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OLLI
E-News #36-08 of September 26, 2008
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> ABOVE IMAGE: Last Friday's
reception for Ann Hartmann; photos by Gordon Canyock.
>
REMINDER FOR TEACHERS
USING LAPTOPS: Our presentation mouse will allow you to remotely
control PowerPoints; have a staff member or a "Swiftie" set it
up before your class.
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TABLE
OF CONTENTS: FRI, SEP 26, 2008
Read
about OLLI E-News
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ARTICLES AND NOTICES
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>
THANK
A TEACHER.
Expressions of gratitude mean a lot. By Bruce Reinhart
> INOVA FLU SHOT CLINIC
AT OLLI. Mark your calendar for Fri, Oct 17.
> OLLI
MILITARY OUTREACH. An update. By Helen Goff
> AMERICA
AND THE WORLD.
About course #702. By Gordon Canyock
> TWO BRIEF NOTICES.
History Club meeting;
Cold-War conference. |
| DEPARTMENTS |
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MASON TREATS US WELL!
From the executive director
ALTHOUGH
MANY OF US TAKE IT FOR GRANTED, we
should be mindful of our outstanding relationship with George Mason
University. Our relationship began with the founding of OLLI in 1991
and was strengthened when the University allowed us to use the Tallwood
facilities in 1994. According to the Affiliation Agreement signed in
2006, we have the use of Tallwood for $1 per year! The University also
pays for regular maintenance and housekeeping. We also have use of the
wonderful classrooms in the Loudoun-GMU campus building at no cost.
At its June meeting, the OLLI Board of
Directors directed me to find ways to "spruce up" the social room and
annex at Tallwood. President Pat Carroll and I visited with Mason's
Director of Maintenance Operations to discuss our needs. Within days, I
met with the Assistant Director, and we had an agreement to replace all
of the carpeting at Tallwood and to repaint most of the walls at no
cost to OLLI! We expect most of that work to be accomplished shortly
after the end of the fall term.
During this process, I inquired about the
possibility of adding gravel to the grassy area next to the pool to
gain some parking space at Tallwood. Mason provided a reasonable
estimate for the work, the Board approved funds from the Friends of
OLLI last Friday (Sep 19), and the work was completed this past Tuesday
(Sep 23)!
New parking
area below the
'loop' at Tallwood; photo by
Gordon Canyock.
I’m sure you’ll agree with me that Mason
treats us well and join with me in thanking them whenever possible.
BOARD HIGHLIGHTS
Report on last week's Board meeting
 By Kathleen Meyer, Secretary
ON FRI, SEP 19,
THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS MET for its regular monthly
meeting. Reston Coordinator Al Roe presented an update on the Reston
organization and its focus. Of interest were his emphatic
re-affirmation that Reston is not interested in becoming independent or
having a different dues structure than Tallwood. According to Al, 196
full OLLI members reside in a Reston-associated ZIP
Code (Reston, Oakton, Herndon and western Vienna); this represents 26
percent of OLLI membership and generates $68,600 in revenue vs.
$21,500 in direct Reston expenses (e.g., the OLLI employee at Reston,
rent of church spaces).
Executive Director Thom Clement reported that
there are now 756 full members (i.e., $350 in annual dues), a slight
increase over this time last year. Thom also announced that he has
arranged for Mason to re-carpet Tallwood
and re-paint most of the walls later this year at no
cost to OLLI.
Loudoun program.
Treasurer Gordon Canyock advised the Board
that he believes the executive director has an impossible assignment in
trying to achieve a balanced budget (revenue equal to expenses) for the
Loudoun pilot program during 2009. The fall 2008 registration of some
72 Loudoun members at $125 each raised approximately $9,000 -- enough
to put the Loudoun program in the black (no deficit) for 2008 -- but
this new Loudoun dues structure makes it very difficult to raise enough
money to match expenses during 2009. Gordon asked the Board to consider
two possible options:
1. Eliminate local staff support, which would
reduce expenses by almost two-thirds; however, Gordon feels not having
staff support would effectively kill the Loudoun program because it
would not be able to continue to operate effectively.
