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OLLI
E-News #48-07 of December 21, 2007
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| FLASH |
TODAY, DEC 21: WINTER
REGISTRATION ENDS. |
| ALERTS |
>
OFFICE WILL
BE CLOSED from Mon, Dec 24, through Fri, Jan 4.
> NO OLLI E-NEWS FOR NEXT TWO WEEKS.
First issue of 2008 will be Fri, Jan 11. Please submit articles/notices
by Wed,
Jan
9.
>
LOUDOUN OPEN HOUSE:
11:00 Tue, Jan 8. All members invited.
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| ARTICLES AND
NOTICES |
> MEET THE NEW
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR. From the president. By Pat Carroll
>
FAREWELL AND THANK YOU.
From the departing executive
director. By Dick
Chobot
>
BOARD HIGHLIGHTS.
Last Friday's meeting. By Susanne Zumbro
> OLLI BOOK CLUB.
Meets at
Tallwood at 10:00 on Wed, Jan 9.
> MADELINE LYNN.
Photo of our Loudoun
Site Administrator.
> DO-NOT-CALL
REGISTRY. No need to re-register.
|
| DEPARTMENTS |
> OLLI'S SPECIAL
FORCES. Emmett Fenlon: History/International Studies/Current
Events Resource Group co-chair and Board
member. By
Elizabeth Crawford
>
MASON
HIGHLIGHTS. Events at Mason. By Barbara Kyriakakis
> COMING
ATTRACTIONS. Upcoming non-class
events. |
MEET THE NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
From the president
 By Pat Carroll, President
Thom
Clement
Photo by
Gordon Canyock
IN MY SEPARATE
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE OF TUE, DEC 18, I informed you that Thomas Clement
is our new executive director as of 2008. Mr. Clement, who goes by
"Thom," and I reached agreement this week on his terms of employment
effective Jan 1, 2008.
Thom graduated from Old Dominion with a degree
in psychology, received his master's degree in education from James
Madison,
and obtained his Postgraduate Professional Certification in Elementary
School
Administration from George Mason.
The local Connection
Newspapers ran an interesting feature
story about Thom when he retired last year from the Fairfax County
School System after 31 years in education – click
here to see it.
Thom told the OLLI Board he was
looking for a new
challenging
career and I think we make an excellent fit for him. |
FAREWELL AND THANK
YOU
From the departing executive director
I WISH I HAD
THE OPPORTUNITY TO
SAY A PERSONAL FAREWELL AND THANK YOU to all members of OLLI. It has been a
pleasure to be a part of this
community these last 28 months. I will carry away fond memories of
talented and dedicated members and an outstanding program of which we
all can be proud.
With
the outstanding staff in place, committed volunteer leadership,
dedicated volunteers, a supportive University administration and
faculty, and the addition of an excellent new executive director, all
of the ingredients are in place for OLLI's continued growth and success.
For
those who might wish to reach me, my personal email is richard.chobot@cox.net.
It has
been my privilege to serve you ... farewell and thank you.
BOARD
HIGHLIGHTS
Last Friday's meeting
 By Susanne Zumbro,
Secretary
THE
REGULAR MONTHLY MEETING OF THE OLLI BOARD OF DIRECTORS was held
at Tallwood on Fri, Dec 14, at 10:00.
President Pat Carroll called the meeting to order and welcomed guests
and new Board member Al Roe. Board members were urged to attend the
open house at our Loudoun campus on Jan 8.
Development Committee Chair John Woods
reported that so far $7,900 has been contributed to OLLI in response to
the Friends of OLLI solicitation
Treasurer Gordon Canyock introduced two
resolutions on behalf of the Finance Committee, and both were passed by
the Board.
• Resolved:
That in case there is no executive director on board, the Treasurer
will assume the responsibility to act as required under the provisions
in the Board Handbook related to Authorization for Expenditures,
Program Expenditures, and Budget Overruns.
• Resolved:
The OLLI Board of Directors approves the proposed FY2008 Budget for the
Loudoun Program as presented by the Finance Committee. |
Dick Hibbert presented some preliminary ideas
about upgrading the annex and social room to improve their
functionality and appearance. The Board requested that Dick prepare a
preliminary design and cost estimate.
