Bluffton University alumnae can enjoy a day out of the ordinary on Saturday, March 5, when the university's Women's Council hosts the second annual Women R&R (Reconnecting and Reaching Out).
The day of relaxation and reminiscing with college friends includes entertainment, as well as reaching out to current female Bluffton students. Last year's attendees donated $700 to support the Women's Council Professional Enrichment Grant for Women, which helps female students gain professional experience in an anticipated career.
This year's participants may tour campus and visit the bookstore during a social hour that begins at 11 a.m. Lunch will follow at noon in the Marbeck Center Commons, which will also be the site of the afternoon program.
"Creating beauty out of the ordinary" is the title of a presentation by 1969 graduates E. Kay (Motter) Ahten and Anita (Schrag) Lehman from 1-2 p.m.
Ahten was an art major who went on to teach art in grades 1-12 for 31 years, most of them in Ottoville, Ohio. Now retired from teaching, she applies her creativity for both Beining Nursery in Ottoville and Window Creations, a stained-glass company.
Lehman, whose Bluffton degree is in social work, earned a master's degree in ceramics from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and has taught art in Lima City Schools for 13 years. In the last three years, she has mounted exhibits at ArtSpace and St. Rita's Medical Center, both in Lima, and at Marbeck Center.
Beginning at 2 p.m., Janette (Benroth) Reineke, a 1968 Bluffton graduate in education, will lead a half-hour program on relaxation techniques. Reineke has taught exercise classes for 35 years, using yoga breathing and stretching techniques for relaxation.
For 25 years, she was also a kindergarten, first grade and art teacher in Bluffton, Pandora and Columbus Grove schools. Since retiring, she has taught art to the elderly for eight years in area nursing homes and assisted living facilities.
Marie Toews Cross will discuss the extraordinary-including what defines and describes it and its contrast with the ordinary-during an interactive session starting at 2:30 p.m.
The 1967 graduate, a biology major at Bluffton, is a teacher, writer and ordained Presbyterian minister who has also served for 12 years in denominational offices of Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). She has taught at Hanover College and Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary-where she received the Distinguished Alumnus Award-and is the author of the 2002 book, "The Price of Faith: Exploring Our Choices about Money and Wealth."
Concluding the program at 3:30 p.m., mezzo-soprano Julia Szabo and pianist Jean Ann Szabo will present songs by women composers.
Julia Szabo, a professional singer in New York City for 25 years, is now director of alumni relations and annual giving at Bluffton, while Jean Ann Szabo was a member of the university's music faculty for 27 years. She holds a bachelor's degree from Baldwin-Wallace College and a master's degree from Bowling Green State University, both in piano performance.
To register for Women R&R, go to www.bluffton.edu/blufftonalumni/events/womenscouncil/registration/.
