Creative Retirement members are people of wide and varied interests, with broad experiences which they share with others. The sharing and the learning together is what sets Creative Retirement apart.

Individuals like Theresa Pastrick and Kathleen Heesaker, mother and daughter who have been taking the French Immersion course so that they can help their children and grandchildren who are in French Immersion Grades 1, 2 and 3 classes at their school.

They first started taking French Immersion classes with Marcel Pelletier at River East School Division but switched to Creative Retirement where Marcel conducts French conversational and writing classes.
"We are trying to catch up with the children," Kathleen said. "But we find it is also beneficial to us. My mother Theresa and I enjoy taking the classes together. We study in the afternoons. We help each other with phrases and we also speak on the telephone."

Ray and Alice Hawkins are typical of the unique individuals who are members of Creative Retirement and have taken advantage of several classes and courses offered.

They say that "when one is retired it is important to reach out for more activities because you extend yourself and thus make new friends by simply being a member of CRM

They are members of the computer club and have taken word processing, spreadsheet, database, communications and desktop courses, and are also connected to the Internet.

In addition they have enjoyed sessions which have included Aboriginal History and Awareness, which they found very enlightening; archaeology, art history, French immersion courses; music appreciation with Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra conductor, Bramwell Tovey, in which everyone attending was thrilled.

Among other things they attended a six-week session on comic movies, which they say is a "must for people who enjoy discussing a movie".

Ray and Alice are volunteering in schools with programs related to reading, technical and science courses.

Nelson Harvey is another member of Creative Retirement, who, over the decades of his life has enjoyed several careers.

Nelson has been a certified teacher in British Columbia, Northern Manitoba, - where he taught for 12 years, and Saskatchewan. Later he worked for the Post Office, before becoming an air traffic controller from 1941-1972 at Winnipeg Airport where he rose to become regional superintendent.

Nelson is a great conversationalist and story teller who recently published his autobiography for his family. He is also interested in genealogy and has done a family tree.

"I did it before they had all the programs on computers and it worked out quite well."

He has been a member of Creative Retirement for the past 10 years and a member of the computer club for five years and took courses in word processing with Isabella Dryden.

"I really got into computers for something to do after my wife passed away. I use it mostly for writing letters on my word processor, as well as for e-mail, although I do not use that a lot," he said.

Coming together and sharing, caring and expanding horizons is what makes Creative Retirement different and its members unique.