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OLLI
E-News #26-07 of June 29, 2007
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REMINDER
> SOME COURSES ARE CLOSED. It's
still not too late to sign up for all others. See article.
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| ARTICLES AND
NOTICES
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DEPARTMENTS
>
CENTER
FOR THE ARTS. A free concert TODAY at 1:00. By Jan
Bohall
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MASON
HIGHLIGHTS. Other Mason events. By Barbara Kyriakakis
> COMING ATTRACTIONS. Upcoming
OLLI non-class
events for the next two weeks. |
MOVING ON
New beginnings at OLLI
 By Debbie Halverson, President
NEW BEGINNINGS ARE ALWAYS EXCITING FOR
ME and once again, I have a
personal new beginning and OLLI has one as
well. The election of new directors and officers means there’s a fresh
dynamic to the board and very likely different approaches to ongoing
and yet unknown issues.
The next few months will make for interesting board meetings as our
seven new board members take charge of their individual director’s
chairs. All but one have been duly orientated at two sessions that
occurred these last few weeks. Those sessions kept them over two hours
each with four of them attending the first, two others the second. Our
most recent appointed director, Paul Howard, will get his instruction
shortly.
I think all found those sessions helpful, or
so they said. Carol Henderson, outgoing secretary, had prepared a
PowerPoint presentation that she updated and discussed in round-table
form. Lots of information was conveyed about the duties of a board
member, relationships with the executive director and additional
information on what is involved in the job. We want to have our new
board prepared as soon as possible for the challenges that lie ahead.
Soon we will be reorganizing OLLI committees, and I shall be appointing
the chairs for those committees. We will be looking at our 2008 budget,
and we will be looking at the contract for the executive director. We
have a facilities issue to work through … TA-3’s wobbly foundation …
and
we have the ongoing challenge of working through the Loudoun project.
Interesting decisions to be made.
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We hope members will consider upcoming board
meetings worthy of
their time and interest and that we will see more of you on the third
Friday of the month at 10:00 in TA-1. You can find out how much our
new board members learned at their orientations. I'm certain they won’t
let you down.
 RECEIVE BOARD MINUTES BY EMAIL.
If you cannot attend board meetings, you can still stay up-to-speed on
what's happening by reading the complete, detailed, official board
minutes at your leisure in the convenience of your home.
Members who wish to be put on the email
distribution list to receive an email copy of board
minutes need only send
an email
to the office with "Board Minutes" in the subject
line. Minutes are distributed within about two weeks after a given
board meeting (after directors have approved the draft minutes via
email).
Note: If at any time you want to read just the
highlights
of
board meetings during the past two years as reported in OLLI
E-News, just select "Board Meeting Highlights"
from the "Other" drop-down menu on any OLLI Website page.
-- Rod
Zumbro, OLLI E-News editor
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UPDATES
From the executive director
 By Dick Chobot,
Executive Director
Underneath
TA-3
THANK YOU! Most of you are
aware of the loss of TA-3 for the summer term. Thank you for your
cooperation as we scrambled to locate alternative space. We will have
the use of the Church of the Good Shepherd through July 12. The
Facilities office at George Mason is arranging for space on campus for
the last two weeks of the term. I should be hearing on the status of
TA-3 repairs in the next week, and I will keep you informed.
On a related note, we are working through some
parking congestion issues with the Pool Association next to Tallwood.
For now we are using cones to delineate sections of the lot for OLLI
and for Pool Association members. This is not yet working well, and I
am in communication with the Pool Association in an attempt to improve
the parking situation. The fact that TA-3 classes are off campus
mitigates the problem at least for this summer. |
OLLI—GEORGE
MASON AFFILIATION AGREEMENT: OLLI is in the final stages of
negotiating the next five-year Affiliation Agreement with George Mason
University. The Board will be voting on the Agreement shortly. As soon
as the Board completes its actions, I will prepare an article on the
Agreement for OLLI E-News.
IN SEARCH OF LOST
TIME, WITH A MADELEINE
The class on Marcel Proust's book
 By Carol Henderson, OLLI member
ONE OF THOSE ESPECIALLY WONDERFUL
MOMENTS that seem to happen at OLLI with some
regularity took place on the first day of summer in a course at Reston
on Marcel Proust's In Search of Lost
Time. June 21st was the perfect time to ponder the memories of
youthful summers sparked by a madeleine dipped in a cup of tea.
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One must be in a patient, lazy, rather
dreamy
frame of mind to appreciate even the first volume of Proust's 3,000
page work. Somehow our Webmaster, Michael Coyne, has managed to lose
enough time to read this classic three times and to share his
enthusiasm with us.
 In our very full class,
most joined me in
sheepishly raising my hand when Michael asked how many were reading
Proust for the first time because of the course. In the initial
session, we learned about Proust's life, about various translations,
and we heard excerpts from a recording in English. It's actually easier
to follow the meandering sentences by ear than on the page.
