Board of Directors Meeting June 17 with New OLLI Officers: Ray Beery, President; Martha Powers, Vice-President; Rita Way, Secretary; Michelle Blandburg, Treasurer
OLLI staff members Alice Slayton Clark, Karen Nash, and Shannon Morrow are now working in the cottage at Tallwood along with Beth Davis. OLLI's student interns are also working there.
The OLLI 25th anniversary committee will welcome many early and former LRI/OLLI members to Tallwood for an open house and tour Monday, June 27, 10:00 to 1:00.
Coffee and conversation (and breakfast treats) will be be hosted in Loudoun on Wednesday, June 29, 11:05 to 11:50, in the common space in the classroom suite; RSVP to the site assistant, Leigh Knox (ollildn@gmu.edu).
OLLI registration fee ($375 value) raffle tickets are on sale by Development Committee members and others until Friday, July 15, when the drawing will be held at the Christmas in July event at Tallwood. Tickets: one for $5, three for $10, seven for $20.
OLLI President's Message June 24, 2016 By Ray Beery, PresidentIt is an honor to accept the OLLI Board’s election as president for this year. Many of you know me; I treasure the conversations we have and our common work for the Institute. Please email me anytime, rbeery@aol.com. Or catch up with me on the OLLI Mason Facebook page, just message Ray Beery.How do I see OLLI? We are inventive, we solve tough problems, and we make our membership and the community around us a better place. We are an integral part of the Mason family. Over 25 years, we have matured as the premier Northern Virginia center of education for seniors.There are three guidelines that will keep me on track as we go forward. They are stability, improvement, and expansion.First, you can detect our stable character as you page through the catalog and read the weekly E-News. We do countless things quite well and that’s what keeps most of us here and attracts new members. Talented, experienced volunteers and staff put heart and soul into moving us along, term after term. We must preserve all that is good.
Second, improvement should also be part of our mission. Business and industry call it “continuous process improvement” … a way of finding rough edges and smoothing them out. I will ask all our committees and staff to identify things that need attention, and recommend common sense action.
Third, let us welcome expansion with open arms. How well I remember, as a junior board member in 1996, how we would wring our hands and worry, “Is it ever possible to serve 500 members?” Of course we did it. We are 1,200 now, and I will do my best to get the Board to join me in shooting for a new milestone of 1,500. To do that, we will update our Pathways to the Future strategic plan and add to it a Plan 1500, operations-oriented.
We have a thriving social life as well as a learning one. Now that you’ve read my little pitch, let’s have a cookie and get on with it.
Board Meeting Summary By Irene Osterman, Board MemberThe new Board, which met last Friday at Tallwood, elected the following officers: Ray Beery, President; Martha Powers, Vice President; Michelle Blandburg, Treasurer; and Rita Way, Secretary. Ray announced that there will be a Board retreat in July to discuss budget deficit projections. He also announced the appointment of Paul Van Hemel as chair of the E‑News committee. Ray's goals for the organization are discussed in his separate article in this issue of the E‑News.Jennifer Disano announced that Alice Slayton Clark, Karen Nash, and Shannon Morrow are now working in the cottage along with Beth Davis. Our student interns will also work there. Susan Todenhoft and Bill Walsh remain in the main building. The parking lot renovation is still scheduled to begin July 22nd. Tallwood will close while the work is being done. Clubs will relocate to Lord of Life in Fairfax during the work and staff will work from home. There will be no drop-off registration at Tallwood for the fall term. The E‑News will have updates as the start of the parking lot work approaches.The Board upheld the decision by the old Board in May to appoint Glenn Kamber to the remaining year of the vacant Board seat. It also decided to have a lecture named in honor of late Board member and instructor Bill Reader. A certificate of appreciation will also be given to his family.
By Alice Slayton Clark, Communications Associate/Registrar
Did you know that Reston Community Center (RCC) offers a robust schedule of woodworking classes designed for novice, intermediate, and advanced student artisans? RCC also hosts an open lab every Tuesday evening from 6:00-10:00 and Saturdays from 9:00-5:00. Entry fees are $8(Reston residents)/$16(non-Reston) on Tuesdays and $13(Reston)/$26(non-Reston) on Saturdays. RCC's state-of-the art equipment includes sanders, joiners, band saws, drill presses, miter saws, and much more. For more information, visit www.restoncommunitycenter.com or call 703-390-6159.
