The 2020 Pella Wellness Consortium Community Common Reading Experience will focus on civility, respect, and understanding during what will be a tense lead up to the 2020 Presidential Election.

A book discussion will be held today from noon to 1 p.m. over Zoom, hosted by the Pella Public Library, to talk about “Treating People Well: The Extraordinary Power of Civility at Work and in Life.” The book is a guide to personal and professional empowerment through civility and social skills, written by two White House Social Secretaries who offer an important fundamental message-everyone is important and everyone deserves to be treated well. Click here to participate via Zoom.

A Pella Community Civility Conversation will be presented by The Robert D. and Billie Ray Center on Thursday, October 8th from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at Douwstra Auditorium. People
around the country and here in Iowa are coming together in a grassroots initiative to revive civility and respect. Join this conversation where community members learn strategies to have civil interactions despite differences. Click here to register to attend in-person or over Zoom.

The events as part of the Pella Wellness Consortium end this fall with a presentation by former NBA All-Star and Pella High graduate Kyle Korver, who returns to the community to take part in a Q&A session about his essay “Privileged,” which appeared in The Players’ Tribune in April 2019. This personal essay on white privilege garnered Korver national recognition and initiated a larger conversation around systematic racism and what it takes to become a true ally to others. That event will be live-streamed by Central College from 7 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, October 28th as part of the Geisler Penquite Educational Excellence Speakers Series at Central College.