Talents in Common
Talents in Common is an organizational effort by The Commons Club members to voluntarily share their interests, expertise, and friendships. Members volunteer to facilitate discussion groups, clinics, mentoring, and instructional activities. The Commons Club Members and their guests may join, free of charge, one or more of the fun activities to develop and maintain their social, physical, mental, and adaptive fitness, knowledge and skills. The Commons Club members tailor their choices of activities to fit their different lifestyles.
Click here to view the full 2025 Talents in Common Brochure
Happy Holidays! Check out some upcoming offerings in January...
JANUARY
Pickleball 101
Learn the basics and strategies of pickleball play- Ed Pieper, lifelong teacher and beginner pickleball teacher.
Facilitator: Ed Pieper
Tuesday, January 7th
3:00 pm to 4:00 pm
Complimentary (reservations required)
Le Cercle en Français
Cercle Francais is a weekly one-hour meeting where participants learn and explore the French language and its culture and experience arm-chair travel in France. It does not matter how well you speak French because it is the exposure and experience that matters. And it is fun! Some participants are beginners and others are fluent, but we help each other. We would like to have a French Table at The Rookery on the 3rd Wednesday, January through April. The primary conversations will be in French as you enjoy friends and lunch.
Facilitator: Lisa Baroni
Wednesdays, January 8th to April 16th
11:30 pm to 12:30 pm
Complimentary
A La Carte Lunch at the Rookery on the 3rd Wednesday of each month from 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm
All Sessions are via ZOOM and in person at The Enrichment Center.
The Wildlife of Southwest Florida
Come learn about our feathered, furred, and scaly SWFL neighbors, presented by a CREW (Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed) staff member
Facilitator: Piper Jones
Thursday, January 9th
2:00 pm to 3:30 pm
Complimentary (reservations required)
Click here to register for The Wildlife of Southwest Florida on Thursday, January 9th
or email [email protected] or call 239-949-3800 to reserve your spot.
Romancing the Stone
Since ancient times, stone carvers have sought to set free the forms they see trapped within a stone. It is a careful and unyielding process. The relationship between the sculptor and the stone is not unlike a true romance. There are some give and takes as well as a lot of heart. When carefully and skillfully romanced, stones become extraordinary works of art.
Terrie Mertens is an accomplished artist who works in
watercolor, clay, and stone. She currently is pursuing and
teaching stone carving at Arts Bonita.
Facilitator:Terrie Mertens
Friday, January 10th
10:00 am to 11:30 pm
Complimentary (Reservations Required)
Click here to register for Romancing the Stone on Friday, January 10th
or email [email protected] or call 239-949-3800 to reserve your spot.
Earl Warren vs. Supreme Court Today
An in-depth look at the Warren Court in the 1960's, how it accepted and decided cases with a close look at Miranda vs Arizona. And a then and now comparison to the current Supreme Court.Facilitator: Jim Hale
(former law clerk to Chief Justice Earl Warren)
Friday, January 10th
3:00 pm to 4:00 pm
Complimentary (reservations required)
Click here to register for Earl Warren vs. Supreme Court Today on Friday, January 10th
or email [email protected] or call 239-949-3800 to reserve your spot.
Essentials & Budgeting For Your Financial Future
A simple format for different approaches to budgeting and the essential information needed to achieve your realistic financial goals. The presentation will also include a discussion on vital information to have available in the event of a life changing event. Please come prepared to take notes and join in the discussion.
Facilitator: Christina Lowery
Monday, January 13th
2:00 pm to 3:30 pm
Complimentary (reservations required)
Click here to register for Essentials & Budgeting for Your Financial Future on Monday, January 13th
or email [email protected] or call 239-949-3800 to reserve your spot.
How to Navigate The Commons Club Website
The Commons Club website is your gateway to the Rookery, Beach Club, Health and Lifestyle Center, Enrichment Center and now Pickleball.
Have you ever wanted to know what events were happening at the Rookery or were you interested in taking a Fitness class but couldn't find the email that had the current month's newsletter? Or maybe you need to see your current statement.
