Enews3-17

January 27, 2017

• Alerts & Notices
• OLLI Photo Club Field Trips Produce Good Experiences…as Well as Good Photos!
• History Club
• OLLI Special Events Program Planning Group – Volunteering Made Fun!
• Proofreader Needed
• Travel At Our Fingertips
• Poet's Corner
• Arts & Music at George Mason
• Meetings & Clubs
• About OLLI E-News

Alerts & Notices

- The OLLI board meets today, Friday, at 10:00 in TA-1, Tallwood. OLLI members are welcome to attend.
- Remember, even though we're into the winter session, please unregister if you can't attend a class (there may be a waiting list), sign in on the class attendance sheet (shows participation), and wear your name tag (helps develop friends).

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OLLI Photo Club Field Trips Produce Good Experiences…as Well as Good Photos!

By John Nash, E-News Editor

On the third Friday of each month, members of the OLLI Photo Club venture out to a venue that can challenge those attending to test and improved their photographic skills and sometimes introduce them to a new location. The January trip was set for the quaint river town of Occoquan but impending rain shifted the location to the National Museum of the Marine Corps at Quantico, a location that offered some very nice photo opportunities and a new experience for some of the attendees.

Tom Simpson, photo club member, organizes each month’s trip based on his knowledge of the area and suggestions from the club members. “I think it is important to go to locations that provide technical challenges and the opportunity to create images that engage the viewer,” Tom said, pointing out that it’s nice when one can look at their pictures and have good memories of that location.

“This is really a wonderful way for OLLI members to get into photography, said Angie Talaber, photo club coordinator. “It’s also a great way to make and enjoy new friendships as many photo club activities often end with the option for lunch!”

The OLLI photo club meets at 9:30 the first Friday of each month at Tallwood usually hosting a special speaker on photography. The fourth Friday of each month at noon, the club has an abbreviated meeting where attendees can discuss technical issues about their photographic efforts. All OLLI members are welcome to join the photo club or, as Angie suggests, just attend a photo club meeting sometime to see how this OLLI group may expand or satisfy your interests. You can go to the photo club website at https://olliphotoclubgmu.smugmug.com/ for more pictures and club information.

History Club

The next meeting of the History Club will take place on Wednesday, February 1 at 2:15 in TA‑1. Almuth Payne will be speaking on “My Father: a 20th-Century Life in Two Worlds.” Almuth’s talk will be heavily based on her father’s extensive memoirs of living through two World Wars in Germany. Born in 1903 in Berlin, he endured inflation, starvation, and the Nazi era. As Almuth will recount, her father brought his family through the final days of World War II and then to America where he continued a successful career as an engineer. He was a musician and woodworker, and, as she says, “the best father in the world.”

Those of us who heard part of Almuth’s story in an OLLI class will attest to the fact that hers is an absorbing account of experiences which most of us cannot imagine. Plan to attend our meeting on February 1. As always, all OLLI members are welcome at History Club meetings.

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OLLI Special Events Program Planning Group – Volunteering Made Fun!

Alice Slayton Clark, Program Associate 

Is there a hot topic you would like to learn more about at OLLI:  spelunking, internet hacking, Brexit? Would you like to participate in an exciting excursion to the Marine Corps Museum, Luray Caverns or the Folgers Theater?

The OLLI Special Events Program Planning Group makes all of these possibilities a reality, organizing presentations and bus trips to suit all tastes. As a preview for spring term, the group has planned a visit to the Virginia Historical Society Museum’s exhibit on toys from the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s, and a discussion of the Trump Administration’s first 100 days. The options are endless.

If you are creative and interested in shaping offerings at OLLI, the Special Events Program Planning Group needs you! You do not need prior experience, just a desire to develop programs that entice you and other OLLI members. You can conceive and/or plan as many or few events as you like, depending on time and interest. Every effort helps! Your participation should be enjoyable, rewarding and an opportunity to make good friends. Not a chore.

Intrigued? The next gathering of the group is Wednesday, February 1, from 1:45-3:45 in the Annex at Tallwood. Drop by to see if the group is the right fit for you.

If you would like more information or to join the team, please contact the group’s co-chairs, Florence Adler or Rita Way: floadler@verizon.net or ritaway27@gmail.com, respectively. You may also contact Program Associate Alice Slayton Clark at the OLLI office: aclark24@gmu.edu or 703-503-3384.

Proofreader Needed

By Sheri Siesseger, E-News Editorial Team

As an E-News editor, I am grateful for our proofreaders. They are very good at identifying things that need fixing or another look. E-News is currently seeking an additional proofreader. The duties of this position include reviewing all content for spelling, grammar, punctuation, syntax and clarity. On the weeks that we publish, the editor submits the E-News draft to proofreaders no later than 6:00pm Wednesday. The proofreaders return suggested changes to the editor by 10:00am Thursday.

If you are interested in volunteering for this task or would like more information, please contact us at ollienewseditor@gmail.com. A bonus to proofing is that you get a sneak peek at the weekly OLLI news!

We extend our thanks to Marilyn O’Brien for her work as an E-News proofreader.

At the beginning of the second week of Dave Talaber’s OLLI class, A Year in Provence, two representatives from Mason’s Department of Global Studies described the Global Studies programs, pointing out that OLLI members are welcomed to join in.

“The mission of our study abroad program is to offer opportunities for international travel to our students, faculty, alumni and, of course, members of OLLI,” said Rita Rowand, Mason Cultural Tours program manager, who noted that many OLLI members are aware of this program and have gone on many trips. "We love to have OLLI members join our trips."

Patricia Boudinot, staff member in the cultural tours department, explained a trip scheduled for June 7-16 called Flavors of Southern France and Italy. The tour begins in Cannes and travels the southern coast of France to the northern coast of Italy, ending in Genoa. There will be lots to see with a focus on food, including chefs at various stops along the way who will explain the local dishes and teach food preparation. Boudinot, who speaks both French and Italian, will accompany this trip.

If you would like more information about these Mason trips abroad, go to studyabroad.gmu.edu/culturaltours. This is a great way to see more of the world, often while enjoying the company of other OLLI members.

Meetings & Clubs

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).

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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: Rebecca Jann, Lorna Moran, 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.

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