June, 2022 | Vol 2, No. 8

 Looking Forward To The Summer

Our OLLI had a busy month of May, with several end-of-season gatherings large and small.

We had our first in-person Open House in two years, a big production which many of you attended, seeing old friends again and meeting new ones. This month’s newsletter chronicles this and other end-of-season events such as our Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon and special meetings of the Shared Interest Groups (SIGs).

Reading below you also will find some upcoming special events and activities to add some spice to your summer. 

Whether you like to take classes in person or prefer them online, you will find lots of interesting courses to take this term. The survey many of you filled out about your preferences for in-person classes or online courses found that our OLLI members are closely divided in their choices, so we will keep offering many of each.

People who are away for the summer will be able to take Zoom courses wherever they are. If you are not yet comfortable using Zoom, there are many volunteers who can get you up and running. Check with our technology coordinator, Jeanne Dyer at 813-974-8037.

The search for a new OLLI director for when Ara Rogers retires at the end of the year is fully underway. It will be very hard to find someone to follow her. If you know of someone who might be a good candidate, please send them here for more information.

The start of summer that Memorial Weekend brings us each year seems to bring a bit of surrealism with it this year. I talk with people who have been staying home to avoid COVID for two years who now are planning visits to see loved ones or scheduling trips they have put off for so long. Yet others are watching the numbers go up and focusing on trying to stay safe at home. Wherever you go or stay, may you all have a safe and happy summer.

I love summer, and I think it deserves a poem. Here’s part of the poem “The Vision of Sir Launfal,” by James Russell Lowell:

And what is so rare as a day in June?

Then, if ever, come perfect days;

Then Heaven tries earth if it be in tune,

And over it softly her warm ear lays;

Whether we look, or whether we listen

June 21-26 - Live From Korea video classes on YouTube.

June 27 - Asian Americans in Florida virtual event

OPPORTUNITIES

Are You Interested in Learning to Prepare Class Videos for Further Distribution?

The ability to view recorded OLLI classes is a great benefit to using Zoom. After two years of experience, we have developed our procedure for creating class recordings.

Here’s how you can help! 

You’ll need an adequate computer and moderate computer skills. 

You’ll also need knowledge of Keynote or PowerPoint and have a video editing program such as iMovie, Filmora, ScreenFlow, Camtasia or other program.

You will use PowerPoint (on a PC) or Keynote (on a Mac) to add a standard video open and close, use your video editing program to edit the video, and put everything together into a single video.

We will train you from there.

This is a great project for someone wanting to develop or hone simple video editing skills. 

It's also a great way to contribute to OLLI and not leave your chair. E-mail Jeanne Dyer, or call her at 813-974-8037, for more information or to sign up.

How does OLLI decide which courses to record?

We occasionally get questions about recorded courses at OLLI-USF. Here's how we decide whether to record a class: 

Instructor Permission

Some instructors prefer not to have their courses recorded. because the class includes their intellectual property or because they have concerns about the impact on students' willingness to participate in discussion.

Class Format and Size - Lecture vs Discussion and Active Participation

•         Processing class recordings for students to view is time-consuming and requires attention to detail. Because of this, we focus on larger/high enrollment courses. Lecture courses tend to be larger and instructor-centric, where instructors are focused on sharing their extensive expertise and knowledge.

•         As a rule, we do not record small discussions or active participation courses. The primary benefit of those classes is to show up, participate, and interact with the instructor. An exception is made for courses where students can use the recording to review and practice a procedure or process.

•         We also want to avoid creating a situation where the instructor shows up for his/her class of 15 -20 enrolled students and only five students actually join the class on Zoom.

Impact of Recording on Class Discussion and Member Privacy

Recordings are meant to be a benefit. We don’t record classes where members are likely to share personal aspects of their lives or where a recording might discourage class participation (poetry/memoir/challenging topics).

LIVE FROM KOREA

Free classes on YouTube

Tuesdays, June 21- July 26, 7:00pm-8:30pm EST

The following list of free classes can be accessed via YouTube https://youtube.com/c/OLLIGeorgeMasonUniversity so there is no need for a Zoom link. Just subscribe and enjoy!  

Are You 66-72 Years Old?

Study Seeks Participants To Help Further Computer Sciences

This study is still looking for participants

USF is offering OLLI members ages 66-72 year old an opportunity be part of a National Science Foundation study with Dr. Tempestt Neal, USF assistant professor in computer science and engineering (pictured). 

The study will investigate age-aware user authentication methods in home settings. User authentication is important for protecting you against unauthorized use of your personal electronics. You probably already use an authentication method like a password or face recognition. However, these methods are not always easily usable for people of different age groups. This study will collect data to help develop new user authentication techniques that support people of all ages. 

There will be four sessions. The first is virtual where you will have a chance to decide if you want to complete the other three that will be held in-person in a lab. Each session will last approximate one hour.  

Please contact Dr. Neal at tjneal@usf.edu if you're interested in participating. Thank you for helping make OLLI a valued partner in research at USF!

CHINA SIG to Host Co-sponsored Virtual Event 

The China SIG is proud to host this special virtual program sponsored by OLLI-USF, USF World and the Florida Chinese Cultural Center. This lecture is open to all OLLI members and guests.

To register, click the red button below the flyer.

Another Great Trip - Iceland

Where can you find beautiful waterfalls, shimmering waters inside a crater, glaciers, bubbling mud pools, lava fields, frolicking Minke, humpback, and blue whales, with a side of puffins and terns and a dozen species of duck? Join an OLLI-USF tour of 

Epic Iceland: Dynamic Lands and Enduring People

June 15 – 24, 2023

Find out all about it and get your questions answered in a Zoom introduction session:

Friday, June 17

10 a.m.

