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​Once you have become a member, please register for desired courses below:
​Selections listed at the bottom of this page.

​Interested in learning more about our instructors? 

​Click on the image to the right to find our Instructor Bios!






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​ZOOM Options 

Tuesdays - ZOOM

9:30 AM - ZOOM
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1st 4 weeks - March 17 & 24; April 14 & 21

BRITAIN IN THE 19TH CENTURY 
Rosemary Woolfitt, Member, SUGA

Britain was a very wealthy country by the beginning of the 19th century. It had a vast colonial empire and a powerful trading infrastructure. The technological developments of the Industrial Revolution, particularly the invention of the steam engine, led to rapid growth in Britain’s manufacturing industries. Yet not everyone lived the good life. We will consider the life of textile mill workers, street vendors, domestic servants, and in the final class, what daily life was like for the poor as well as the better-off middle classes.
2nd 4 weeks - April 28-May 19
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​HOT TOPICS
  • April 28 - “Free Speech on America’s 250th Birthday” - Michael Berry, presenter.   
  • May 5 - “Electric Vehicles, Renewable Energy, and the U.S. Power Grid—Where Truth Lies.”  Presenter, Arnold Berry.
  • May 12 - “Gun-related Deaths in the U.S.: Is It the Guns or Is There Another Explanation? --Where Truth Lies.” Presenter, Arnold Berry.
  • May 19 - “Make America Healthy Again (MAHA)—Where Truth Lies.”  Presenter, Arnold Berry
11:00 AM - ZOOM
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THE CURRENT STATE OF FINANCIAL PLANNING & INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT
Jeffrey R. Purdon, Certified Financial Planner, Raymond James Financial Services
 
This Zoom-delivered class is not the typical Investment or Personal Finance class. It is designed to be informative, educational and practical, and to generate an open dialogue between the instructor and attendees. It will strive for a “fireside chat” vibe that turns into a multi-sided discussion. We will cover a wide range of topics – estate planning, asset allocation, behavioral finance, current and future market conditions, as well as additional topics generated by audience interest and questions.

​Thursdays - ZOOM

9:30 AM - ZOOM
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SHORT PLAY PRESENTATIONS
Daniel Guyton, Artistic Director of Atlanta Dramatists
 
For this fourth annual event, we will host Zoom readings of stage plays written by local playwrights and members of Atlanta Dramatists. After each performance, we will have a talk-back with the cast and writer. Each week will include a separate play, or collection of plays, as time permits. Even a few SUGA members are invited to perform! Join us again in 2026!


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11:00 AM - ZOOM
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CAPITALISM AND WAR
Sal Depasquale, MCJ (Criminal Justice), MBA
 
Capitalism provides a mechanism for producing goods and services making the global economy function. Capitalism is not an ideology; it is a system that may be applied under the rules and constraints of many ideologies and ideologues; whether socialist, communist, dictatorship, monarchy or democracy, capitalism is at the core. Capitalism provides resources for production of goods and services that, in turn, provide revenues to cover costs and return a profit. It may, and has been, at the core of a range of political systems including communism, socialism and many others. This class examines capitalism and wars stemming from competition between nation states.
Please note: This class is not based upon an underlying premise that Capitalism is good or bad. The key is how the system is applied. Antipathy for Capitalism may be misplaced. Greed may be the key miscreant. The Great Wars of the 20th century were waged over control of natural resources. Triggered by the Industrial Revolution, industrial nations frenetically scurried to control resources in foreign countries, leading to friction ultimately resulting in warfare. 
Suggested reading: Capitalism: A Global History (2025) By Sven Beckert

​​In-Person Options

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Wednesdays - In-Person

9:30 am - In-Person
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AN OVERVIEW OF THE WORK OF THE GBI
Elizabeth Bigham, Special Agent, Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI)
 
