OLLI Spring 2026_pageturn - Flipbook - Page 39
President’s Letter
As I write this, it is the 2025 holiday season, a time for reflection on the year past. As you read this, it is the
beginning of 2026, a time to look forward at the possibilities of the future.
By now, the OLLI home at the corner of Main and University is no more. Our staff had a heck of a time
doing their regular jobs while at the same time packing and preparing to move. We ask a lot of those folks
and they never disappoint.
You can find OLLI’s new offices on the first floor of Westlake Hall, the stately building with the clock tower.
It was the second building constructed on campus by Lydia Moss Bradley in 1897. There is a reserved OLLI
visitor parking space on Tobias Lane (behind the building) and you'll find it's a short walk from on-street
parking along Bradley Avenue. I hope you find it welcoming and convenient. This home is temporary
until the University decides on a new location. We are hopeful OLLI will land in an even better space for
members and staff. Stay tuned.
Membership hit a record number in 2025 – nearly 1,300 participated in a wide variety of our programs. That
is a phenomenal testament to your engagement and the hundreds of volunteers who work to develop the
offerings. If you’ve got an idea for a class, a study group or learning trip, please pass it along.
Your commitment to OLLI is also demonstrated by your giving. In the last year, 41% of our members made
a contribution, either through participating in Trivia Night, buying OLLI socks, a nametag, or a T-shirt,
or making a direct gift – the highest percentage ever. That support is the envy of Bradley University and
OLLIs across the country. Thank you for making our OLLI the best in the country.
Last year we kicked off our inaugural Voices & Visionaries speakers series with Dr. Robert Ballard, the
oceanographer who found the Titanic. In collaboration with the Peoria Riverfront Museum, nearly 2,500
people registered to hear Dr. Ballard speak, the largest OLLI-sponsored gathering in our history.
Our second Voices & Visionaries will be just as exciting. Peter Souza, the photographer who documented
the White Houses of Barack Obama and Ronald Reagan, will be our speaker in November. Souza will share
his front-row seat to history with his remarkable photographs and words. We'll announce registration
information for this free event in the coming months.
In 2026 we kick off the Dallinger Series, an homage to former OLLI member Kathy Dallinger, whose
generosity is underwriting a series of educational programs. Lorissa Rinehart, author of Rankin’s 2025
biography, Winning the Earthquake, How Jeannette Rankin Defied All Odds to Become the First Woman
in Congress, is coming to Peoria (to kick off the series) in March.
As you'll see in this catalog, we continue to develop and offer a wide variety of engaging and informative
programs. That is our heart and soul, to bring people together to explore, connect, and learn.
I look forward to seeing you at an OLLI event this year.
Shelley Epstein, OLLI President
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