offered this Spring semester. Twelve courses were offered last Fall and all well attended. The courses continue to provide lifelong learning experiences for those who want to remain intellectually active. The subject and variety of courses each semester is developed by our Curriculum Committee, all volunteers. They reach out to those of various areas to teach the subjects based on recommendation and referrals by the membership.
In addition to the courses offered, our Special Events Committee (SEC) plans several “Coffee Talks” and a luncheon each semester. A Member-Only Coffee with guest speaker Lauren Dreyer, Vice President of Starlink Business Operations at SpaceX kicked off the 2025 spring semester. I hope you will make plans to attend the spring luncheon on May 2nd (more information to follow) featuring Baylor First Gent, Brad Livingstone who will moderate a conversation between Judicial District Judges Thomas West (19th District) and Ryan Luna (414th District) on Faith, Family and the Law.
The spring LLL membership is 535 individual memberships, with 825 course registrations. LLL has 105 volunteers who serve as Course Hosts, Board Members and Committee Members. I hope you will consider exploring the ways that you may volunteer with LLL.
As I complete my term as president in May, not only attending classes, special events and bus trips, but being a volunteer has provided me an opportunity to meet and make new friends. I hope you will continue to be an active part of the LLL program. I leave you with the words that I shared with the Leadership Board when I began my term last June as President: “When you’re smiling, the whole world smiles with you. When you’re crying, you bring on the rain. So keep on smiling, ‘cause when you’re smiling, the whole world smiles with you!”
Bill Dube, LLL President
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Incoming Lifelong Learning President, Sherry Cragen
On June 1, Sherry Cragen begins her term as President of Baylor Lifelong Learning. A career special educator, Sherry served as both a classroom teacher and a regional resource specialist in 9 states, spending her last 9 years at Region 12 Education Service Center where she provided support through workshops, onsite training, and technical assistance. She has been involved in Lifelong Learning activities for almost 10 years and has been an At-Large member of the Board, as well as co-chair of the Course Hosts and the history Chair. She was elected Vice President last December at the Membership Meeting.
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Nominations for 2025-2026 Officer Positions
Voting to be held at LLL Membership Meeting during the Spring Luncheon on May 2, 2025 at Cashion 5th Floor.
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Paul Sadler, Vice President/President-Elect
Dr. Paul Sadler is retired Emeritus Professor of Religion at Wayland Baptist University in Plainview, Texas. Sadler was born in Pasadena, Texas, but considers himself a native of Groesbeck, Texas, where he graduated high school. He earned a BA degree at Baylor University, his Master of Divinity at Southwestern Seminary, then a doctorate in religion at Baylor. He served in three churches in the Waco area, the last as pastor of Meadowbrook Baptist in Robinson. Sadler then spent 29 years on faculty and in administration at Wayland Baptist University in Plainview, Texas. After retirement, he moved back to Waco with his wife, Jimye. They are parents of Amy, a customer service manager at Guidestone Financial in Dallas, and Matt, an attorney with Sprouse Schrader Smith law firm in Amarillo.
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Susan Etheredge, Secretary
Susie has served as Secretary of Lifelong Learning for the past year and has agreed to be nominated again. Susie recently retired after over 19 years as a Senior Lecturer in the Finance, Insurance, and Real Estate Department at Baylor University. During her tenure, she taught not only in Waco, but also for Baylor programs in London, England, and Maastricht, Netherlands. She served on departmental committees, managed the Hodges Financial Market Center, provided extra study sessions for students interest in the CTP accreditation exam, and was Faculty Advisor to the student group Women in Business at Baylor. Her early career involve corporate banking and treasury functions with firms in oil and gas exploration and production and diversified global manufacturing. As a volunteer, she was involved with UNICEF, Red Cross, National MS Society, and the Boy Scouts of America. She enjoys family time, travelling internationally and domestically, taking Lifelong Learning courses, volunteering with her church, walking her dog, and working out at the YMCA.
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Fran Good, At-Large Board Member
Fran was born and raised in Springfield, Missouri, and attended. Drury College earning a Bachelor of Music Education. She and her husband, Bob, moved to Dallas, then Waco in 1974 when he took a job at KCEN-TV while Fran was busy raising their two boys, who were 2 and 3 at the time. In 1978, she received her Real Estate License, then joined Coldwell Banker in 1987. She has spent more than 38 years helping families find their new home. During that time, she earned the designations of Graduate of the Real Estate Institute and Certified Residential Specialist as well as her Texas Real Estate Broker License. Getting to know the many people that she helped buy and sell their homes has been a great joy in her life; many of the families have become close friends. She says that the Lifelong Learning program is a true jewel for all of those who love learning and enjoy finding new fields of interest to explore.
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Proposed changes to the Baylor Lifelong Learning Bylaws as recommended by the Leadership Board
Voting to be held at LLL Membership Meeting during the Spring Luncheon on May 2, 2025 at Cashion 5th Floor.
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- Article VIII, Section B - Elections, Nominating Committee. Replace “current or past officers” to “current or past members of the Leadership Board.”