Agent Bigham organized a well-received course for SUGA in Spring 2023, and is returning this year with eight new presentations by fellow members of the GBI.
  • March 18:          Rhonda Westbrook, Division Director, Georgia Crime Investigation Center
  • March 25:          Wendi Raley, Forensic Auditor Manager, Financial Investigations Unit
  • April 15:            Elizabeth Bigham, Special Agent, Cold Case Unit
  • April 22:            Tori McNeese, Special Agent, Human Exploitation & Trafficking Unit
  • April 29:            Chris Baldwin, Special Agent, Public Corruption
  • May 6:             Rocky Bigham, Special Agent in Charge, Strategic Threat Assessment Group
  • May 13:             Britt Peacock, Special Agent, Polygraph Unit
  • May 20:             Julie Gardiner, Assistant Deputy Director, Medical Examiner’s Office & Crime Lab
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STORIES WE CARRY
Audrey Galex, retired broadcast journalist, Storyteller
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Storytelling is one of the oldest and most powerful ways humans share meaning, memory, and connection. In this eight-week course, you will explore the art and craft of storytelling through folklore, family tales, and personal experience. Participants will learn how to find, shape, and tell stories with confidence, experimenting with voice, gesture, and imagery in a supportive environment. The course will culminate in a storytelling circle where each participant will have the opportunity to share a story or anecdote of their own creation.
11:00 AM - In-Person
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MILSTEEN’S MIXED BAG:  FOUR TWO-WEEK CLASSES
Jeff Milsteen, Attorney, Photographer
 
Join Jeff Milsteen as he examines four topics that he won’t even pretend are related!
 
1.  GERRYMANDERING:  THE ART OF THE STEAL (March 18, 25)
Gerrymandering — the art of drawing district lines to maximize political power — is largely responsible for our polarized politics.  Join us for a non-partisan look at the history of gerrymandering, its impact on modern politics and the legal framework that currently permits it.  We’ll also explore the reforms that could eliminate gerrymandering and perhaps restore our faith in representative democracy.
2.  NOBODY LIKES A WITCH HUNT, ESPECIALLY NOT THE WITCHES! (April 15, April 22). We’ve been hearing a lot about “witch hunts” lately.  Most people think the phrase originates with the Salem Witch Trials, but its historical roots run much deeper and actual witch hunts continue to this day. This two-part course will explore the history and  hysteria (and even occasional humor!) of witch hunts.  
3.  THE ROSENWALD SCHOOLS: A REMARKABLE LEGACY (April 29, May 6)
Julius Rosenwald, the Jewish president of Sears Roebuck, and Booker T. Washington, the leading African-American educator of his time, combined forces to build thousands of schools for African-American children across the Jim Crow South.  Some have called their plan the greatest act of social philanthropy in history.  Join us for this fascinating look at a movement that changed the lives of thousands of African-American children, including the likes of Maya Angelou, Medgar Evers and John Lewis.
4.  ANTARCTICA: A PERSONAL JOURNEY TO THE WHITE CONTINENT (May 13, May 20). 
Following up on his presentation last year on Sir Ernest Shackleton’s epic and ill-fated voyage to Antarctica, Jeff presents a look at Antarctica today, illustrated by stories and photographs from his recent visit.
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GEORGIA SERIAL KILLERS – PART II
Adrienne Mintz, Instructor at Senior Enriched Living (SEL), and Member, SUGA
 
ALL NEW! This class covers serial killers that were not explored in the previous lectures in Summer 2025. Each individual is discussed with as much background information and other relevant facts as are available. A psychological profile, based on my research and studies, is included for all of them, with the hope that a case study furthers understanding. Any gory details are kept to a minimum, and are included only so we know who and why they kill.  It is not necessary to have attended Part 1 prior to attending this set of lectures. The plan is to divide an eight-week series into two topics. The first four weeks will cover approximately eight serial killers. The second four weeks will be a new slide presentation entitled “How to Catch a Killer.” 

