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April 25, 2014 Editor of the Week: Paul Van Hemel Table of Contents Alerts & Notices April Board of Directors Meeting Highlights Spring Term - Currently Scheduled Make-up Classes Notice of Annual Meeting and Election Procedure Hearts, Shamrocks & Daffodils Party Not Snowed Under! Tallwood Trio Highlights Super Salad Social Loudoun Informational Open House and Tour Photography Club May Meeting Painting with Thread: Embroidery Arts Exhibit from China Upcoming Mason Events of Interest Poet's Corner Arts & Music at George Mason Mason Highlights Meetings & Clubs About OLLI E-News Alerts & Notices There will be a candidate forum at 10:00 at the annual meeting in TA-1 on May 2 at Tallwood. To read the bios for the candidates for the Board of Directors, click here. Voting will take place May 2-16. Murder at the Bellagio, a murder mystery, takes place at COGS on Wed, June 4. Sign up on the OLLI web page registration site for Special Event #991. The cost of $25 per person benefits OLLI membership and includes a catered brunch plus plenty of mayhem and surprises! Back to Top of Page April Board of Directors Meeting Highlights by Janet Cochran, Secretary of the Board of Directors The OLLI Board of Directors met in Loudoun on Friday, April 18. Prior to the meeting, candidates for election to the Board mingled with those attending, giving us an opportunity to get acquainted.   This was the last meeting of the current Board. Four members are stepping down: Gordon Canyock, having served a total of nine years; Manny Pablo, six years; Ernestine Meyers and Bob Zener, three years. Nancy Scheeler and Martha Scanlon are running for re-election.   Executive Director Jennifer Disano reported that we currently have 1145 members. She has identified a vendor for a new OLLI course registration system. The proposed system will be demonstrated to the Board in May. There will be an orientation tour of the new Loudoun facility on May 9. On the same date, Debbie’s Kitchen in the Tallwood Cottage will be dedicated to honor the late Debbie Halverson, former OLLI president and volunteer extraordinaire who also developed the cooking curriculum. Back to Top of Page Spring Term - Currently Scheduled Make-up Classes By Kerin Braudaway, Administrator Please note the make-up classes as listed below: OLLI F801 Technologies That Transformed the World             The make-up class is scheduled Tue, May 20, at 11:50 at Tallwood. OLLI F305 “Living in troubled and frightening times:”  The Fears of 1917             The make-up class is scheduled Wed, May 21, at 9:40 at the             Church of the Good Shepherd. OLLI R312 "The world on fire:" The Seven Years' War             The make-up class is scheduled Wed, May 21, at 2:15 at the             Rose Gallery at Reston Community Center. An up-to-date list is available at the OLLI website. Back to Top of Page Notice of Annual Meeting and Election Procedure by Janet Cochran, Secretary of the Board of Directors The Annual Membership Meeting will be held on Friday, May 2, 2014, at 10:00 at Tallwood. The agenda for the meeting will include: Reports from the OLLI president and executive director Brief speeches by the candidates for election to the Board and opportunity to ask questions of the candidates, moderated by the Nominating Committee chair Opportunity for questions and answers The vote on election for Board of Directors will take place from Friday, May 2, through noon on Friday, May 16, 2014. Election Procedure: Recognizing the accuracy, convenience and efficiency of electronic balloting, the bylaws allow for electronic transmission and members are encouraged to use this method of voting. Before polls open on May 2, directions on how to vote for Board of Directors candidates will be emailed to the OLLI membership, mailed to those without email, included in the OLLI E-News and provided as a handout in classrooms to comply with the bylaws. Any OLLI member who requests a paper ballot will receive one by mail with an addressed envelope marked BALLOT ENCLOSED. Please notify the OLLI office to request a mailed ballot. Use this ballot to vote for up to six candidates; you can mail the ballot to OLLI or drop it in a ballot box at Tallwood, Reston or Loudoun.  