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OLLI
E-News #1-06 of 2006
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| NEWSFLASH
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REGISTRATION
FOR THE
WINTER TERM ENDS MON, JAN 9,
2006 |
| ALERTS
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>> INCLEMENT
WEATHER: OLLI will be closed whenever Fairfax County schools are
closed
all day due
to
inclement weather. Schools Website.
>> TRIP TO IRELAND:
12 people have already signed up; the cut-off is 20. If you want to go,
send your registration to TraveLearn
(not OLLI) without delay. |
| REMINDER
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| >> TALLWOOD HOUSE IS SCHEDULED
FOR DEMOLITION in late January, date to be determined. The four
restrooms will remain for use by OLLI. |
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BOARD MEETING HIGHLIGHTS
A review of what happened at the last
Board meeting
 By Carol Henderson, OLLI Secretary
AT ITS
DEC 16, 2005 MEETING, THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS, in a vote of 14 to
1 with one abstention, approved the 2006 operating budget. The budget
had been submitted by the Finance Committee in a revised form from that
presented at the November Board meeting.
| The approved
budget does not require a dues increase. OLLI annual
dues will remain at $280 in 2006. The $7,000 in revenue a $10 increase
in dues would have generated is expected to be offset by a similar
amount of revenue from the income from the Osher gift of a $1 million
endowment. The $1 million is expected to be received by the GMU
Foundation by mid-January. This timing will allow an income payment to
OLLI of approximately $7,000 in September 2006, earlier than previously
believed. If the receipt of funds is delayed, then the payout will be
reduced to approximately $3,400 in FY 2006. |
Treasurer Don Yesukaitis walked the Board
through the key provisions, noting that it is a deficit budget although
proposed revenue is up about ten percent, and expenses are up six
percent. He explained that proposed uses of Osher Foundation funds and
Friends of OLLI funds would be considered at a future date. It was
pointed out that Board action is required to allow the use of these
funds.
Sources of revenue other than dues and
donations include remaining Osher Foundation grant funds, sponsorships
and income from services. New expenses result from new initiatives,
including both registration database upgrades, donor cultivation and
recognition, landscaping and landscape maintenance (moved from funding
under an Osher grant to funding as part of the operating budget),
computer and audiovisual equipment and maintenance, and membership
promotion and retention.
The Board also approved up to $2,000 in
Friends of OLLI funds to be spent for an office computer and associated
software to be used by a soon-to-be-hired program assistant.
Further
detail about the 2006 budget is available from Executive Director Dick
Chobot. A copy of the budget will be posted in the Social Room when the
Tallwood office reopens on January 3, 2006. The Board will meet next on
Friday, January 20, 2006, at 10:00 at Tallwood. OLLI members are
encouraged to attend.
OLLI
INVESTMENT FORUM
A popular group for discussion of
investments
 By Julie Fintel, OLLI
E-News staff writer
 WHAT
BEGAN AS A SINGLE PRESENTATION ON THE BASICS OF FINANCE in 1994
has evolved into one of OLLI’s most popular classes, The Investment
Forum. The forum is unique in that it meets all year long, even between
terms.
Garrett
Ruhl was the first organizer and
presenter. Then in 1995,Nancy Bernhard and
Glen Hillock led a group
activity on investing. In 1997 Henry Shenker and Garrett Ruhl took over
as group moderators. Today the forum is led by Tom Crooker, a retired
engineer and long-time student of the stock market. Ed Swoboda serves
as ex-officio moderator when needed. Joe Cowden contributes prepared
discussions on a periodic basis and also serves as class liaison.
THE MODERATOR OF THE CLASS SETS THE
AGENDA AND LEADS THE DISCUSSION.
The Investment
Forum
Photos
by Rod Zumbro
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Topics include stocks,
bonds, mutual funds,partnerships, and investments trusts. If class
members don't like the
subject, they will let him know, Tom says. “We get lots of feedback,
and we get lots of suggestions.” He keeps the class on track. “All can
express views but we’re structured and organized. Yet the class is
fun,” he says. After all, many of these people have seen each other
weekly for years and have come to know each other well.
Attendees include those who rarely miss a
class and those who come sporadically. People attend for various
reasons. For some, investing is a serious hobby. Others want to learn
how to handle the money they have. Widows especially benefit. Often
they have been presented with a lump sum of money, and then it’s up to
them to preserve it or make it grow. Tom often meets widows whose
husbands have made all the financial decisions without sharing their
knowledge with their wives. Tom says that it is the duty of every
person to make sure that his/her survivors will be financially taken
care of.
“Becoming rich is not our goal,” says Tom. "We
want to help people protect their nest eggs. We try to protect retirees
from making mistakes or being taken advantage of.”
I asked Tom if a person who knows nothing
about investing should take the class. Tom said it would be best
to start with Shirley Smith‘s class on basic investing, but anyone who
has not taken Shirley’s class should not hesitate to sample the forum.
