Retired Lewiston H.S. Social Studies teacher Joan Macri was one of 87 volunteers from across the country selected in 2015 to help decorate the White House for Christmas.

Joan Macri, a Lewiston-Auburn resident since 1978, will be the presenter for Lewiston-Auburn Senior College’s next “Food for Thought” luncheon on Friday, October 14. The title of her session is “Behind the Scenes at a White House Christmas.” Macri will share slides of her experiences as one of the 89 volunteers selected from around the country to decorate the Obama White House for Christmas 2015. She worked on preparing decorations for the Private Residence and then installed decorations in the East Room, Green Room, Blue Room, the entry way to the White House used by the First Family, and the President’s private elevator. It was a unique and enormously gratifying opportunity for a history teacher from Maine.

Joan Macri is a retired secondary Social Studies Educator. She taught for 37 years, beginning in the Philadelphia area. She then moved to Maine, where she initially taught at Bonny Eagle High School and then at Lewiston High School for 24 years. At LHS, she taught American History, Economics, and Debate, coached various school teams, including Debate, Mock Trial, Federal Reserve Challenge, Chicago Board of Trade Commodity Challenge, and Stock Market, and advised the school’s National Honor Society, Student Senate and Civil Rights Team.

Macri created the Aspirations Program for Lewiston High School, an initiative that arranged college visitation trips for all sophomores and created an Aspirations Lab for students. She then collaborated with College for ME Androscoggin to expand the Aspirations Program county-wide to serve seven other area high schools. Now retired, Macri continues to reside in the Lewiston-Auburn area, where she enjoys having more time to read, garden, and spend with family and friends.

Now in its 19th year, Senior College presents this monthly luncheon program in Function Room 170 at Lewiston-Auburn College. Doors open at 11:30 a.m. and the program begins promptly at noon. The cost, which includes lunch, is $7 with an advance reservation or $8 at the door. To make your advance reservation, call Senior College at 753-6510 by noon on Wednesday, October 12. Reservation calls received after this time will be considered “at the door”.