by Adriana Carr, MPA
Director, Lee Senior Center
Arlington County Department of Parks and Recreation
2019 VRPS Senior Resource Group Co-Chair Elect
Director, Lee Senior Center
Arlington County Department of Parks and Recreation
2019 VRPS Senior Resource Group Co-Chair Elect
“When you go out of your comfort zone and it works; there’s
nothing more satisfying.” Kristen Wiig
Around the start of a new year, there are always a bunch of
challenges promoted by a variety of people. Most are related to fitness but I
have been a on quest to jump start my planning and programming. I decided to challenge myself to learn from
other creative fields. Here is what
happened:
I recently took a course from a friend of mine who has an
event planning business. About 40% of my
work involves planning small scale events such as talent shows, holiday parties
and the other 60% of my time is focused on creating experiences for older
adults who come to the community center I work in. Creating a positive experience is the goal
of any event whether it’s a party, conference, show or workshop. Additionally, my friend is an excellent
teacher and is well established in her field.
So, I registered for her online course: Goal setting for the Enlightened Creative. During
the workshop she encourages her students to get out of their comfort zones and
find new ways to grow professionally. I decided to give it a try.
I had been thinking about starting a drum circle in the senior center where I am
the director. Initially I felt
uncomfortable about organizing this sort of activity. It was certainly out of my comfort zone. Here’s why.
When I thought of drum circles I envisioned young (under 30) bohemian
types --or hippies-- engaged in rhythmic and frenetic drumming and dancing. Never mind that the original hippies are
rapidly becoming my customers. Never
mind that drum circles
exist in a variety of senior programs around the country. Never mind that Cheryl
Wheeler (the 2019 SRG chair) suggested it as a workshop for last year’s
conference and our Board Liaison Jane Shelhorse knew someone who lead drum
circle! I still wasn’t convinced.
I wasn’t convinced that a drum circle would garner any
interest from the participants that came to the Lee Senior Center. I didn’t see them as the sort of people who
would enjoy being in a drum circle. But
that bias rapidly dispatched at the VRPS 2018 conference in Henrico. I was sitting in one of the rooms learning
about a great neighborhood revitalization project in Danville, VA. In the room next to us was a session on an improv
fest for teens in Loudon County. They
were very noisy and they were having lots of fun! The adults in the room were having lots of
fun. Making noise is quite fun. The little
lights started twinkling in my brain; maybe a drum circle would work.
I approached a gentleman who loves music and had been trying
to get his own band going. However, I
wasn’t completely sure, if he would be interested. Nonetheless I asked him if he would think
about starting a drum circle program. We
talked about it and even got a small focus group together to help develop the
program. I am happy to report that it’s
working out well. The participants who
attend are having a great time. The
volunteer dance instructors send some their rhythm challenged dancers to the
drumming session for extra help and the drum circle leader has even been asked
to talk to other groups about the benefits of drumming. This program hasn’t even been officially
promoted and it continues to grow. It’s
exciting!
This small foray out of my comfort zone affirmed several
things. The first is that being part of
VRPS and SRG is pivotal to my career and personal development. The second is nothing is more constricting to
your career than self- doubt. For example, after many months of hesitation, I
took the CPRP test and passed! I muscled
past the self-doubt. The third benefit
is that looking to other industries sparks innovation on an individual and
general level. Because when your day to
day tasks are geared to producing positive experiences for the community, do
not put limits on your creativity.
Have a question, comment or want to blog with us? Contact the Senior Resource Group:
Cheryl Wheeler,
CPRP - 2019 chair
LaTanja
Jones, 2019 co-chair elect
Adriana Carr, 2019
co-chair elect
Judith Mangilin,
Treasurer