TOWN MEETING FOLLOW-UP
Status of your suggestions concerning
programming
 By Dr. Richard Chobot,
Executive Director
THE
NOVEMBER TOWN MEETING AT OLLI yielded many worthwhile
suggestions.
This article summarizes the actions being taken in response to
suggestions relating to Programming
and Potential New Initiatives.
Programming--
- Suggestion: More information on senior health and aging.
One of the
rationales for undertaking Friday programming is to provide a place and
time for informational programming of interest to members. Health and
wellness topics are high on the list of candidate programs. In the
next month, we will be coming out with an initial schedule of Friday
programs. Among the partners we are seeing to offer these programs at
Tallwood are the GMU College of Nursing and the INOVA Healthcare
System. We will also be offering a program on locating and evaluating
health information on the Web.
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- Suggestion: Offer beginning language lessons.
This need already is
addressed by the Adult and Continuing Education Program of the Fairfax
Public Schools. However, given the interest of our members an initial
step will be to convene a meeting of those who currently teach modern
language as well as students who currently take these courses. The
goal of this meeting is to develop a plan for beginning language
training at OLLI. Results of these deliberations will be reported in a
future edition of OLLI E-News.
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- Suggestion: Offer a course on beginning bridge.
A course on this
topic is on the books for the Spring 2006 term. It will be taught by
Gordon Canyock and Susanne Zumbro.
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- Suggestion: Identify additional teachers among
members and persuade
them to teach. In February, we plan to have an informational
meeting
for people interested in teaching. Part of this meeting will be
devoted to describing new ways to experience teaching, including team
teaching, serving as a panelist, and beginning by teaching a
one-session Friday course. Sometime during the first quarter of this
year
we will produce some aids and tip sheets for instructors, including a
guide for the use of PowerPoint in the classroom. Finally, to ensure
that A/V does not become a problem in the classroom, all OLLI staff are
being trained on basic A/V software operating and troubleshooting
tasks. This training is taking place on Friday, January 6.
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In addition to Program-related suggestions,
Town meeting participants
were asked to suggest new program options for OLLI. Here is the top
suggestion--
- Suggestion: Begin Friday and weekend programming.
In next week's OLLI E-News,
an article will
provide details on planned Friday
programming. To summarize, Friday programs will begin at the start of
the Spring
Term, but will carry through inter-term periods. A two-month running
schedule will be available via OLLI
E-News. Friday programming
will focus on entertainment, information, and social opportunities.
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Under
the heading of “Giving Back to the Community,” three initiatives were
proposed-- |
- Suggestion: Create program for tutoring students.
There is a
relationship between OLLI and the GMU Counseling office. This
relationship will be revisited, and service/tutoring opportunities will
be communicated to OLLI members on a regular basis. Possibilities to
be of service in the public schools also will be explored.
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- Suggestion: Publicize opportunities for OLLI members
to volunteer in
the community. A mechanism will be created to more efficiently
make
OLLI members aware of volunteer opportunities. This effort will begin
in mid-March with a Neighborhood College, to be held at OLLI Tallwood
in March. More information on the Neighborhood College and how members
can register will be forthcoming in OLLI
E-News.
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- Suggestion: Continue to support the arts at GMU.
Nine OLLI members
currently sit on GMU boards directly involved in the visual and
performing arts. OLLI members have a reputation of supporting
arts-related activities. OLLI will continue to publicize Center for the
Arts events with tie-ins to regular term programs and special events.
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The Town Meeting generated many suggestions for new and improved
initiatives at OLLI. Look for 2006 to be a year of change and growth in
the program arena.
MEET BOARD
MEMBER BEN GOLD
A continuation of profiles of OLLI Board
members
 By Kitty O'Hara, OLLI
E-News staff writer
BEN
GOLD IS NEW TO THE BOARD THIS YEAR but had been active in OLLI
since joining three years ago. He has jumped right in to serve as chair
of the Facilities Committee. Prior to joining the Board, he served on
the Program Committee and worked in the area of social studies and
current events for the winter term.
After graduating from
Stanford University, Ben
spent 21 years in the Navy. Academics has been a significant part of
his career. While in the Navy, he received a master’s degree in
computer
science and subsequently was an Assistant Professor in mathematics and
computer science at the Naval Postgraduate School. He also was an
adjunct faculty member at Northern Virginia Community College.
After retiring from the Navy, he spent 20
years in the information systems industry. So how does that history get
Ben to the point of leading trips to, and teaching a course on, the
Supreme Court? It just goes to show that you never know what
opportunities may arise with OLLI. Ben says that shortly after joining
OLLI, the Curator's Office at the Supreme Court sent an e-mail which
was distributed to the members asking for volunteers to become docents.
Of the total of 10 original Supreme Court Docents, three were from OLLI.
