Reminder: Mason Jazz Camp is June 19-23. Click here for details from the June 2 issue of E-News. Click this link for news on the artists and associated free concerts.
The next issue of OLLI E-News will be published Friday, June 23; the regular deadline for submission of items is Tuesday, June 20, at 6:00.
The last year as OLLI President has been a busy one. Our classes and instructors remain at the highest level, and the staff and OLLI volunteers work hard to keep it that way. But sometimes it seems like we are still climbing out of COVID and I wonder when the long-term effects of that terrible time will ever end. One of the impacts on all the OLLI programs across the country has been the drastic drop in membership. We are doing better than most, but we still lost 200 members in the last few years. As you already know, if this trend keeps up, it will have a dramatic impact on our sustainability as we look to the future. It calls for help from each one of us to step up our efforts to bring in new OLLI members.
One of the initiatives that we revived in the last year is travel. It was our hope that exciting travel opportunities, domestically and internationally, would help us recruit and retain members. We thought that this would be a great opportunity for OLLI members to travel with friends and experience a fun and educational adventure together. We set up a domestic trip to California and the surrounding areas and a trip to Iceland. Iceland was one of my favorite trips, but I never got to see the Northern Lights. This trip in December would make it more likely than not that there would be an opportunity to see the Northern Lights. The California trip consists of many other discoveries that most of us who have been there may not have experienced.
The response so far for Iceland is growing, but we hope to have more members sign up for that wonderful trip soon. This is the reason I feel that we needed some feedback from the members on how we can enhance this program. I think we do need to bring back the travel committee to find ways to encourage OLLI friends to talk to their other OLLI friends and plan to go together on these excursions. They would be trips that you, the membership, select. Please take this short survey so that we can get your feedback on this topic. I am also looking for volunteers to be part of the travel committee. Please consider serving on the committee and let me or Jennifer know of your interest.
We thank Marilyn Harriman (Nominating Committee Chair) and her committee for identifying eight sterling candidates for the Board election. And we thank the OLLI membership for achieving a HIGH of 43% voting to elect five new members to the OLLI Board of Directors (BoD) to represent us. There are now 15 members on the Board, each serving a three-year term beginning in June of the year of their election. The Board meets on the third Friday of each month (except May, June, and December), in person and on Zoom, for all the members to listen in and hear what issues are being addressed. Comments and suggestions are appreciated at the end of each meeting, in person or on Zoom.
The new BoD met at Tallwood (TA-1) at 10:00 on June 2 in person and on Zoom. There were 13 of 15 Board members and eight guests attending.
BOARD MEMBERS ATTENDING
- Term ending 2024: Toni Acton, Dick Crawford, Camille Hodges, Debby Mossburg (Zack Teich, absent) - Term ending 2025: Lillian Brooks, Marilyn Harriman, Bonnie Nelson, Michele Romano, Carolyn Wyatt - Term ending 2026: Peter Ansoff, Debbie Engleson, Bob Heyer, Harry Johnson (Emily Roudebush, absent) - Executive Director: Jennifer Disano - Meeting Assistant: Mike Emery
The meeting was called to order by Marilyn Harriman for the sole agenda item of BoD officer elections. Elections were conducted with the following results: Lillian Brooks (President), Dick Crawford (Vice President), Bob Heyer (Secretary), and Debbie Engleson (Treasurer).
Lillian Brooks indicated that she expects to implement committees to address “OLLI Travel” and “Underserved Communities” over this Board year.
Members of the BoD will be involved in the following meetings: - Finance Committee – June 7 - New BoD Member Orientation – June 15 - Next BoD Meeting – July 21 - BoD Retreat at Tallwood – September 7 - Fall Kickoff Coffee – September 14
With no further comments from the Board members or public, the meeting was adjourned at 10:20.
By Brenda Bloch-Young and Doris Bloch, Co‑Moderators
OLLI Weekly Conversations Continue –June 21, 2023
Continuing our Wednesday Conversations Series, Team Bloch (Brenda Bloch-Young and Doris Bloch) will moderate a Zoom discussion on June 21 at 4:00. Our chosen topic this week is “Indiana Jones.”
The "last" Indiana Jones movie is due for release this month. Are you an Indiana Jones fan? Will you mourn the end of the series? Would you like to see Harrison Ford act in another epic, or who would you pick as a likely successor if Hollywood decides to extend the series?
Check your Daily Schedule for the Zoom link on Wednesdays and plan on some social time with Team Bloch.
New Book: Grandma Sylvia’s Guide to the Stock Market
By Sylvia Auton, Director of Staff Development, Fairfax County Public Schools, Retired
At one time, people believed the sun revolved around the earth. Now we know better. At one time, people believed that successfully investing in the stock market required talent, training, and considerable time. Now some of us know better. If we invest simply—set and forget with low expenses—the market can make us millionaires (if we start young enough) or grow our assets at any age. This is due to the revolution in thinking about investing, just as the Copernican revolution changed our thinking about the sun and earth.