Understanding how to navigate The Commons Club website will give you all this information and more.
Join us for this presentation, we will focus on:
· Navigating the overall website
· How to access and complete forms
· How to register for dining reservations, a fitness class or other events
· How to access your statement
Facilitators: Christy Burke
Wednesday, January 15th
2:00 pm to 3:30 pm
Complimentary (Reservations required)
Click here to register for How to Navigate The Commons Club Website on Wednesday January 15th
or email [email protected] or call 239-949-3800 to reserve your spot.
Talents in Common - More iPhone/iPad/iOS Tips
You know the basics of iPhone/iPad operation, but you'd like to move on to mastering some more advanced features or you have some feature you just can't get to work for you, this class will move beyond the basics to some of the less known settings and most useful apps and being limited to 8-10 participants, your questions will be answered.
Please bring a notebook & pen for notes
Facilitator: Bob Deakin
Thursday, October 16th
10:00 am to 11:30 am
Complimentary (Reservations required)
Click here to register for More iPhone/iPad/iOS Tips on Thursday, January 16th
or email [email protected] or call 239-949-3800 to reserve your spot.
Malta
The smallest European Union country by size and population. With the highest population density of all, and the smallest capital (Valletta). And with one of the richest, most diverse histories. Ruled by the Phoenecians (for 700 years), then Romans (300 years), Byzantines (300 years), Muslims from North Africa (200 years), Normans (200 years), Spanish (200 years), Order of Saint John (300 years), the British (200 years), and now independence. The whole of Malta's capical Valletta is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We will visit the main island of Gozo
Facilitator: Paul Pacter
Friday, January 17th
2:00 pm to 3:30 pm
Complimentary (reservations required)
Click here to register for Malta on Friday, January 17th
or email [email protected] or call 239-949-3800 to reserve your spot.
Let's Talk Baseball!
Come ask questions to Commons Club member, Janet Whitlock and her son Garrett Whitlock, Pitcher, Boston Red Sox. This informal presentation will discuss the everyday life and process of becoming a professional baseball player at the Major League level. Where does it all start? How does one prepare for the physical and mental side of being a professional baseball player? Note:Garrett is willing to sign autographs
Facilitators: Janet and Garret Whitlock and Clark Bell - Former Sportswriter, Marketing Columnist, and Magazine Editor
Friday, January 17th
4:00 pm to 5:00 pm
Complimentary (reservations required)
Click here to register for Let's Talk Baseball! on Friday, January 17th
or email [email protected] or call 239-949-3800 to reserve your spot.
Suzie's Silk Flower Arranging
Suzie will show you how to decorate a basic candlestick with silk flowers as a beautiful piece of décor for an event or your home.
No skill necessary
A week prior to class a list of supplies will be emailed to each registrant.
Facilitators: Suzie Tjarks
Monday, January 20th
2:00 pm to 4:00 pm
Complimentary (Reservations Required)
Click here to register for Suzie's Silk Flower Arranging on , January 20th
or email [email protected] or call 239-949-3800 to reserve your spot.
Sports Panel with Current and Former Athletes
What's it like to be a professional athlete? Hear from three former, and still active professional athletes about how their sport has figured into their professional and retired years.
Ryan Vesce - pro hockey player
Claire Batista - pro golfer
John Foley - pro tennis player
Facilitators: Claire Batista, John Foley and Ryan Vesce
Tuesday, January 21st
4:00 pm to 5:00 pm
Click here to register for the Sports Panel with Current & Former Athletes on Tuesday, January 21st
or email [email protected] or call 239-949-3800 to reserve your spot.
Women Owned Businesses Panel
Women owned businesses panel - She's The Boss! -the good, the bad, and the trials and tribulations of 3 women who started and ran their own businesses and served in local government. Join us for the 5 pm Happy Hour function. (Beer and Wine for purchase)
Facilitators: Debbie Russo, Colleen McDonald, and Cathy Melchert
Thursday, January 23rd
5:00 pm to 6:00 pm
Complimentary (reservations required)
Click here to register for the Women Owned Businesses Panel on Thursday, January 23rd
or email [email protected] or call 239-949-3800 to reserve your spot.