2. Allocate $5,000-$7,000 from either Friends
of OLLI or income from the Osher Endowment to fund Loudoun over the
next year or two to give it a chance to get on its feet and become
self-sustaining, either as a fully integrated part of OLLI or as an
independent entity.
Gordon posed the matter this way: Did the
Osher Foundation give us the $1-million endowment so that we could keep
our dues down, or did the Foundation expect OLLI to use the endowment's
income to expand our outstanding program? |
Development
Committee Chair John Woods proposed that the Board authorize up to
$3,000 from the Friends of OLLI account to put gravel on part of the
grassy area below the 'loop' for additional parking
spaces; this project would make the area usable during the winter and
when the area is soggy. The Board approved the resolution.
The next Board meeting will be held at
Tallwood at 10:00 on Fri, Oct 17. All members are invited to attend.
PLEASE WELCOME
MARIA BUCZEK TO OLLI!
Our new Tallwood Administrator and
Registrar
OLLI MEMBERS MAY HAVE NOTICED A NEW
PERSON bustling
around the
Tallwood classrooms this week. As of Mon, Sep 22, Maria Buczek
(pronounced BU’ zeck) is the Tallwood Administrator and OLLI Registrar.
She is replacing Ann Hartmann, whose last day was Sep 19. Maria’s
primary responsibilities when classes are in session will be to
coordinate the setup for each classroom and handle correspondence and
scheduling. She will also process registrations throughout the year.
Maria’s most recent work experience has been
managing office operations for DB & A, Inc., a small business and
technology consulting firm. Prior to that, she worked with three real
estate firms as a Realtor and as an appraiser. She also has experience
as a sales assistant to brokers in E.F. Hutton & Company. She is
happily married to Dave, has three wonderful school-aged children --
Tyler (16), Daniel (12) and Natalie (10) -- and lives in the Franklin
Farms community, Oak Hill, Virginia.
We are happy to welcome Maria to the wonderful
world of OLLI! Please introduce yourself when you have a chance.
Contributed by Executive Director Thom Clement. Photo of Maria by Gordon Canyock.
Back
to top
THANK A TEACHER
Expressions of gratitude mean a lot
By Bruce Reinhart, Philosophy, Ethics and Religion Resource
Group
Co-chair
 NOW THAT WE HAVE
ANOTHER WONDERFUL FALL TERM UNDERWAY, it
is time to show our appreciation by thanking our teachers and our
coordinators for the hard work they have contributed to make these
courses available. Let us not forget that OLLI is a voluntary
organization, and expressions of gratitude mean a lot to all who give
voluntarily for the welfare of others.
When The Bernard Osher Foundation gave us the
endowment of $1,000,000, its leadership said that OLLI at Mason has "a
mature program that serves as a model for others." That is our legacy.
We need to thank all those who give of their time and efforts to make
our legacy live.
You can thank a teacher or coordinator
personally, or you can send him or her an email or written thank-you
note. For email and postal addresses and phone numbers of OLLI members,
consult the online Membership Directory ( log
in to the Registration Portal); for non-OLLI members such as Mason
instructors, you can send your email or note to the OLLI Office for
forwarding, or you can ask the office for their contact information.
Back
to top
INOVA FLU SHOT CLINIC AT OLLI
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FLU
SHOTS WILL BE GIVEN 1:00-3:00 on Fri, Oct 17, in the Tallwood
Annex. Please sign up for a time slot beginning Mon, Sep 29.
You may email olli@gmu.edu
or call 703-503-3384 to request a time slot. Cost is $25 (cash or
checks payable to INOVA but no credit cards). Medicare Part B is
accepted as full payment.
Further information about flu shots is
available by calling the 24-hour "Fight the Flu" Hotline at
1-877-895-5BUG or on this Inova Web site: www.inova.org/flu.
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OLLI MILITARY
OUTREACH
An
update
 By Helen Goff, OLLI Liaison to
Mason Military
Outreach Committee
 THE MASON
MILITARY OUTREACH TOOK A
BREAK for most of the summer. We only had one activity:
a barbecue catered by Famous Dave’s Barbecue for military personnel in
long-term recovery at the Mologne House (shown at right) at Walter Reed
Army Medical
Center.
Those volunteering visited with the service members at the barbecue who
wanted company, or we respected those military personnel who wanted to
be left to their thoughts.
