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3. Whom We Could Serve by 2010
The NCCCR serves a number of areas and regions. These are the immediate
vicinity of the Asheville metropolitan area, the WNC region, the state of
North Carolina, and the Southeast US and the US as a whole. We consider
each of these in turn:
Immediate service area: 45-minute travel radius from the Reuter Center
The Reuter Center could be the primary locale for Center offerings. The
Center would be accessible for those able to drive and those who can
utilize public transportation. Currently, public transportation is
limited. But we could imagine bus service at 10-minute intervals to the
UNC-A campus from downtown, the hospital center, Biltmore Village and
retirement clusters along Hendersonville Road. This could be supplemented
by on-call transportation to other points, on a pay-as-you-go basis.
Secondary outreach service area: counties contiguous to Buncombe
County/satellite centers
Reuter Center offerings could be complemented by selected satellite
centers in other parts of the four-county, Land of Sky Region, such as in
Hendersonville, Waynesville, Black Mountain, and the various high-density
retirement communities. These centers might eventually be equipped with
digital interactive video/audio, supplementing face-to-face offerings. The
NCCCR could serve as an experimental laboratory in the use of combinations
of face-to-face and digitally based interactive programs.
State of North Carolina
The NCCCR could serve as a model for other regions of the state of North
Carolina with concentrations of retirees, such as the Research
Triangle/Chapel Hill area and the Wilmington Coastal Area. Centers in
these regions could be electronically networked to each other to extend
offerings and exchanges on a cooperative basis. The NCCCR could also serve
as the State's center for research on retirement and lifelong learning.
The state of North Carolina might fund specific programs and projects that
benefit the entire state and its people.
National
The NCCCR could continue to develop its services as a research center for
retirement and lifelong education for the Southeast US and, indeed, for
the country at large. A full-time research staff could be established and
intergenerational student programs and courses offered as prototypes to
disseminate for possible adoption elsewhere. The NCCCR could also host
national conferences for scholars and for prospective retirees at the
Reuter Center or at conference centers in WNC.
Points to Ponder:
How do we weigh the relative importance of various possible future
clienteles?
How ambitious do we want to be in terms of program scope and regional and
national (even international) visibility?
4. The Impact of the New Facility
With the completion of the Reuter Center, we will have a model
senior-friendly, learning- conducive facility. Reuter Center could
accommodate seven classes and/or events simultaneously, varying in
audience size from 12 (computer lab) to 100 (larger part of divisible
multipurpose room). Also, space is available for committee meetings and
informal gatherings. With a larger, more flexible space, more equipment
and our own building, there are clearly opportunities to expand class and
event offerings. In addition, there is more to be managed and that will
require both paid and volunteer talent.
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