Executive Director Dick Chobot thanked the
Board for the recognition he received at the recent reception that was
held in his honor. He reported on the following issues:
• Registration
System: There was a minor glitch at the start of online registration
that caused a few individuals to receive an erroneous communication.
The problem was quickly fixed and the system is now operating normally.
• Catalogs:
Many of our members had not received their catalogs at the start of
registration. This was most likely as a result of bulk mailing and the
busy time of year.
• Infrastructure:
We are currently seeking a proposal for the cost of running an
underground cable to replace our wireless connection in TA-2 and TA-3.
This will improve the quality of online connections to these classrooms
and the ED's office.
The Board passed the following resolutions:
• Resolved:
The OLLI Board of Directors authorizes up to $4,000 from the Friends of
OLLI Fund for the purpose of upgrading the phone system at Tallwood.
• Resolved:
Add Ann Hartmann, the OLLI Administrator, to the list of authorized
signers at the bank. Also, have a credit card issued to be used for
purchasing operating and administrative items such paper, folders,
printer supplies, coffee and cookies.
|
At 12:30, Thomas Clement (the candidate
for the executive director position who had been recommended by the ED
Search Committee) gave a short presentation in open session to
directors and OLLI members present. The informal presentation covered
his background, qualifications and interest in the job. Afterwards, he
briefly chatted over coffee with directors.
Back in session, the Board passed the
following resolution:
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• Resolved:
The OLLI Board of Directors empowers the president to make an offer to
Thomas Clement for the position of executive director and to work out
with him the details of a written employment agreement. |
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The meeting
was adjourned at 1:05. The next meeting of the OLLI Board
of Directors will be held at Tallwood on Fri, Jan 18, at
10:00. All OLLI members are welcome to attend.
OLLI BOOK CLUB
Meets at Tallwood at 10:00 on Wed, Jan 9
THE
HANDMAID'S TALE
|
  THE
OLLI BOOK CLUB will
be meeting at Tallwood on Wed, Jan 9, at 10:00. The book for discussion
is Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's
Tale (photo of
Margaret Atwood
at right). All OLLI
members are welcome.
This winter Mason's Diane Coppage will be
teaching "Margaret Atwood: A Sampler," course #402, on Tuesdays at
Tallwood. See the catalog for
course details.
|
MADELINE LYNN
Photo of our Loudoun Site Administrator
Madeline Lynn
Photo by
Gordon Canyock
When new
Loudoun Site Administrator Madeline Lynn was first introduced in
September, we did not have
a photo of her. Now we do, and we welcome Madeline again.
| COMMENTS, QUESTIONS, SUGGESTIONS ABOUT OLLI? |
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. Anonymous
submissions are
acceptable if you provide contact information so we can verify that you
are an OLLI member. Whenever an official response is
clearly appropriate, the editor will obtain and publish the OLLI
response in the same issue so members will have more complete
information and a balanced picture of the matter.
•
Privately--
• Contact any Board member,
committee or
resource group chair, 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
• Contact the office by
email
or phone (703-503-3384). |
DO-NOT-CALL REGISTRY
No need to re-register
AN OLLI MEMBER pointed out that
people who signed up for the Do-Not-Call registry in 2003 are nearing
the registry's five-year time limit -- after which their numbers can
again be used by solicitors. However, the National Do Not Call Registry
provides some good news:
| Your
registration
will not expire. The Federal Trade Commission
will not drop any telephone numbers from the National Do Not Call
Registry based on a five-year expiration period pending final
Congressional or agency action on whether to make registration
permanent. Read more about it at http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2007/10/dnctestimony.shtm. |
|
OLLI'S
SPECIAL FORCES
 Emmett Fenlon: History/International
Studies/Current Events Resource Group co-chair and Board member
By Elizabeth Crawford, OLLI E-News
staff writer
STARTING
IN 2000 WHILE EMMETT FENLON was still working, he took one
vacation day per week to attend OLLI courses. Eager to participate
full-time when he retired in 2005, Emmett joined the
History/International Studies/Current Events and the Economics/Finance
Resource Groups. In the spring of 2007, he was invited to co-chair
History/International Studies/Current Events with Bob Bohall and
Phil True.
