WELCOME MESSAGE
CLOSED WINTER COURSES

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WEBSITES CREATED BY OLLI MEMBERS
ONE BIG ITEM OF NEWS HAPPENED while OLLI members were on vacation. The number of links to member pages on the Websites of Members page of the OLLI Website increased from five to six!
     You've never heard of Websites of Members? That may be because nothing much has changed on that page since Rod Zumbro redesigned OLLI's Website some five years ago. We have a link to Rod's home page--his pictures and videos. Palmer McGrew has some 58 short stories--see if you can find the one that mentions "Three Danish beauties." Eleanor White has family pictures--the Lunch in Turkey picture from 1965 is not the oldest. And there are two links to Ludwig Benner's professional papers at the NTSB and a link to a member's pictures of his Kansas home town in the early 1950s.
     Now we have a new link. Kathie West has provided the link to her Website that has 15 images of her art work and a certificate from Thomas Jefferson High School in recognition of her work as a drama teacher. If you have given up on the Websites of Members page, Kathie's link is one you don't want to miss. At any time, go to the OLLI Website’s top-level "Other" menu and click on Websites of Members ... but for right now, just click here.
     If you have a personal Website you think might be enjoyed by fellow OLLI members, or as in Ludwig’s case, by the entire world, send me the link.

SUPPORT OUR WAR-FIGHTING TROOPS
By Helen Goff, OLLI liaison to the Mason Military Outreach committee
LAST NOVEMBER, SEVERAL MEMBERS OF OLLI joined students and staff at George Mason University to plan a strategy for supporting our military who are in harm's way and to package donated items to be sent to the troops. Everyone is invited to be a part of this important outreach. How can you help?
     If you know of a service member serving in a war zone, please send the service member’s name and mailing address to me via email or phone. The service member will be included in upcoming mailings. For security reasons, packages addressed to "any service member" are not delivered.
     If you would like to donate items or money or volunteer your time, here's how--

• Items: Must fit in a box approximately 12" x 16" x 3". Some suggestions are tuna/chicken/ham lunch kits, hard candy, pens, trail mix, foot powder, envelopes, gallon zip-lock bags, current magazines and books, shave gel, nail clippers, 72" brown & black shoe laces, note pads, chapstick, beef jerky, single-serving food items, DVDs, batteries, hand sanitizers, and other small heat-resistant items that you may want to donate. For a more detailed list of items that can be donated, see this MMO flyer (pdf).       • Money: Help with shipping costs. Make your check payable to "GMU Foundation" and put "MMO" (this identifies the Mason Military Outreach program) on the "For" line. Give your check to the office or mail it to me for delivery to Mason.       • Volunteer time: Help package boxes to the troops. The next volunteer opportunity has not been scheduled but will be published in OLLI E-News.

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OLLI MENTIONED IN RECENT ARTICLE

By Elizabeth Crawford, OLLI E-News staff writer
TO FIND EXAMPLES OF THE "NEW," ACTIVE, 21ST-CENTURY SENIOR, one need only turn to Ave and Jane Tombes. Grateful for 50 years of marriage, four children, and eleven grandchildren, they are full of energy and happily devoting a lot of it to OLLI.
     A member of OLLI for four years, Ave has been chair of the Science, Technology and Health Resource Group for three years. His background as a professor of biology, dean, and vice president at several universities, and later as founder of a consulting company for higher education, has made him a perfect choice for this position. A lot of work is involved in chairing this resource group by himself, but he relies on his contacts in academia to recruit instructors and is not reluctant to make cold calls to area universities to find additional instructors as necessary. He appreciates the recent assistance of Jayne Hart, whom he has known since they were colleagues at Mason thirty years ago.
     Jane has been co-chair of Language, Literature and Theater for two years. She is well qualified with Bachelor's and Master's degrees in literature and many years of teaching, arts management, and theater direction and production experience. Jane completed a Ph.D. in Rhetoric and Professional Communication at the age of 63, as she says, while she "still had the brains." No one who knows her would question that. She enjoys sharing the resource group work with Doris Bloch and Kathie West, whose areas of expertise and contacts blend well to present a varied slate of courses.
     In their spare time, Ave and Jane share an interest in physical fitness, travel, and the arts. They work out together at Mason, and Jane has been active for several years in the Friends of the Center for the Arts. She attends area arts performances and Smithsonian Associates lectures as often as possible. Ave participates in Northern Virginia Senior Softball and is a champion runner. He earned gold medals in the 50-, 100-, and 200-yard dashes in the Northern Virginia Senior Olympics in 2006 and silver medals in these races in the Virginia Senior Olympics in 2007. He is training for the gold in 2008.
     At OLLI, both Ave and Jane have already earned the gold for all they do to provide us with an outstanding selection of courses.

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Editor's note. Ave recently resigned as resource group chair. Any member interested in chairing the Science, Technology & Health Resource Group should contact Program Committee Chair Kathryn Russell.

By Jan Bohall, OLLI E-News staff writer

FOR TICKETS, call 1-888-945-2468 (phone orders are handled by tickets.com) or visit the Center for the Arts Box Office, Tue-Sat, 10:00-6:00. More info on tickets at the CFA tickets page.

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra with Pinchas Zukerman, violin/conductor The program will include Elgar’s Serenade for Strings, Op. 20; Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 26; and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4 in F minor, Op. 36. Fri, Jan 11, at 8:00 Admission: $60, $52, $30 Concert Hall Come early at 7:15 for a free artistic discussion in the Grand Tier Lobby.

United States Marine Band Sousa Season Opener: On the Road with Sousa Director, Col. Michael J. Colburn, conducting The program will include Mascagni’s Intermezzo Sinfonico from Cavalleria rusticana; von Weber’s Invitation to the Dance; Grieg’s Peer Gynt Suite No. 1; and Verdi’s Bolero, with mezzo-soprano SSgt Sara Dell’Omo. Also featured will be a special appearance by "The March King’s" great grandson, John Philip Sousa IV. Sun, Jan 13, at 2:00 Admission: Free, no tickets required    Concert Hall

Band of the Coldstream Guards and the Pipes, Drums and Dancers of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest regiment in the British Army on regular active duty, dating back to 1650, and one of the oldest regiments in the world. Band members of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards are soldiers in Scotland’s cavalry and gained fame with their recording of "Amazing Grace" in the 1970s. Both will present medleys of sea songs, evocative bagpipe renditions and marches, including a tribute to Sousa. Sun, Jan 20, at 2:00 and 7:00 Admission: $48, $40, $24 Family friendly: Children 12 and under, half price with an adult Concert Hall Come 45 minutes early to either performance for a free artistic discussion in the Grand Tier Lobby.

• 31st International Saxophone Symposium, The United States Navy Band, featuring Claude Delangle, Cliff Leaman, Timothy Roberts. Fri, Jan 18, at 8:00. Admission: Free, no tickets required. Concert Hall.      • Commodores Jazz Ensemble, featuring Eddie Daniels. Sat, Jan 19, at 8:00. Admission: Free, no tickets required. Concert Hall.