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TOWN MEETING
November 2, 2007
A town meeting was held at Tallwood beginning at 10am, on November 2,
2007. There were 51 people in attendance including 10 Board members and
Dick Chobot, the Executive Director. Vice President Ben Gold presided.
Ben announced that the Board had passed a resolution not to extend the
contract of the current ED for budgetary reasons. Ben thanked Dick
Chobot for his service to OLLI, and those attending gave Dick a round
of applause.
Treasurer Gordon Canyock presented a summary of the OLLI budget as
follows. Budget amounts are in thousands of dollars:
INCOME
|
2007 |
2008 |
Dues
|
254
|
263 |
Osher Grant
|
17 |
0 |
| Endowment |
12
|
25 |
| Bank Interest |
4 |
3 |
Total
|
287
|
291 |
|
|
|
EXPENSES
|
2007
|
2008 |
Personnel
|
207 |
162 |
General Admin
|
59
|
60 |
Facilities
|
29 |
30 |
Publications
|
23
|
24 |
Program
|
16
|
15 |
Total
|
334 |
291 |
Gordon pointed out that the 2007 budget indicates a $47,000 deficit
whereas for 2008 the budget is balanced, as directed by the Board.
Kathryn Russell pointed out that rising gas prices could lead to our
instructors requesting reimbursement for their travel expenses.
It was pointed out that when donations are made in someone’s honor an
acknowledgment should be sent, and a member pointed out that this has
not always been done in the past. Ben promised to follow through and
make sure that would be done in the future.
Bruce Reinhart and Kathryn Russell gave a short presentation on the
program. Bruce emphasized that our program at OLLI is excellent
primarily because of who, where, and what we are. Fairfax County
residents have the overall highest level of education of any county in
the US, half of the 'think tanks' and policy centers in the U.S., an
outstanding group of universities including GMU, and the Federal
Government. Kathryn acknowledged the contribution of our 13 Resource
Group chairs. She gave attendees a brief preview of some of the
classes that have been lined up for the winter semester. Kathryn
mentioned that the program committee is considering adding study groups
as an alternative to lecture classes, and, as a test, one study group
will be offered in the winter term.
There were questions about the registration system and the procedure
for signing up for classes. Any class that is over subscribed is first
assigned to those who have indicated the highest priority on their
registration form. After that, classes are assigned by lottery. Members
were urged to sign up and pay by credit card on line. If you sign up
for a class, please attend or drop the course. In the interest of
accurate statistics, if you are not listed on the sign in sheet, please
add your name and check it off. It was emphasized that since
over-subscribed classes are assigned by lottery, there is no longer any
advantage to being first in line when registration opens.
Membership chair Debbie Halverson read from a prepared statement. We
currently have 750 members, including 88 new members. Volunteers are
needed in all areas. The yard sale proceeds were $1177.16. The yard
sale proved to be a lot of work but the participants enjoyed the
experience. A silent auction is being planned for the spring. The
Membership Committee is preparing a survey on members’ interest in
social activities. The Membership Committee will be meeting on November
15 and OLLI members are encouraged to attend. Additional movies have
been scheduled for Friday afternoons.
Dick Chobot commented that he believes the Loudoun experiment, which
started in the spring, is looking promising. The problem remains that
there is currently a different fee structure for Loudoun, and this will
need to be resolved. Currently under consideration is a joint catalog.
Dick assured us that OLLI currently has an outstanding staff and the
"organization will not miss a beat" with his leaving.
There followed questions and answers on a variety of issues, including
the following.
Q Relating to
the yard sale, were there mostly OLLI members in attendance?
A There were
plenty of outsiders.
Q Regarding
the previous survey, were the results reported?
A The results
appeared in OLLI E-News, and
Kathryn Russell used some of the results for locating potential
teachers.
Q The survey
indicated that we have a highly educated membership. Why have they been
declared ineligible to apply for the position of ED?
A In order to
find someone with a fresh outlook, not someone who might be tainted; to
avoid potentially negative feelings resulting from a member who might
apply but is not selected; it would be a difficult transition to change
from the role of an OLLI member to an ED.
Q Do we have
a unified vision for the future?
A No. The
Board cannot agree, and there are too many unknowns regarding what GMU
will decide about a UBRC and the use of Tallwood.
Q How do you
expect to get a good candidate for ED when you have excluded members
from applying and are not offering a very large salary?
A We will
conduct the search and keep our options open. It is hoped we will find
a good candidate. If not, we can change the job description, consider
someone part time, or consider raising the salary, which would likely
result in a dues raise.
Ben thanked everyone for participating in a terrific discussion and
invited all attendees to enjoy refreshments in the Annex. The Town
Meeting was adjourned at 11:40.
Susanne Zumbro, Secretary 2007-2008
Updated:
November 7, 2007
Copyright © 2007 Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at
George Mason University. Materials in this publication subject to
OLLI-GMU copyright may be reproduced for noncommercial educational
purposes as long as credit is given to OLLI-GMU.
Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at George Mason University
4210 Roberts Rd., Fairfax, VA 22032-1028
Phone: (703) 503-3384; E-mail: olli@gmu.edu;
Fax: (703) 503-2832
Original site design and construction by OLLI-GMU member Rod Zumbro. |