For years, I never wanted to invest—just put my money under the mattress. Then my husband died; I had to learn. My book is about my stories and others, some from OLLI. It’s about my learning to invest simply, overcoming fears and anxieties. It’s about feeling joy and comfort in understanding the market, learning about today’s knowledge, and finding fun things about investing. It’s a journey of discovery, a memoir, and a how-to guide for simple investing. I’m not a financial advisor, nor do I give financial advice, but I write what I believe is a great way to invest, based on some of the best thinking in the field.
The June 2023 Photo of the Month theme was Abstracts. We selected Ed Marion's photo "Ripple Reflections" which may also be viewed at this page. To view other photos by members of the Photography Club, visit the club's photo website. -- By John Olsen and Edward Marion, Photography Club Co-Coordinators
For tickets for either Center for the Arts Concert Hall (CFA) or Hylton Center, 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 Hylton Center ticket purchase page.
Dr. Linda Apple Monson produces a periodic “Notes from the Director.” This email is full of interesting online performances by the students and faculty of the School of Music. If you would like to receive these bulletins, just sign up at this link to stay in touch. Also, the Center for the Arts has a website,Mason Arts at Home, which has a calendar of online events and access to many past performances.
Please note: Although some physical meetings for clubs and activities are canceled, some may be meeting in person or, in a hybrid mode, both in person and online. OLLI events and activities meeting online bear the identification "Z" in their course or event number (except clubs; you may need to check the OLLI calendar and daily schedule email for location and other event information). Refer to the university's coronavirus website for official university updates.
The following list covering the next two weeks is extracted for your convenience from the master online calendar maintained by the office. The list is accurate as of mid-week but for the most up-to-date information, please view the latest forecast of coming 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, kick-off coffees, etc. The OLLI office has sent (or will send) emails with links and meeting passwords to club members; you may also log in at the member portal and click on ZOOM CLASS LINKS.
Sat Jun 17
10:30 am
1:00 pm
Tai Chi Club
Personal Computer User Group
Mon Jun 19
9:30 am
What’s in the Daily News?
Tue Jun 20
1:00 pm
4:30 pm
Stay Active and Independent for Life
Tai Chi Club
Wed Jun 21
9:30 am
4:00 pm
Walk & Talk Club
Spanish Club
Thu Jun 22
4:30 pm
Tai Chi Club
Fri Jun 23
9:30 am
9:30 am
11:00 am
12:00 noon
1:00 pm
Mah Jongg Club
Craft and Conversation
Homer, etc.
Photography Club
Stay Active and Independent for Life
Sat Jun 24
10:30 am
Tai Chi Club
Mon Jun 26
10:00 am
Bridge Club
Tue Jun 27
9:00 am
1:00 pm
4:30 pm
Walk & Talk Club
Stay Active and Independent for Life
Tai Chi Club
Wed Jun 28
11:00 am
2:00 pm
4:00 pm
4:00 pm
Spanish Club
Memoir and More Writing Group
Mah Jongg Club
Theater Lovers’ Group
Thu Jun 29
4:30 pm
6:00 pm
Tai Chi Club
Ethnic Eats Club
Fri Jun 30
9:30 am
11:00 am
1:00 pm
Craft and Conversation
Homer, etc.
Stay Active and Independent for Life
OLLI E-News was created by Rod Zumbro, who served as its editor from 2005 to 2013.
Editorial Staff
Chief Editor: Paul Van Hemel
Associate Editor: David Gundry
Weekly Editor Team: David Gundry, John Nash, Sheri Siesseger,Paul Van Hemel Proofreaders: Rebecca Jann, Susan Van Hemel, Linda Randall, Tom Appich, Jane Hassell
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: [email protected]. Deadline: Tuesday, 6:00, for that week's issue (Monday, 6:00, 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:olli.gmu.edu/" without the quotes.
we revived in the last year is travel. It was our hope that exciting travel opportunities, domestically and internationally, would help us recruit and retain members. We thought that this would be a great opportunity for OLLI members to travel with friends and experience a fun and educational adventure together. We set up a domestic trip to 
more members sign up for that wonderful trip soon. This is the reason I feel that we needed some feedback from the members on how we can enhance this program. I think we do need to bring back the travel committee to find ways to encourage OLLI friends to talk to their other OLLI friends and plan to go together on these excursions. They would be trips that you, the membership, select. Please take this short 
ck Crawford (Vice President), Bob Heyer (Secretary), and Debbie Engleson (Treasurer).
t