​Fridays - In-Person

9:30 am - In-Person
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GREAT DECISIONS – 2026
George Brown, Ph.D. (International Relations), retired president/CEO of Friendship Force. Member, SUGA
 
This year George will present the traditional Great Decisions topics provided by the Foreign Policy Association (FPA). It is not required to obtain the Great Decisions briefing book, but you may wish to have a copy which you can purchase from the FPA ($35 plus shipping). The e-book edition is available from Amazon for $24.99 (and also from other e-book vendors).  In addition to the Great Decisions briefing book, George will have weekly suggested readings for each topic.
Here are the 2026 Great Decisions topics:
  1. America and the World: Trump 2.0 Foreign Policy
  2. Trump Tariffs and the Future of the World Economy
  3. U.S.-China Relations
  • Ruptured Alliances and the Risk of Nuclear Proliferation​
  • ​Ukraine and the Future of European Security
  • Multilateral Institutions in a Changing World Order
  • U.S. Engagement of Africa
  • The Future of Human Rights and International Law
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SHAKESPEARE’S THE TAMING OF THE SHREW
Steven W. May, retired professor of English
 
I don’t think that Shakespeare expressed any particular social, political, or religious agendas in his plays. He wrote them to make money, and to do that they had to attract audiences who would pay to see them. In this course I therefore want to treat The Shrew as what Shakespeare meant it to be, a work of art. We will try to determine how he designed it to work as theatre, to entertain an audience—to make money. We will, of course, consider what the play may tell us about Shakespeare’s (and the age’s), views on courtship and marriage, but as issues subordinate to the play’s overall purpose.  I will ask you to read carefully part of the play before each class and I look forward to your participation in our collective effort to understand it. Please work from an authoritative, annotated edition of the play: the Folger edition (ed. Werstine and Mowatt), and the New Arden edition, for instance, are affordable and readily available on line. One volume editions of the complete works of Shakespeare that are reliable include the Riverside edition (ed. Evans), and the Complete Works (ed. Bevington). Versions of the play, including that starring Eliz. Taylor and Burton (1967), are available on YouTube, Netflix, and Prime (but the latter is not free).
11:00 AM - In-Person
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PHOTOGRAPHY:  BUTTERFLIES, BUGS, AND SPIDERS...FUNGI
Arch Baker, retired Presbyterian minister
 
When you've taken all the pictures you think you can... now what? With more than 100,000 photos on file what do you take pictures of next?  Now is the time to move on to the unseen but beautiful, and little-known, world. That's the subject of this class: the worlds of butterflies, bugs, spiders, and fungi. These often unseen and rarely photographed subjects can be both fascinating and beautiful. This is not primarily a "how to" class but rather a "display" to reveal the little-known colors and forms of these subjects which many find fascinating.  Join Rev. Baker in exploring this often-neglected resource for photographers!
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HOMER’S THE ODYSSEY
Lynn Cherry Grant, retired professor of English. Member, SUGA
 
“Sing in me, Muse, and through me tell the story of that man skilled in all ways of contending” The Odyssey
"Sing, goddess, the anger of Peleus' son Achilles and its devastation” The Iliad
 
These are the opening lines of two of the world's greatest epics, written by Homer in the 8th century BCE. While the class focuses primarily on The Odyssey, there will be references to Homer’s Iliad. The class will look at these works, reading some sections and discussing both.  We are all familiar with some of the adventures of Odysseus as he struggled to return home after the war in Troy, and Achilles' determination to get justice for the killing of his dearest friend, Patroclus, by the Trojan hero, Hector. These two works can be accessed online on the Internet Archive. I recommend the translations by Robert Fitzgerald.  Visit www.archive.org and sign up for free account to download books. I hope you will enjoy revisiting these epic works.

​Book Club - See our 2026 selections!

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Book club meetings are held at Rehoboth Baptist Church following class on each date listed below.  Meetings start around 12:10 pm (after bathroom break!); usually in room A/B, but “listen for announcement”.

Anyone is invited to join the club and should notify Kay so she will add you to the Book club email list.
Spring Term
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Mar. 18
The Little Liar
Mitch Albom
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May 13
The Names
Florence Knapp
Summer Term
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Nov. 4
Becoming Madam Secretary
Stephanie Dray
Aug. 19
In the Shadow of the Greenbrier
Emily Matchar
Fall Term
Sept. 16
There Are Rivers in the Sky
Elif Shafak
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Nov. 4
Isola
Allegra Goodman
​For more information, or if you would like to lead a discussion, please contact Kay Collins:
[email protected]
​SUGA does not promote, recommend or endorse any product, service or activity other than its educational offerings or activities approved by the Day Trip Committee or Board of Directors.
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