Ben gets great enjoyment in taking a broad
variety of classes at OLLI. He looks forward to the opportunity to be
exposed to new interests. As a Board member and Facilities Committee
chair, Ben hopes to help OLLI grow. “I'm interested in expanding OLLI,
while maintaining and enhancing the level of service we provide to our
members -- by finding new classroom space in Reston and Fairfax, as
well as any other areas we'd consider.”
Clearly, Ben Gold is a busy man, and like so
many of us he wonders how we ever managed to find time to work before
retirement.
OLLI MEMBER
SCHOLARSHIPS
OLLI members in need can receive
financial aid
EILEEN DUGGAN
Photo
by Rod Zumbro
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 By Eileen Duggan, Development Committee chair
WHEN OLLI
MEMBERS TALK ABOUT
SCHOLARSHIPS, it is generally assumed that they are referring to
the scholarships given to GMU through the "Friends of OLLI" funds.
Another
type of scholarship exists that is often overlooked. This scholarship,
which can be either partial or full, is available to current OLLI
members and potential OLLI members who are financially unable to pay
annual dues.
IF YOU, OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW, IS EXPERIENCING FINANCIAL DIFFICULTY,
please talk to Dick Chobot, our Executive Director, about scholarship
availability.
All inquiries will be strictly confidential.
Back to top
OLLI BOOK CLUB
All OLLI members welcome
THE OLLI BOOK CLUB WILL MEET at 10:00, Thursday, January 12, 2006, at
Tallwood. The book for discussion, Sailing
the Wine-Dark Sea by Thomas Cahill, is the fourth in his series,
Hinges of
History. It
highlights the contributions of the ancient Greeks to the development
of contemporary civilization.
All OLLI members are welcome. For more
information, please contact Ceda McGrew or Kathryn Russell.
OLLI
VIDEO NEWS: CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS
A chance for your 60 seconds of fame
AT THE
SUGGESTION OF
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR DICK CHOBOT, we will be videotaping brief comments
of a few OLLI members about why they joined OLLI and what they are
getting out of the organization.
Each set of comments will be edited
into a 30-60 second video clip and displayed as part of a future
installment of OLLI Video News. This is a marketing idea, and our
target audience will be prospective OLLI members and donors, but
current OLLI members, and friends and family of the participants, might
also enjoy watching these short videos.
Naturally, we are looking for members who are
enthusiastic about our wonderful institute and everything it has to
offer. If you're interested in participating, email OLLI E-News editor Rod Zumbro, who
will be doing the taping during the the
winter term.
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OLLI VIDEO NEWS
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 The first installment of OLLI
Video News is a 3-minute video
of the OLLI Holiday Party.
WATCH NOW |
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COMING
EVENTS AT GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY
Something for everyone at nearby GMU
 By Jan Bohall, OLLI
E-News staff writer
For
tickets, call
888-945-2468 or visit the Center
for the Arts Box Office, Tue–Sat, 10:00–6:00
The
United States Navy Band
29th
International
Saxophone Symposium |
The United States Marine Band
playing
Sousa |
GMU Theater
of the First Amendment
Lift:
Icarus and Me |
Friday,
Jan 6, at 8:00
Saturday, Jan 7 at 8:00
Admission free
Concert Hall,
Center for the Arts |
Sunday,
Jan 8
2:00
Admission free
Concert Hall,
Center for the Arts |
Jan
19 through Feb 5
Thursday and Friday at 8:00, Saturday at 2:00 and 8:00, Sunday at
4:00 (February 5 at 2:00)
GMU’s Harris Theater
Tickets $30 on Fridays & Saturdays, $25
all other performances
Family friendly
All children 12 and
under, half price |
LETTERS
TO THE EDITOR
A forum for members to voice their views
on OLLI matters
THE
EDITORIAL STAFF WILL
PUBLISH your brief letters commenting on OLLI activities and will try
to include follow-up information from the relevant committee or staff
member, in the same or a subsequent issue. Submit your letters via
email to Rod
Zumbro, OLLI E-News editor or to me, or
submit them (please indicate that it is a 'letter to the editor') via
the online
suggestion box or the suggestion box in the Tallwood Social Room.
-- Gordon
Canyock, Publications Committee chair
Thank you from Vivien
Witheford
It is with heartfelt gratitude that I wish to thank all of those OLLI
members who have expressed their sympathy on the death of my husband,
David Witheford. Your caring thoughts and prayers have been a great
help and comfort to me, and I am deeply grateful.
-- Vivien Witheford
Rod
Zumbro
Karen
Hamilton
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OLLI E-NEWS
Editor
Proofreader
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About OLLI
E-News. OLLI
E-News is
emailed to OLLI
members on Fridays when sufficient content is available. Each issue
contains new content. We encourage OLLI members and
staff employees to submit news items and write articles. Comments,
suggestions or complaints? Please contact the OLLI
E-News editor or the
Publications Committee chair, Gordon
Canyock.
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Updated:
January 6, 2006
Copyright © 2006 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. |
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