Following graduation from LeMoyne College,
Syracuse, New York (BS degree) and from the Maxwell School of Syracuse
University (MA degree), Emmett worked as an economist for the
government. After completion of his law degree from Georgetown
University, he worked in the counsel's office of the Federal Aviation
Administration, where he served as a senior attorney and a
subject-matter expert.
For the History/International Studies/Current
Events Resource Group, Emmett enjoys planning courses and
finding and encouraging potential instructors. Since his election to
the OLLI Board of Directors in May 2007, he helped rewrite the job
description of the executive director as a member of that committee
and more recently has been serving on the search committee for the
new ED.
Emmett considers his service to OLLI time well
spent, a "giving back" in appreciation for what he has gained from our
organization.
Events at Mason
 By Barbara Kyriakakis, OLLI
E-News assistant editor
• Handel’s Messiah
- The public is
invited to a free
performance of the Christmas portion of George Frederick Handel’s Messiah on Sat, Dec 22, 7:30 at
Grace United Methodist Church, 9750 Wellington Rd., Manassas, featuring
a community choir made up of members from Grace UMC, George Mason
University, St. Mark's UMC, and McLean High School. Scott Glysson, a
recent graduate of George Mason, will conduct the performance.
• Women's
Basketball
- One game before Christmas, and a doubleheader on Dec 30.
• The
Mason women's basketball team will be in action on Sat, Dec 22 at
1:00 to take on Fordham at the Patriot Center. Adult tickets $5;
youth/senior $2.
• The
men's and women's basketball teams will host a doubleheader at the
Patriot Center on Sun, Dec 30. The women will play Winthrop at 1:30
followed by the men's game vs. Liberty at 5:30. Take advantage of the
Mason Holiday Special and purchase a ticket for just $10. One ticket is
good for both games. Tickets are available at the Patriot Center Box
Office or at Ticketmaster.com.
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COMING
ATTRACTIONS
Non-class events at OLLI for the next
several
weeks
The following
list covering the
next several weeks is extracted for your
convenience from the master calendar maintained by the office (see the Forecast
of Non-Class Events for more details, including active links to
more
information, and to view the
actual 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
Dec 21 Registration Ends
Monday
Dec 24 OLLI CLOSED until
Jan 7 - Holidays
Tuesday
Jan 8 8:15am Reston Walking
Group - Lake Anne Plaza
11am
Loudoun Open House
Wednesday
Jan 9 10am Tallwood Book Club
- TA-2
10am
Bridge Club - TA-3
Thursday
Jan 10 10am Investment Forum
Club - TA-1
Friday
Jan 11 9:30am Drama Club -
TA-3
10am
Recorder Group - TA-2
10am
Italian Club - Annex
1:30pm
Homer Etc. Book Club - Annex
Tuesday
Jan 15 8:15am Reston Walking
Group - Lake Anne Plaza
Wednesday
Jan 16 10am Bridge Club -
TA-3
10am
Genealogy Club - TA-1
12:30pm
Let's Do Lunch - Jasmine Cafe-Lake Anne
Thursday
Jan 17 10am Investment Forum
Club - TA-1
11am Fiction Writers' Club -
TBA
Friday
Jan 18 9:30am Drama Club -
TA-3
10am Recorder
Group - TA-2
10am Italian
Club - Annex
10am
Board of Directors
Mtg - TA-1
1:30pm Homer
Etc. Book Club - Annex
Monday
Jan 21 Winter Term
Begins
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Back
to top
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 the OLLI
E-News editor or the 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 (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
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
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... Original HTML" (not Plain Text). Also in View, select "Display
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• 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.
| Read the Latest
Issue Before Distribution. Eager to read the latest news from
OLLI? The
new weekly issue of OLLI E-News
is
usually posted 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 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
Assistant
Editor, Database Manager
Barbara Kyriakakis
Assistant
Editor
Arleen Richman
Photo
Editor
Michael Coyne |
|
Updated:
December 21, 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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