The veterans ranged in age from 19 to 77. The
oldest veteran needed help with his laptop computer, so the young
George
Mason University volunteers helped him get his computer up and running
while he enjoyed the great food. Not being all that good with software
glitches, I put my time into discussing the 1969 Camaro that I owned
many, many years ago with a 19-year old veteran. This veteran suddenly
became interested in talking when he realized the new Camaro he hopes
to get this fall has tail lights similar to the 1969 version. Some
veterans wanted to show off their new high-tech limbs, and some wanted
to talk about anything but their current situation. We let our guests
direct our conversation and actions.
Thank you for your continued support of Mason
Military Outreach. OLLI has donated a total of $210 towards mailing
boxes of donated items to our troops and two boxes and two shopping
bags full of items to fill the boxes. The dollar contributions that go
into the can in the OLLI office help to ensure that there is funding to
mail the boxes and makes a huge difference in what can be done to
support the soldiers.
Back
to top
 AMERICA
AND THE WORLD
About course #702
By Gordon Canyock, Communications Committee Chair
THIS PAST MONDAY,
COURSE #702 ("AMERICA AND THE WORLD") coordinated by
Carlyn Elder began with a
highly insightful analysis of
the state of American
public diplomacy entitled "Winning the War of Ideas." The guest
speaker, retired foreign service officer Steve Monblatt, subsequently provided OLLI E-News
with the following list of references for those in the class and other
members
who wish to pursue
further this interesting topic. |
Next
week's class: "Choosing a
President, Can History Help?"
Since this course is being held at the Church
of the Good Shepherd, there is plenty of room for drop-ins, so feel
free to attend any class session. The topic on Mon, Sep 29, is
"Choosing a President, Can
History Help?" by Mason's Richard Norton Smith, who many of you may
have seen on TV during the recent convention coverage.
Photo
of Steve Monblatt by the writer
TWO
BRIEF NOTICES
| HISTORY CLUB |
COLD-WAR
CONFERENCE
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ALERT FOR HISTORY BUFFS –
The History Club will meet at Tallwood on Wed, Oct 1, from
2:00-3:30. Don Ferrett will present on "The French in North
America, Part 2," a continuation of an earlier presentation.
OLLI members and guests are always welcome to drop
by at any History Club meeting. For more information, see the History
Club's newsletter. |
ALERT FOR OLLI COLD-WAR WARRIORS –
"Cold War Conversations III -- The Prague Spring," an educational conference
that will commemorate the events that led to the 1968 invasion of
Czechoslovakia by Warsaw Pact nations, will be held Sat,
Oct 11, in Lorton, VA. OLLI
member Palmer McGrew is a speaker.
If you plan to participate, please contact
Palmer.
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SENIOR OLYMPICS
Update on Saturday's events and a reminder
Top: Rod
Zumbro and Ave
Tombes. Bottom: Rod in the
standing broad jump; Ave in the 200-meter run.
Photos by Rod's son, Steve Zumbro, of Zumbro Photography.
SAT, SEP 20, WAS OPENING DAY AT THE
NORTHERN VIRGINIA SENIOR
OLYMPICS. Participating OLLI
members
on Saturday included Richard Deringer, Ave Tombes and Rod
Zumbro. Especially impressive were the number of men and women in their
80s and 90s participating in Saturday's track and field events – even
the shot put!
Senior Olympics events continue to
take place at various venues through Oct 2.
Reminder.
If you participate in this year's Senior
Olympics, please
email the editor with a few words
about your participation and a photo (showing medals, if any, you might
have won). |
OLLI'S
SPECIAL
FORCES
 A Profile of Doris Bloch
Co-Chair of the
Language/Literature/Theater Resource Group
By Elizabeth Crawford, OLLI
E-News Staff Writer
MANY OLLI MEMBERS
ALREADY KNOW DORIS BLOCH because
she is active in so many areas of our organization. You may have spoken
to her in the office where she is a frequent volunteer, or you may
remember the major role she played in organizing last spring’s
successful Silent Auction. You may have walked with her in the Tallwood
Walkers Club, which she started two years ago.
