Council on Aging Programs
The Council on Aging holds monthly educational programs on the second Thursday of each month (except in July and August) at the O’Connor Senior Center (611 Winona St.) at 2:30 pm. All programs are free and open to the public.
SEPTEMBER 11, 2025
Artful Meditation and Mindfulness
with Kenton Yeager, Instructor and
Katy Malone, Manager of Education and Community Engagement
Daily stress can cloud your focus and drain your energy. In this session, you’ll explore mindfulness and meditation as tools for clarity and calm. We’ll begin with an introduction to artful mindfulness, followed by a guided meditation to help restore focus and ease tension. To close, we’ll offer ways to incorporate the practice into your everyday life. This program is being presented by UT’s McClung Museum as a part of their community wellness initiative.
Kenton Yeager is a certified advanced meditation teacher with the American Meditation Society, where he also served as President and Head of Teacher Training. A tenured professor at UT and head of the Graduate Theatrical Lighting Design Program, he has led mindfulness and creativity workshops nationwide. Kenton brings 45 years of experience in
meditation, visualization, martial arts, and Eastern philosophy.
Katy Malone has worked as a museum educator for more than 10 years. She joined the University of Tennessee in 2018 where she serves as Manager of Education. Her work focuses on adult education and wellness in the museum space.
OCTOBER 9, 2025
Healing Through Horses
with Angela Bartlett, STAR
STAR—Shangri-La Therapeutic Academy of Riding—exists to improve quality of life for East Tennesseans through the healing power of horses. Our mission, Healing Through Horses, comes to life through therapeutic riding and equine-assisted services that support individuals with physical, emotional, and cognitive challenges. Horses offer unique benefits—building strength, confidence, connection, and calm. Whether grooming, leading, or riding, every interaction with a horse at STAR has the potential to heal and transform.
Shangri-La Therapeutic Academy of Riding (STAR) works with children and adults aged four to 65+ with physical, mental, and neurological disabilities or those considered at-risk. We serve individuals from Anderson, Blount, Campbell, Fentress, Jefferson, Knox, Loudon, Monroe, McMinn, Roane, Sevier, and surrounding counties. The mission of STAR is to foster personal achievement by providing therapeutic experiences using horse-related activities for persons with disabilities or other special challenges.
Interested in joining the Council on Aging? Call us at 865-524-2786 or email knoxooa@knoxseniors.org.