Since you do not sign the ballot or return envelope, your vote remains completely anonymous. To be counted, all ballots must be received by noon on May 16, 2014. Do not lose your ballot: No member having lost, damaged or destroyed his/her mailed ballot may receive a second ballot. Making more than six choices will invalidate your ballot. Similarly, more than one ballot per envelope, any ballot not in the furnished BALLOT ENCLOSED envelope, or not received by May 16 will be invalid. If you have questions about the election process, contact any Nominating Committee member: Doris Bloch, Carol Henderson, Ray Beery, Glenn Kamber, Pat Carroll, John Woods, Manny Pablo. Back to Top of Page Hearts, Shamrocks & Daffodils Party Not Snowed Under! By Martha Powers, OLLI Member and Candidate for Board of Directors It finally happened! The party that was cancelled twice became a reality on Saturday, April 12, at the Church of the Good Shepherd. Ninety attendees were treated to a sumptuous ice cream social, a delightful talent show, and a plethora of door prizes. Moreover, 21 lucky partygoers went home with the live shamrock plants and heart-shaped balloons that served as centerpieces. The day was recorded for posterity by OLLI Photo Club volunteer Lou Mazzatenta, some of whose candids appear here. Our thanks to the many Member Service Committee volunteers and talented OLLI performers who made the party possible. Scheduling of next year’s Sleet, Snowflakes and Icicles Party will be announced at a later date. Back to Top of Page Tallwood Trio Highlights Super Salad Social By Carol Henderson, Reston Coordinator Nearly 60 OLLI members enjoyed salads and desserts at the Super Salad Social luncheon on April 18 at the Rose Gallery in the Reston Community Center at Lake Anne Plaza. Members also heard the Tallwood Trio play while socializing and savoring each others’ delicious potluck dishes. Alan Wenberg on piano, David Hirsch on drums and Eric Henderson on string bass played selections from the Great American Songbook, and Nancy Riley was the songstress who vocalized some of these standards. Reston Coordinator Carol Henderson organized the event, assisted by Reston site assistant Nick Wenri and by volunteers Ben and Sheila Gold, Marilyn Hedtke, Phyllis Held, Beth and Bob Lambert and Irmgard Nolan. Back to Top of Page Loudoun Informational Open House and Tour By Maria Buczek, OLLI-Loudoun Site Assistant All members are invited to attend an open house on Friday, May 9, at 11:00 at the OLLI-Loudoun site, followed by a tour of our classroom space for the summer term. The purpose of the open house is to give members all of the information about our upcoming move this summer to our temporary location on the campus of Northern Virginia Community College (NoVA), and subsequent transition to our new permanent home in the NoVA Signal Hill Building this fall. The open house will begin at 11:00 in the break room, where light refreshments will be served and there will be time for members to socialize. At approximately 11:20, we will move to classroom 232 for a detailed informational session where you will find out everything you wanted to know about our move! Details on classrooms, amenities, and parking will be provided and we will answer any and all questions you have about the move. At the end of our presentation and question and answer period, we will caravan down to the NoVa campus so members can see firsthand where they will be parking during the summer term, and then a NoVA representative will provide us with a tour of our classroom space. Due to fire marshal restrictions for classroom 232, the open house is capped at 48 people. Therefore, we request that you RSVP if you plan to attend; you can do so by emailing OLLIRSVP@gmu.edu. This is an exciting time for OLLI-Loudoun so we hope you will join us to hear all about it! Back to Top of Page Photography Club May Meeting By Bob Kelberg, Photography Club Program Coordinator The speaker for the May 9 Photography Club meeting at 9:30 at Tallwood will be Tim Cooper. Tim is a widely-published photographer and author. Tim began his career as a commercial and assignment photographer working with clients such as The North Face, The Ritz Carlton, Vasque boots, 3M and others. His editorial and commercial photographs have appeared in many publications including Travel & Leisure, New York Times Magazine, and Outdoor Photographer. Tim has also held the positions of Consultant, Director of Education, Director of Digital Imaging, and Director of the Black and White Program at Rocky Mountain School of Photography. He is the author of the training videos Perfect Exposure for Digital Photography, Perfect Composition, Magic Light and DSLR Camera Basics, three books in the series of Complete Photoshop for Digital Photographers, and co-author of Night Photography and