In a
delightful surprise, Michael had asked Cecile Heatley to read excerpts
in French. Previously for OLLI, Cecile has read French literature and
taught popular classes on French cheeses. She read quite beautifully
the section on the famous madeleine.
And on her own initiative she also brought a
big basket of madeleines, buttery shell-shaped delicacies, that she had
baked that morning for the class. We were transported, and we will all
have our own special memories sparked by Proust and a madeleine. Thank
you, Michael and Cecile.
Dr. Barry Berkey's article
 OUR
OWN DR. BARRY BERKEY (photo at right), longtime OLLI member and
popular
instructor, is the author of an article published earlier this
week in The Washington Post.
See the Style section (page C8) of the Mon,
Jun 25, issue, available in your
local library. Or you can read Barry's article online
(http://tinyurl.com/2wyk3g).
For the curious, the article is entitled "A
Couple Fused at a Needs-to-Be-Replaced Hip."
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ABIGAIL ADAMS VISITS
OLLI
A unique class at Lake Anne
 By Louise
Richardson, OLLI E-News staff
writer
Photo by the
writer
ABIGAIL
ADAMS, FIRST LADY to
our second president and mother of our sixth president, made an
appearance before a class at Lake Anne recently. She told us about the
collection of over 2,000 letters that form a historic record of her
life and the political background of colonial and revolutionary America.
A strong, competent woman, Abigail managed the
family farm and finances, often without help from her husband, John
Adams, who was serving his country as diplomat and statesman. She
recalled her roles as ambassador's wife and First Lady and the
accompanying privileges and problems of those positions.
The presentation by Phyllis Verhalen, a
well-known first-lady historian, and the following discussion were
received with great enthusiasm. We are hoping that Phyllis will be
persuaded to bring other great ladies of the American past to OLLI in
the future.
COMMENTS/QUESTIONS/SUGGESTIONS ABOUT OLLI?
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HERE'S HOW to express your views--
> Publicly
(if you would like your comments published in this newsletter): Email
your "Letter
to the Editor" or "Letter to
Ms. Ollie Ettakit" to the editor.
>
Privately--
> Contact any Board member
or the Executive Director;
> Send an email to
the entire Board
(email the editor or the office to have your
message forwarded to all members of the Board);
> Submit a
suggestion online
or in the box in the Tallwood social room or on one of the "parking
lots for ideas" in classrooms; or
> Contact the office
by email
or phone (703-503-3384).
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SPOTLIGHT ON OLLI
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MASON'S
DEVELOPMENT
NEWSLETTER, Benefactor,
spotlights The Bernard
Osher Foundation and OLLI in its Summer 2007 issue. The nice front-page
article includes photos of our Tallwood campus and founding
member/former
president Lilyan Spero as well as comments from Lilyan, executive
director Dick Chobot and president
Debbie Halverson.
You can read the article in the pdf
newsletter on Mason's Development Website.
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LETTERS
TO THE EDITOR
A forum for members to voice their views
on OLLI matters
WE
WILL
PUBLISH your brief letters about OLLI and, if
a response seems appropriate, we will include an OLLI response from the
executive director or the applicable officer or committee
chair in the same issue. Submit your letter via email to the editor or
submit it as a "letter to the editor" via
the online
suggestion box or the suggestion box in the Tallwood Social Room.
To be published in a given Friday's issue, the editor must receive the
letter no later than 7:00 pm on Monday so that any applicable OLLI
response can also be published. Letters can be published
anonymously but you must include your name and email address or phone
number so we can verify that you are an OLLI member.
The
overflowing library
in use
A library suggestion
OLLIans
read a lot! They not only borrow from our little library but donate
books as well. But the current bookcase is overflowing. Could another
bookcase be purchased?
-- Roxanne Cramer, OLLI member |
OLLI response
by executive director Dick Chobot--
Roxanne,
Good suggestion! Bookcase will be bought and assembled as quickly as
possible.
"OLLIan"?! Be careful with that name, or ICE
[U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement -- Ed.] will be raiding us to
find undocumented OLLIans. |
A
request for info from members
Your
new Board of Directors (12 returning, five newly elected, two newly
appointed) will be faced with some major decisions over the next few
months, not the least of which is whether or not to renew our executive
director’s contract. I am asking for your help in reaching the right
decision.
If you, as an OLLI member, have had any
personal experience, either positive or negative, that you feel might
impact on this important decision I urge you to pass that information
along to me, and I will share it with my colleagues on the Board in the
privacy of executive session. Your
input could make a difference. Thank you.
-- Susanne Zumbro, Board
member
 COMING EVENTS AT THE
CENTER FOR THE ARTS
Upcoming arts and music events at Mason
By Jan
Bohall, OLLI
E-News staff writer
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TODAY
(Fri, Jun 29)
at 1:00 – Chamber Music Concert:
String Chamber Connection, Potomac Music Academy. A performance by
middle and high school students studying in a summer workshop.
Admission: Free. Harris Theater.