In addition to these activities, Doris is one
of the three co-chairs of the
Language/Literature/Theater Resource Group and a member of the
Membership Committee. These are her efforts to give back to OLLI
for providing
the classes and other opportunities that she enjoys. She is typical of
many OLLI members who see retirement as a time to pursue enjoyable new
interests
unrelated to their careers. After college, Doris worked as an
analytical chemist
in the laboratories of Eli Lilly and the United
States Pharmacopeia. Following
a career change and a stint of several years working for a local
computer systems contractor, she became a federal employee of the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, developing and maintaining chemical
databases. After retiring in 2004, Doris moved to Fairfax City, close
enough to walk to Tallwood. She joined OLLI in the spring of
2005.
Outside of OLLI, other volunteer activities
include working at the Fairfax City Museum and Visitor Center and
reading and sorting incoming mail and paying bills for a visually
impaired person. An enthusiastic theater fan who owns several
season’s subscriptions, she
also often ushers at D.C. performance venues and attends events in and
around Fairfax, including Mason men’s basketball home games (for
which
she has held season’s tickets for over 30 years.) Doris is the
mother
of two daughters and grandmother of four. Somehow Doris combines all of
this with frequent travel.
Doris is never too busy to listen to OLLI
members' inputs for the improvement of our programs and encourages
everyone to become involved in our activities as a way to get
to know others.
Photo
of Doris by Gordon Canyock
MASON ARTS AND MUSIC
Upcoming performances at Mason, Sep 27-Oct
5
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.
ARTS
by
George!
Brian
Stokes Mitchell
Sat, Sep 27, Gala 5:00, Concert 8:00
This event supports student scholarships at the College of Visual and
Performing Arts, and the Center for the Arts Great Performances at
Mason program. The gala starts at 5:00 and features a silent auction of
arts-related items and experiences, music by students and faculty,
delectable food and beverages, a concert by Mr. Mitchell, and a
post-performance champagne reception on-stage with the artist. Baritone
Brian Stokes Mitchell has won a Tony for his work in Kiss Me Kate, and
has starred in Porgy and Bess,
Man of
La Mancha
and South Pacific among
other Broadway hits. He promises show tunes, ballads and such classic
love songs as "Embraceable You," "They Can’t Take That Away From Me"
and "The Impossible Dream."
Concert Hall
Come at 7:15 for a free artistic discussion in the Grand Tier Lobby.
|
GMU Wind Symphony Concert
Sun, Sep 28, 3:00
Admission: $10 seniors/students, $15 other adults
Concert Hall |
Shakespeare and Company
Hamlet
Sat, Oct 4, 8:00
In its 30th season, based in the Berkshires of
Massachusetts, the company brings Jason Asprey as the brooding Danish
prince torn between moral integrity and vengeance, with Tina Packer,
the company’s founder and Asprey’s mother, as Queen Gertrude. With a
remarkable commitment to Elizabethan language and ideals, the group has
gained a reputation for making Shakespearean classics accessible and
appealing.
Admission: $36, $28, $18
Concert Hall
Come at 7:15 for a free artistic discussion on Grand Tier III.
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Other events at nearby Mason
 By Barbara Kyriakakis, OLLI
E-News Staff Writer
• Does Ethics Matter? The “Facebook” of
Political Leadership (see pdf
flyer) – Moderated by WJLA reporter
Rebecca Cooper. Tue, Sep 30, 6:00, JC Cinema.
• Astronomy Observing Session –
Wed, Oct. 1, 8:00, Research I Observatory.
• Vision Series – "Endgame: The
Last Month in Presidential Elections, This Year and Every Time."
Speaker is Prof. Jeremy D. Mayer, Mason School of Public Policy. Mon,
Oct 6, 7:00, Concert Hall. Free, followed by reception in lobby. Reserve
free tickets.
• Human Resources Class – "Don't
Be Fooled or Look Foolish Again: Reading and Using Body Language to
Your Advantage." Tue, Oct 7, 9:30, SUB II, Front Ballroom. Registration
required.
• Mason Investment Series –
"Finding the Right Investment Strategy," presented by Christopher
Greenlaw, Fidelity Investments. Get the tools and direction to help
understand an appropriate investment mix. Wed, Oct 8, SUB II, Room 3.
• Introduction to Library Research
– Get acquainted with the basic elements of the research process in
this introduction to the George Mason University library system. Thu,
Oct 9,
2:00 to 3:30, JC 228.