Antarctica - The Last Frontier
Why vacation in the coldest, windiest and most remote continent on Earth? Learn from fellow TCC Members who recently had a two week adventure in Antarctica which included kayaking, hiking on the icy mountains with penguins and taking a submersible ride to the bottom of the ocean! Eighteen countries operate year round scientific research stations to study the effects of the big ice!
A special, frosty Antarctic Freeze cocktail is available for purchase.
Facilitators: Pam Gatz and Patty Kasold
Friday, January 24th
4:00 pm to 5:00 pm
Complimentary (reservations required)
or email [email protected] or call 239-949-3800 to reserve your spot.
Holocaust Survivor Presentation - Antisemitism: Past, Present, & Future
Antisemitism led to the Holocaust in World War II and it still exists in increased abundance today. Irwin Frank, a second-generation Holocaust Survivor, will share details of his own parents' ordeals as Holocaust victims and survivors. Irwin will then introduce you to his 95 year old Uncle, Arthur Gelbart, who survived imprisonment in a number of concentration camps from Auschwitz to Buchenwald, where he was liberated by the US Army after a terrible death march journey. With Arthur is his wife of 69 years, Rose Gelbart, a hidden child during the war, lucky enough to be reclaimed by her mother after the war.
Facilitators: Irwin Frank and Stanley Ruskin
Monday, January 27th
3:30 pm to 5:00 pm
Complimentary (reservations required)
Click here to register for the Holocaust Survivor Presentation on Monday, January 27th
or email [email protected] or call 239-949-3800 to reserve your spot.
For the Love of Birds
Tom invites a small group of residents to join him on a hike nearby. Other than a respect for nature and a comfortable pair of walking shoes, nothing else is needed. Binoculars and a camera are good but not necessary. The walking pace is slow. The trails are flat. Depending on the weather, some areas may be wet.
8:00 am - Meet at Trails
CREW Flint Pen Strand Trails
15970 Bonita Beach Rd SE, Bonita Springs, FL 34135
Wear comfortable shoes, bring binoculars, camera & hat
Carpooling is encouraged
Facilitator: Tom Myles
Tuesday, January 28th
8:00 am to 9:30 am
Complimentary (reservations required) Maximum of 10 participants
Boating Safety
A brief course on the basics of boating safety is being offered by an experienced boater and USCG Auxiliary certified instructor. This condensed course is not an official USCG Auxiliary boating course.
The course will explain:
How to read a nautical chart using Estero/Naples/Ft. Myers charts. The course will cover how to use the chart color schemes, buoy markers, Compass Rose, depth readings, and other symbols on the nautical charts.
The basic navigation rules of the road will be explained, including ROW, overtaking another boat, and other rules. Frank will demonstrate the proper use of the marine radio.
Tips will also be provided on boating apps for navigation and tides.
This course will be taught by an experienced boater who has held a "six pack" Captain's license, and currently is a certified boating instructor with the USCG Auxiliary.
Facilitator: Frank Connelly
Wednesday, January 29th
10:00 am to 11:00 am
Complimentary (Reservations required)
Click here to register for Boating Safety on Wednesday, January 29th
or email [email protected] or call 239-949-3800
Power & Pinstripes
Jeff Mangold shares his family history as a child involved in sports. With childhood sports figure heroes, he ended up working with or associating with during my tenures with the Yankees, Mets, University of Nebraska and University of Florida. He shares priceless stories as Head Strength and Conditioning Coach for the New York Yankees. Winning three out of the five World Series Championships are what the attendees enjoy hearing the most and his relationships with the super star players.
Facilitator: Jeff Mangold
Friday, January 31st
2:00 pm to 3:30 pm
Complimentary (reservations required)
Click here to register for Power & Pinstripes on Friday, January 31st
or email [email protected] or call 239-949-3800
Plus much more to come...
Download the Seasonal Brochure above for the full list of classes.