PrimeTime Institute (PTI) provides a wide variety of educational programs for people age 50+ that foster wellness, encourage personal and intellectual growth, and that provide an environment for developing new interests, making new friends, and becoming involved as volunteers.
PTI is a program of ElderCare of Alachua County, a non-profit organization providing various services for seniors such as Meals-on-Wheels, Alz Place, etc. All PTI programs and activities are planned and presented entirely by volunteer members and speakers, with expenses supported by optional memberships and donations. Additional information about PTI, including program updates, is available at our website www.primetimeinstitute.org or by contacting Susan Williams at 352-214-6219.
We appreciate the speakers who provide free programs for our seniors; however, please understand that PTI does not endorse any company, product, or service.
We continue with HYBRID programs — the speaker in-person at the Senior Recreation Center, along with attendees willing to gather there, and a simultaneous online webinar option through Zoom. We have learned that many people are able to participate online who are unable to come to the Center for a variety of reasons. Watch for Sunday messages each week to learn of any changes in that week’s Thursday program.
To participate in the webinar version of a program, you can log in on your Internet-connected computer, tablet, or phone as the program gets underway. Advance registration is required for attending online. Please send your request to primetime.inst@gmail.com.
If you do register for the webinar version, you will receive a confirmation message and, at an appropriate time, a link to click on so you can join in. No camera or microphone is needed to see and hear the presentations online.
Our programs are also recorded for people who are not available on Thursdays. We share links to those recordings when the Senior Center staff has them available so people can watch at their convenience. Those links are shared in the program reminder messages we send each Sunday to those on PTI's email distribution list.
TIME: Unless otherwise noted, programs will be on Thursdays from 2:30 PM to 4:00 PM
Jan. 9th, Voyage of an Environmentalist Paul Pritchard, an internationally acclaimed environmentalist, worked for over two decades as an environmental leader during Jimmy Carter's governorship and presidency and with the National Park Conservancy. He worked with Carter on the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, which doubled the size of that state's Park system. He was also instrumental in the creation of the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve in Kansas and the Great Basin National Park in Nevada. We will hear tales from his recently released memoir.
Jan.16th, Geriatric Depression Dr. Tim Moore, Assistant Professor in the UF College of Medicine Department of Psychiatry, will give us a closer look at how depression impacts the aging population and describe different treatment options. He will explain how features of depression are different from dementia.
Jan. 23rd, Eat Your Pain Away: Nutritional Approaches to Pain Management and Brain Health (Postponed from Dec. 19th) The pain experience is directly linked to brain health, which is directly affected by our dietary choices and nutritional status. This talk will explore the relationship between nutrition and pain management, focusing on how certain dietary choices can impact brain health and reduce pain. We will discuss the role of inflammation in pain, the gut-brain connection, and specific foods and nutrients that may offer pain relief. Our speaker will be Javier Tamargo, Post-Doctoral Fellow in UF’s Pain Research and Intervention Center of Excellence.
Jan.30th @ 1:45 (Note Time Change!), Field Trip to the Santa Fe College Kika Silva Pla Planetarium - Legends of the Zodiac: Solstice Twice a year, people around the world are treated to extreme hours of daylight and darkness. Find out what causes all this extra daylight during the summer, and why the sun sets so early in the winter. Also, learn the stories behind the constellations of the Zodiac visible during this time of year. *Admission is $5 per person upon arrival. Please sign-up in advance to attend, either at one of the PTI programs by January 23rd or by contacting Marie Samec at 352-317-6729 or samecmm@aol.com (Subject Line: PTI Planetarium).
REMEMBER that you must register for any Zoom-based sessions (webinar or meeting) you want to participate in at primetime.inst@gmail.com
Recent Events
Strolling to the River Sink
Outing to O'Leno State Park
Located along the banks of the scenic Santa Fe River, a tributary of the Suwannee River, the park features sinkholes, hardwood hammocks, river swamps, and sandhills. As the river courses through the park, it disappears underground and reemerges over three miles away in the River Rise State Preserve. One of Florida's first state parks, O'Leno was first developed by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in the 1930s. The suspension bridge built by the CCC still spans the river. During our visit, park staff gave a fascinating presentation on the exploration of the underground portion of the Santa Fe.