Snapshots to Great Shots. His latest book is The Realistic HDR Image. Back to Top of Page Painting with Thread: Embroidery Arts Exhibit from China By Beth Davis, Program Associate Join fellow OLLI members and Confucius Institute instructor Ning Yang on Saturday, May 10, for a tour of “Painting With Thread: Embroidery Arts Exhibition from China” at the VisArts Gallery in Rockville, MD. The group will meet at the Rockville Metro Station (at the fare gate) at 1:45 to walk a short five minutes to the gallery to begin the tour at 2:00. The exhibit includes more than 40 embroidery artworks with traditional and modern designs of two regional styles, Hunan Embroidery and Suzhou Embroidery, and there will be live demonstrations. You will see how embroidery artists apply more than 40 needle-work techniques and more than 1000 different types of threads to create the elegant works. For more information on the exhibit please click here or call (301) 315-8200. To join the group, please email ollirsvp@gmu.edu, subject line Chinese Embroidery exhibit, by May 6. You will receive an email with further information and directions from Ms. Yang. Back to Top of Page Upcoming Mason Events of Interest By Alice Slayton Clark, Communications Associate Sudha Kamath, Communications Officer at the Mason Office of Strategic Communications, sends word of some events at Mason that may be of interest to OLLI members. One is a symposium and screening of a new film on the Supreme Court landmark Brown vs. Board of Education ruling. This free event is scheduled at 6:00 Mon, Apr 28, at Mason Hall on the Fairfax campus. For more information click here.   A second event is Mason Day, today, Fri, Apr 25, 2:00 to 8:00, with rides, games, performances, and more. Admission is free to holders of a Mason ID card ($10 for the public). Ludacris takes the stage at 8:00 at the Patriot Center; tickets are $45 for floor and lower bowl, $35 for upper bowl. Click here for more information. Finally, for those who may be willing to offer computing time on their computers when they are not using them, a new Mason biology project is seeking volunteers willing to install, on their personal computers, software that will crunch numbers when the computer is otherwise idle. If you are interested, click here to learn more. Back to Top of Page Poet's Corner Courtesy of the Poetry Workshop           Mind/Body           In my mind           I’m still forty           with high breasts           small waist, wide hips           firm butt, big legs           slim ankles             My knees have not failed           I can walk miles           through foreign cities           smiling at strangers           can dance           with wanton abandon           perch confidently           on bar stools           stare candidly           trust my power           dream large             Then I go to rise           from my chair           and my body           belies           my mind                            Carolyn Wyatt Back to Top of Page Arts & Music at George Mason Performances, Apr 25 to May 5 By Shelly Gersten, OLLI E-News Staff Writer For tickets for either 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 page or the Hylton ticket purchase page. At the Fairfax Campus Venues Fairfax Symphony Orchestra: Mahler's Fifth Symphony Sat, Apr 26, 8:00 Admission: $60, $45, $25 Center for the Arts Concert Hall Keyboard Conversations® with Jeffrey Siegel: Mistresses and Masterpieces Sun, Apr 27, 7:00 The program features works by Brahms, Schumann, and Liszt. Admission: $38, $30, $19 Center for the Arts Concert Hall Back to Top of Page Mason Student & Faculty Performances At the Fairfax Campus: Ten-Minute Play Festival Fri, Apr 25, 8:00 Sat, Apr 26, 2:00 and 8:00 Admission: Adults, $15; seniors, $10 TheaterSpace Saxophone Ensemble Concert Sun, Apr 27, 3:00 Admission: Free Harris Theatre Mason Jazz Vocal Night Sun, Apr 27, 7:00 Admission: Free Harris Theatre Mason Wind Symphony Concert Tue, Apr 29, 8:00 Admission: Adults, $10, seniors, $5 Center for the Arts Concert Hall International Jazz Day with Mason Jazz Wed, Apr 30, 8:00 Admission: Adults, $10, seniors, $5 Center for the Arts Concert Hall Mason Dance Company: Spring: New Dances Thu, May 1 through Sat, May 3, 8:00 each evening Admission: Adults, $15; seniors and students, $10 Harris Theatre Jazz Vocal Concert Fri, May 2, 8:00 Admission: Adults, $15; seniors and students, $10 de Laski - Room 3001 Guitar Ensemble Concert Sat, May 3, 8:00 Admission: Free de Laski - Room 3001 Spring Chamber Ensemble Concert Sat, May 3, 3:00 Admission: Free de Laski - Room 3001 There are also numerous free individual student recitals around campus.  