- Article VII, Section B - Remove Membership Committee and Communication Committee from the list as they are inactive.
- Article VII, Section B - Add the following sentence: “The President, with the approval of the Leadership Board, can appoint other standing Committees, as needed.”
- Update terminology throughout the By-Laws to coincide with current titles such as changing the term “Team” to “Committee” and using “Leadership Board.”
- Correct a few minor typos in the document.
Use this link to access the proposed new Bylaws as of May 2, 2025, pending approval.
| | Spring Lifelong Learning Special Events | |
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Friday, April 11th COFFEE 9:30 am at the Mayborn Museum - Joe Fulton, “Highlights from the Writings of Mark Twain.” Free admission for the coffee and pastries at 9:30, as well as free admission for the speaker! Be sure to join us on Friday, April 11th, to hear Baylor English Professor Joe Fulton, author of five books on Mark Twain!
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Friday, May 2nd SPRING LUNCHEON 11:00 am at Cashion 5th Floor (Registration required) Baylor’s First Gent, Brad Livingstone, interviews Judge Thomas West and Judge Ryan Luna, on “Faith, Family, and The Law.” Cost of the luncheon is $35 per person and registration is required by April 27th. Register online (see below) or at the Front Desk of the Mayborn Museum. On the day of the event, the doors open at 11:00 am; 11:30 am the meal is served, followed by a brief Membership Meeting and the program.
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For more information on Lifelong Learning courses, special events, and shared interest groups (SIGs), go to baylor.edu/lifelonglearning. Registration is available online or at the front desk at the Mayborn Museum. The Fall 2025 Lifelong Learning Brochure with courses and events will be mailed in July. | | | | |
SpaceX Coffee Talk
Charlie Walter, Director of the Mayborn Museum Complex, welcomes Lauren Dreyer, Vice President of Starlink Business Operations at SpaceX, who spoke to an “LLL Members Only” event in January where she reviewed the past, present and future of SpaceX. She also explained how Starlink has become a major part of international communications by providing high-speed internet access globally, especially in areas with limited or no traditional infrastructure, which is especially helpful after disasters have destroyed internet connectors.
| | Photo credit to Judy Staples | | Photo credit to Judy Staples | | |
Kenneth Hafertepe Leads Tour of St. Francis on the Brazos
During the course, “Behind the Facades?” Kenneth Hafertepe, Professor of Museum Studies, leads the participants in a tour of St. Francis on the Brazos. He pointed out art and architecture features, as well as historic highlights to the church in downtown Waco. Those who registered for the course also visited St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, the Red Men Museum and Library, a private historic mansion, and the Amazon Distribution Center, with a bonus tour of L3 in Bellmead, due to connections of one class member whose daughter is an engineer there.
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Tour of L3 in Bellmead
The L3 facility in Bellmead is an aerospace and defense technology company with a huge campus of buildings surrounding the airstrips connected with its work. LLL members were awe-struck by the sheer size of some of the buildings that can handle several large planes at one time, including one that can accommodate a 747 when needed. Though they refer to their “missionization, modernization, and maintenance,” the bottom line is that the company remodels and upgrades airplanes of all different types and sizes. Currently, there are two very large planes receiving service: one for weather research and the other for military-type assignments.
| | | Photo credit to Judy Staples | | |
Growing Older With Purpose and Grace
Vice President Sherry Cragen and Coffee Talk speaker Cindy Hobbs Janecka chat before the session begins in February. She emphasized that popular culture demands resisting the aging process, but that this is all part of God’s plan for us to continue living for as much time as we are given here one earth. The author of several books, Janecka encourages people of all ages to find purpose and work toward it. The overall message was one of encouragement and hope.
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Corsicana Bus Trip to Navarro College
A portion of the Lifelong Learning members visited the Civil War Museum in the Cook Education Center while others were in the Western Art Gallery or watching the Civil War movie. The day included a dramatic presentation by General Grant and General Lee, a catered box lunch, and a one-hour presentation in the 60-foot in diameter dome screen, one of the largest planetariums in Texas. Of course, a stop at the Russell Stover Chocolate Factory was included in the itinerary. The next planned bus trip will be to the new Medal of Honor Museum in Arlington TX in October. Watch for the LLL brochure in July for more details.
| | Photo credit to Sherry Cragen | | Photo credit to Preston Kirk | | |
Never Averse to a Verse
The LLL Poetry Shared Interest Group (SIG) transitioned from ZOOM meetings to in-person meetings this year on the third Monday of each month. The January meeting was in the home of Jim and Hally Rambo where members shared their variety of poetic approaches to the subject of “New Beginnings.” Shared Interest Groups (SIGs) are open to Baylor Lifelong Learning members for poetry (led by Doug Baldwin), memoir writing (led by Elaine White), theater (led by Doug Baldwin and Judy Staples), and Eager Eaters (the eat-out-once-a-month-at-a-locally-owned restaurant group led by Nancy Moore). Check the LLL website for more information.
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