Fun Facts to Celebrate OLLI's 25th Anniversary By Ray Beery, PresidentKathryn Brooks was profiled in the September 1991 issue of the Golden Gazette. It said: “Eight years ago, Ms. Brooks was chair of the committee on Culture and Education of the Committee on Aging when she was assigned the task of creating an educational program for retired people. She has been working diligently since that time to accomplish this task. In 1990, Brooks persuaded more than two dozen community leaders to back the organization of Northern Virginia’s first university-level institute specifically for those over 50 years of age.”OLLI is celebrating its 25th year of classes for seniors in 2016. We'll be publishing fun facts and interesting milestones about the Institute each week that OLLI E-News is published from now until the end of the fall term, 2016.
Sitting outside in the still early morning,
birds calling to birds not yet on the wing,
moist air of summer hangs heavy around us,
quiet and simple is life in the swing.
Hammock stretched loosely from poplar to maple,
family of rabbits crouch hidden as one,
butterflies, bees go to work with conviction,
blossoms turn gently to them and the sun.
The thunk of rolled newspaper onto the sidewalk,
traffic behind us sounds still far away,
leaves lightly rustling with promise of breezes,
morning glories awaken to greet a new day.
Listening still to the bright morning’s hum,
I see the long green of more summers to come.
jan bohall
Performances, next ten daysBy Shelly Gersten, OLLI E-News Staff WriterFor tickets for either Center for the Arts (CFA) or Hylton, call 1-888-945-2468, buy tickets online through the event calendar (see links below), or visit the venue's box office. For more information, see the CFA ticket pageor the Hyltonticket purchase page.
At the Fairfax Campus Venues Concurso de Tinku
Sat, Jun 25, 5:00
Concert Hall
Admission: $25, $20.National Jazz Workshop (Six Events) The U.S. Navy Commodores Jazz Ensemble
Sun, Jun 26, 7:00
Concert Hall
Admission: Free. Terrell Stafford with the National Jazz Workshop All-Stars
Mon, Jun 27, 3:30
Concert Hall
Admission: Free.The Capitol Bones Tue, Jun 28, 3:30 Concert Hall Admission: Free.The NJW Faculty
Wed, Jun 29, 3:30
Concert Hall
Admission: Free.Joe McCarthy and the Afro Bop Alliance
Thu, Jun 30, 3:30
Concert Hall
Admission: Free.
The National Jazz Workshop Student Big Bands
Fri, Jul 1, 2:00
Concert Hall
Admission: Free.
At the Hylton Center Third Annual Juried Exhibition
Through July 10
Buchanan Partners Art Gallery
The Gallery is open to the public Tue-Sat, 10:00 - 6:00, Thu, 10:00 - 8:00 and two hours before performances.
Admission: Free.Showcase Dance Studio: Enchanted
Sat, Jun 25, 2:00 and 6:00
Merchant Hall
Admission: $20, $16.Junk Music™ with The Junkman™: The Sound of Found Objects
Tue, Jun 28, 11:00
Merchant Hall
Admission: $15.
The following list covering the next two weeks is extracted for your convenience from the master online calendar maintained by the office, with direct web links added when available. The list is accurate as of mid-week but to check anytime for the latest information, please view the latest forecast of upcoming events on our website (News/OLLI Calendar). Note: All OLLI members are welcome at, and encouraged to attend, meetings of the Board of Directors, committees and resource groups, kickoff coffees, etc. (bolded below).
Mon Jun 27
10:00am
10:00am
Bridge Club–TA-3
What’s in the Daily News cont’d–TA-1
Tue Jun 28
9:00am
Annex Art–Annex
Fri Jul 1
9:00am
9:30am
11:00am
Recorder Consort–TA-3
Craft and Conversation–Annex
Homer,etc–Annex
Recorder Consort–TA-3
Photography Club–TA-1
Craft and Conversation–Annex
Classic Literature Club–TA-2
Homer, etc.–Annex
Religious Studies Club–TA-2
Dr. Who Club–TA-3
OLLI E-News was created by Rod Zumbro, who served as its editor from 2005 to 2013.
Editorial Staff
Chief Editor: Paul Van Hemel
Technical Editor: Irene Osterman
Associate Editor: Sheri Siesseger
Weekly Editorial Team: Jean Boltz, John Nash, Sheri Siesseger, Leslie Vandivere,
Paul Van Hemel Proofreaders: Nancy Michel, Lorna Moran, Marilyn O'Brien, Susan Van Hemel
Backup Chief Editor: Alice Slayton Clark
Submissions. Members are encouraged to submit letters to the editor, letters to Ms. Ollie Ettakit (on etiquette matters), OLLI-related news items, articles and photos. Submit material to: ollienewseditor@gmail.com. Deadline – 6:00 Tuesday for that week's issue (6:00 Monday for letters to the editor); early submissions are greatly appreciated. Please limit articles to about 250 words. Note: You can view past issues of OLLI E-News on the DocStore. To search the content of issues, use Search Our Site or put your search term in Google followed by "site:ollidev2.earthcare.com/" without the quotes.
