Your UIRA sponsors Special Interest Groups that meet periodically to further shared interests. Join one of our active groups or tell a board member if you and your UIRA friends have an idea for a new group.

Gray Hawk Writers

Gray Hawk Writers have been meeting fortnightly since April 1999. Members read aloud what they have written, encourage one another, and offer friendly critiques. In 2014 the group published an anthology, Yesterdays.

The storytelling and writing styles are quite diverse—there are many pathways that can be followed when writing. 

Feel free to visit as a guest. You may decide you would like to join the group. Everyone has a story to tell. 

Email Doug Paul.

Explorers

Created in fall 2023, Explorers is a group of UIRA members interested in walking and hiking. Walks are held at various locations in the area, including at parks and trails managed by Johnson County Conservation and Bur Oak Land Trust. Upcoming outings, open to all UIRA members, will be published in The Gray Hawk newsletter.

To join the group, email Alice Atkinson or Lesanne Fliehler.