Visit http://music.gmu.edu for details. At the Manassas Campus: Mason’s School of Music: Chorale Broadway Showcase Sat, Apr 26, 3:00 and 7:00 Admission: Adults, $10; seniors, $5 Merchant Hall Mason’s School of Music: Symphonic Band Concert Sat, Apr 26, 5:00 Admission: Adults, $10; seniors, $5 Merchant Hall Back to Top of Page At the Hylton Center Landau Eugene Murphy, Jr. with vocalists from The Temptations, Drifters, and Platters, with Swing Machine Sun, Apr 27, 4:00 Presented by Capital Jazz Preservation Admission: $40 Merchant Hall Prince William Arts Council: 2014 Arts Alive! Sat, May 3, 10:00 - 8:30 Performances and exhibits by local artists, performers and others. A full listing of events is available here:  http://hyltoncenter.org/events/artsalive.html Various venues at the Hylton Center Asaph Dance Ensemble: Spring Ballet Series Sun, May 4, 4:00 Admission: Adults, $30; seniors and students, $20 Merchant Hall Intersections of Art and Life by William Woodward and Becky Parrish Tue, Apr 15 through Sat, May 24 Admission: Free Buchanan Partners Art Gallery Back to Top of Page For further details on any of the above events, please see the CFA event calendar and the Hylton Center event calendar Back to Top of Page Mason Highlights Other Mason events, next two weeks By Helen Ackerman, OLLI E-News Staff Writer Vision Series: Mason associate professor and director of Mason’s Cochrane Collaboration Policy College Catherine Gallagher discuses “Protecting Your Health and Money in the New Era of Medical Decision-Making.” Gallagher asks: "Have you ever been told to undergo a medical test or treatment procedure without any knowledge of what it costs and how much you will be paying? What it will lead to in health procedures later? Or what the costs will be to your life if you do not get the test?" The answer for most people is a resounding “yes.” Patients and their caregivers belong directly in the center of all decisions, yet are often not provided access to the right information about their options, the costs, or the consequences of a medical procedure. This discussion uses real cases to illustrate tension points in decision processes to bring to life the costs and consequences of how you participate in your care. Mon, Apr 28, 7:15. Arlington Campus, Founders Hall Auditorium.  Free. Film. A Fragile Trust: Plagiarism, Power, and Jayson Blair at The New York Times. This movie is a fascinating documentary that explores power and ethics, corporate and office politics, race politics, representation, and accountability in the mainstream media. With intricate, not-always-straightforward interviews with multiple players, including Jayson Blair, the documentary traces the shocking story of the most infamous serial plagiarist of our time, and how he unleashed the massive scandal that rocked the New York Times and the entire world of journalism. A Skype Q&A with journalist and filmmaker Samantha Grant will follow. Wed, Apr 30, 4:30 to 7:00. Johnson Center, Cinema. Free. Back to Top of Page 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). Sat Apr 26 10:30am Tai Chi Club–TA-3 Tue Apr 29 10:00am   2:15pm Knitting and Needlework Club–Panera, Herndon Reston Program Planning Meeting–UCP-113 Wed Apr 30   1:45pm Bridge Club–TA-3 Fri May 2 10:00am Annual Meeting–TA-1 Sat May 3 10:30am Tai Chi Club–TA-3 Tue May 6 10:00am Knitting and Needlework Club–Panera, Herndon Wed May 7  1:30pm  1:45pm  1:45pm  2:15pm Mah Jongg Club–TA-2 Bridge Club–TA-3 Special Events Committee–Annex History Club–TA-1 Fri May 9  9:00am  9:30am 10:00am 10:00am 10:00am   10:30am 11:00am 11:00am Recorder Consort–TA-3 Photography Club–TA-1 Craft and Conversation Club–Cottage iPad User Group–Reston UCP 113/114 Humanities/Social Sciences Program Planning Group–RCC Hunter Woods Loudoun Program Planning Group–Rm 236 Homer, etc–Annex Ulysses Book Club–TA-2 Back to Top of Page About OLLI E-News OLLI E-News was created by Rod Zumbro, who served as its editor from 2005 to 2013. Current Editorial Staff Chief Editor/Technical Editor: Irene Osterman Associate Editor: Weekly Editorial Team: Paul Van Hemel, Sheri Siesseger, Leslie Vandivere, Proofreaders:  John West, Gordon Canyock, Susan Van Hemel Backup Chief Editor: Sheri Siesseger 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 pm Tuesday for that week's issue (6:00 pm 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:olli.gmu.edu/" without the quotes. Back to Top of Page