Group Profile: Great Decisions at Oak Hammock

Great Decisions came to Gainesville, Fla. over 25 years ago, and began meeting at Oak Hammock just ten years ago. Oak Hammock, then a newly constructed continuous care retirement community, continues to host the Great Decisions group as part of their Institute for Learning in Retirement (ILR) program, which operates in partnership with the University of Florida.

Today, the group has two different meeting times, one in the morning and one in the early afternoon. Each meeting is limited to 15–20 participants. Last year, Oak Hammock group’s had a total of 35 participants—half live in the greater Gainesville area, half are Oak Hammock residents. Most participants are seniors, however. Like June Girard, the group’s facilitator for the past five years, many moved to the area for health care and cultural opportunities.

As Gainesville is home to the University of Florida and Santa Fe College, the community at Oak Hammock hosts a number of retired academics, which, noted have been a valuable resource, both for Great Decisions and for the Institute of Learning in Retirement in general. Their work history and previous areas of research can lend them a unique perspective on a topic.

“The strong academic presence provides an appreciation of the professionalism and talents of a university education,” she wrote in an email. “These people and other…teachers in the community are generally well-read, well-traveled, and well-informed, making for thoughtful consideration and rigorous discussion.”

Girard, who carried on as a columnist for the Gainesville Sun and television host after she retired in 1986, has an academic background in international affairs as well.

“I have a MA in International Relations. I never used it, but ended up in Public Relations instead.... I have enjoyed going back to my college interests through the Foreign Policy Association,” she said.