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MASON HIGHLIGHTS
A brief listing of other Mason events
 By Barbara Kyriakakis, OLLI
E-News assistant editor
> NPF
Pro Softball – If you need a sport’s fix and like softball,
check out the professional fastpitch Washington Glory vs. Akron Racers
game on Sat, Jun 30 at 3:05 at George Mason Softball Complex at the
Field House. Home games continue at Mason through Jul 8. Tickets:
$12; $8; $7.
> Summer
Cinema Series – Catch a flick, Freedom Writers, on Mon, Jul 9,
or Thu, Jul 12, at 8:25 in the Johnson Center. $1 with Mason ID.
> Mason 101 – Learn about the
history, organizational structure, and who does what at Mason. Free.
Registration required. Call 703-993-1005. Wed, Jul 18, 1:00-4:00,
Johnson Center, Room 311.
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COMING
ATTRACTIONS
Non-class events at OLLI for the next two
weeks
The following
list covering the
next two weeks is extracted for your
convenience from the master calendar maintained by the office (see the OLLI
Staff Forecast of Non-Class Events for more details and to view the
actual OLLI online calendar). Board,
committee, resource-group and
'membership-type' meetings/events below are highlighted
in bold. OLLI members are
welcome at all Board, committee and resource-group meetings (except
executive sessions).
Friday
Jun 29 10am Recorder Group - TA-2
Monday Jul 2 10am
Bridge Club - TA-1
Tuesday Jul 3
8:15am Reston Walking Group - Lake Anne Plaza
3pm Planning Comm
Mtg Tallwood
Wednesday Jul
4 OLLI Closed
Friday Jul 6 10am
Recorder Group - TA-2
Monday Jul 9 10am
Bridge Club - TA-1
Tuesday Jul 10
8:15am Reston Walking Group - Lake Anne Plaza
Friday Jul 13
10am Tallwood Book Club - TA-1
10am Recorder Group - TA-2
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Back to top
Rod
Zumbro
Editor
Karen
Hamilton
Deputy
Editor
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About OLLI
E-News. OLLI
E-News, OLLI's weekly newsletter, is emailed to OLLI
members with email addresses on Fridays. When classes are in
session, printed copies of this newsletter are distributed in
classrooms, primarily for members without email. We encourage OLLI
members and
staff employees to submit news items and write articles; deadline to
the editor is 7:00 PM Wed (Mon for letters to the editor) for that
week's issue. Comments,
suggestions or complaints? Please contact the OLLI
E-News editor or the
Publications Committee chair, Gordon
Canyock.
Note
about HTML graphics. If
you do NOT see
photos and
clickable links in this message, you might want to ask a teenaged
grandchild or a neighborhood teenager or college student to fix things
for you. Or you could change your
email settings yourself. Here's how to view html-formatted messages
like this newsletter in five popular email systems:
>
Microsoft Outlook
Express and Windows Mail.
Click Tools; select Options; in the Read tab, uncheck "Read all
messages in plain text."
> Mozilla Thunderbird.
Click Tools; select Options and click the Privacy icon; click the
General tab. Uncheck "Block loading of remote images" and uncheck
"Block Javascript." Click OK. Now click View; select "Message Body As
... Original HTML" (not Plain Text). Also in View, select "Display
Attachments Inline" so that selection is checked.
> Yahoo Mail.
Click Mail Options/General Preferences; under Security, uncheck "Block
HTML graphics in email messages from being downloaded."
>
AOL. Upgrade,
if possible, to an AOL version above 5.0.
GMU Webmail.
If OLLI E-News is being sent
to your gmu.edu email address, we recommend against
using GMU Webmail
(i.e., iPlanet "Messenger Express") to read this newsletter
because it
is normally impossible to view the newsletter in GMU
Webmail
as a single
integrated
document, with text and accompanying images. You could forward the
newsletter to your alternate Web-based email account such as Yahoo Mail
or
Hotmail and read it there ... or just read it online at
the OLLI
Website after it is posted
each week.
Perhaps the easiest solution for those of you with GMU email accounts
is to configure your desktop email system such
as Microsoft Outlook Express or Mozilla Thunderbird to retrieve mail
sent to your gmu.edu address. To do this, see these
instructions.
Finding
the Latest
Issue Online. The
new weekly issue of OLLI E-News
is
usually posted Thursday evening. Here's how to read the online version
right after
it is posted:
> It is identified by
the next number in
sequence for that year -- e.g., if last week's issue number were
enews1-07, the next issue number would be enews2-07 and could be found
at www.olli.gmu.edu/enews2-07.htm.
>
Thus, go to the list of the last 12
issues, click the most recent issue (probably last week's), change
(in the address field of your browser) the enews number to the next
number, and then press Enter.
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OLLI
E-News Editorial Staff
Assistant
Editor, Database Manager
Barbara Kyriakakis
Assistant
Editor
Arleen Richman
Photo
Editor
Michael Coyne |
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Updated:
June 29, 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. |
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