Verandah Community University (VCU) is excited to start off this semester with a presentation by NFL referee and Fort Myers attorney Jeffrey Rice, known as “The Lawman of the Line.” Jeffrey will share stories from his NFL career that has included 400 games, 24 post-season assignments, four Pro Bowls and three Super Bowls. Please join us in the Fitness Center on Monday, October 28 at 4 p.m. and wear your favorite team jersey. See the adjacent fyer for registration details. If you have any questions and/or speaker recommendations, please contact one of the Deans: Susan Shamey, Stephanie Levin, Alice Borowsky and Cathy Brummer.
VCU Season’s Schedule
November 11, 2024
Kris Johanessen, Verandah resident and Lieutenant Colonel (USAF, Ret.) will share stories from his career working as an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Launch Offcer during the Reagan Presidency, and the fall of the Soviet Union. He will also talk about his many other = assignments including working with NASA. If you are curious about big missiles, rockets and spaceplanes don’t miss this class.
December 11, 2024
Back by popular demand, Jean Lewis, book reviewer, will share her recommendations for the best books to read being published in 2025. Jean writes and produces a blog, “Maurice on Books” and also writes book reviews for The Naples Daily News and Florida Weekly.
January 6, 2025
Annabelle Tometich will share stories from her 18 years as a food writer, editor, and restaurant critic for The News-Press in her hometown of Fort Myers She will also talk about her recently published, critically acclaimed frst book The Mango Tree: A Memoir of Fruit, Florida, and Felony.
February 10, 2025
Darryle Clott, Verandah resident, has dedicated herself to providing Holocaust education to the LaCrosse, WI, community and bringing Holocaust survivors to share their incredible stories, including Nobel Peace Prize winner, Elie Wiesel. Darryle is
also a Teacher Fellow at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington.
March 10, 2025
Jim (Mik) Miklaszewski, Verandah resident, is an award- winning journalist, including two Emmys. Jim worked at CNN and later NBC, covering the White House and Pentagon. He will share stories of reporting and interviewing national and world leaders and his experience of reporting from the Pentagon on 9/11.
April 7, 2025
Heather Walsh-Haney, Ph.D., Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) anthropologist and forensics expert, will share her experiences working with law enforcement to identify human remains after Hurricanes Wilma and Katrina, 9/11, and other disasters, as well as her work with eight Florida Medical Examiner Districts.