• Gunston’s
Green and Gold CAA Blood Challenge – George Mason’s Athletic
Department and INOVA Blood Donor Services will host the Gunston’s Green
and Gold CAA Blood Challenge from 9:00 till 7:00 on Wed, Oct 15, in
Dewberry Hall, JC. This competition between all CAA schools is to see
which institution can donate the most blood within a 24-hour period.
Donors will receive complimentary t-shirts and other giveaways. For
more information, contact Nena Rogers at 703-993-3594.
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Back to top
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 Upcoming
Non-Class Events to view the real-time OLLI online calendar used by
the office). Note: 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
during executive sessions).
Friday
Sep 26 9:30am Drama Club - TA-3
9:30am Photography Club - TA-1
10am
Italian Club - TA-Annex
10am
Recorder Group - TA-2
10:30am Classic Fiction Book Club - Cascade
Library/21030 Whitfield Place/Potomac Falls
1:30pm Homer, etc. - TA- Annex
Wednesday Oct 1
1:30pm Bridge Club - TA-3
1:30pm
Special Events Resource Group Meeting
- TA-2
Thursday Oct 2
11am Fiction Writers' Club - King Park West Library
Friday Oct 3
9:30am Drama Club - TA-3
10am
Italian Club - TA-Annex
10am
Recorder Group - TA-2
1:30pm
Homer, etc. - TA- Annex
Wednesday Oct 8
1:30pm Bridge Club - TA-3
1:30pm Book Club at Tallwood - TA-2
Friday Oct 10
9:30am Drama Club - TA-3
10am
Travel Group
10am
Italian Club - TA-Annex
10am
Recorder Group - TA-2
1:30pm Homer, etc. - TA- Annex
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Rod
Zumbro
Editor
Karen
Hamilton
Deputy
Editor
|
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. Comments,
suggestions or complaints? Please contact Editor Rod
Zumbro or Communications Committee Chair Gordon
Canyock.
| Submissions. We encourage members
to submit news items, articles and photos for this newsletter; deadline
to
the editor is 7:00 pm Wed (7:00 pm Mon for letters to the editor
for which an
OLLI response is appropriate) for that
week's issue. Please limit
articles to about 250 words. Submit material to Editor Rod Zumbro
(email rzumbro@gmu.edu, phone
703-569-2750); email strongly preferred. |
Note
about HTML graphics. If
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| Read the Latest
Issue Before Email Distribution. Eager to read the latest news
from
OLLI? The
new weekly issue of OLLI E-News
is
usually posted to the OLLI Website some time Thursday evening. So
Thursday night or first
thing Friday morning, just go to http://www.olli.gmu.edu/pubs.htm#enews,
where you will find a list of the last 12
issues, and click the issue with Friday's date. |
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 unless
you are using Firefox as your browser; in Firefox, just click
the text/html
link to view the newsletter. This does not normally work with Internet
Explorer (although you may be able to make it work by clicking Open
after clicking the text/html link and then selecting Internet Explorer
as the program to use to view the link).
• You
could forward the
newsletter to your alternate Web-based email account such as Yahoo Mail
or
Hotmail and read it there ... or read it online at
the OLLI
Website each Friday.
• Perhaps
the easiest solution for those of you with gmu.edu email accounts
is to configure your desktop email system such
as Microsoft Outlook Express, Microsoft Windows Mail or Mozilla
Thunderbird to retrieve mail
sent to your gmu.edu address. To do this, see these
instructions.
|
OLLI
E-News Editorial Staff
Reviewer and Backup Editor
John West
Database
Manager
Barbara Kyriakakis
Reviewer and Photo Editor
Michael Coyne |
|
Updated:
September 26, 2008
Copyright © 2008 Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at
George Mason University. Materials in this publication subject to
OLLI-Mason copyright may be reproduced for noncommercial educational
purposes as long as credit is given to OLLI-Mason.
Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at George
Mason University, 4210 Roberts Rd., Fairfax, VA 22032-1028
Phone: (703) 503-3384; Email: olli@gmu.edu;
Fax: (703) 503-2832
Original site design and construction by OLLI-Mason member Rod Zumbro. |
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