Link for registration for Zoom session

If you have questions, please contact Charise at (813) 974 -5848, Monday - Friday 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. or e-mail Charise at OLLIRegistration@usf.edu 

The recent member travel survey of OLLI Members’ Travel Preferences ranked “Natural wonders and spectacular scenery” as the #1 type of tour our members want. We have booked two of the finest examples you’ll find anywhere in the world through Premier World Discovery.

Holland Windmills, Waterways and Tulips River Cruise

April 26, 2023

There’s more spectacular scenery and important history in your near future with the Holland Windmills, Waterways & Tulips River Cruise.  You'll fly overnight from Tampa to Amsterdam, meet your tour guide and enjoy a welcome dinner at the hotel on the first night. Then board the MS Amadeus Queen for seven nights cruising down scenic waterways past homes on the intricate canal systems while taking in the Dutch countryside. You’ll make stops in quaint villages known for their windmills, wooden shoes, gothic and medieval churches and cities with rich history. Visit the famous Keukenhof Gardens, the world’s second largest flower garden with seven million bulbs planted annually, a showplace for the tulip growers of the Netherlands. 

EXCURSIONS/TOURS

•Amsterdam Canal Cruise Tour

•Zaanse Schans Visit

•Arnhem City Tour and WWII History

•Kinderdijk and Windmills Visit

•Bruges City Tour

•Antwerp City Tour

•Keukenhof Flower Gardens

If you missed the virtual presentation on May 6, you can view it by clicking here. 

Ten cabins are on hold for OLLI-USF, and three of them are already booked. Click here to view the flyer and registration information.

The tour may be nearly a year away, but early demand is high and European travel is expected to continue to grow, so it’s best to book now and reserve your spot. 

Utah’s Mighty National Park Tour Begins

Oct 7

Travel along Scenic Byway 128 referred to by locals as the River Road and one of the most beautiful and breathtaking drives imaginable. Travel through canyons carved by the Colorado River and see the iconic Fisher Towers, towering cliffs and mesas, incredible rock formations, beautiful ranch resorts, painted canyons and enough red rock to overload the senses. And there’s more…

EXCURSIONS/TOURS

·           Roundtrip flight from Tampa to Grand Junction, CO

·        Scenic Byway 128 from Grand Junction, CO to Moab, UT

·        One night in Grand Junction, CO, and five nights in Moab, UT

·        Colorado River Cruise

·        Canyonlands National Park and Dead Horse State Park

·        Monument Valley

·        Goulding Museum

·        Arches National Park

Thirty-one travelers are registered for Utah’s Mighty National Park Tour. We have a few seats left, so if you have been thinking about going, now is the timeto act. It would be great to fill the tour with OLLI-USF members.

If you are single and looking for a roommate on the Utah tour, notify Karen Wright for help.

The flyer and registration can be found here. You can view the virtual presentation on this trip right here.

OUT AND ABOUT WITH OLLI

OLLI Honors Our Excellent Volunteers

Congratulations to the winners of the OLLI-USF Volunteer Achievement Awards, which were presented at the Volunteer Appreciation Brunch on May 10.

The winners were Kathy Palmer, honored with the Award of Excellence, and Susan Northcutt and Nancy Stuart, recipients of Lifetime Achievement Awards. The winner of the Above and Beyond award, however, has not yet been announced. Because that person was not able to attend the event, the award will be presented at a surprise date and time to be announced.

This event is held every year to honor OLLI volunteers – instructors, committee members, SIG leaders and others. But this was the first to be held in person rather than over Zoom since the pandemic began.

Some 77 OLLI members and staff gathered at Centro Asturiano de Tampa for the brunch and awards program. The theme was “You help make OLLI ‘POP.’” As explained by Volunteer Management Committee Co-Chair Diane White, “All of you are tasty kernels of ideas. You add your energy, your creativity, your passion, and they explode with ideas.”

OLLI-USF Director Ara Rogers had good news for the group: while OLLIs around Florida lost some members during the pandemic lockdown, OLLI-USF is now “bouncing back better than ever.”

Eleven OLLI instructors who have taught 10 or more classes were added to the Faculty Honor Roll at the brunch. Those instructors include Gail Carleo, John Carleo, Douglas Gatchell, Bruce Gobioff, Howard Kerner, Sheryl Long, Marilyn Myerson, Steven Specter, Lynn Wadsworth, Larry Weatherby, and Ronald Weaver.

Ara also recognized Pat Dodge, who is stepping down from her position as Travel Committee chair, and Anne Haywood, who is retiring from her post as SIG liaison, which she created two years ago.

Pictured above, from left: Susan Northcutt, Lifetime Achievement Award; Director Ara Rogers; Nancy Stuart, Lifetime Achievement Award; and Kathy Palmer, Award of Excellence.

Summer Open House Sizzles

An astonishing view of the universe and opportunities to meet and greet each other were the highlights of the Summer Open House, our first OLLI-wide in-person gathering in two years.

“It’s so nice to see so many people in person,” said Mike Viren, chair of OLLI’s Board of Advisors and the program’s emcee.

The meeting began with an order of business: to elect nominees Kevin Chittim and Linda Tournade to the Board of Advisors. They join the board’s membership of eight elected members and chairs of the standing committees.

That was followed by brief descriptions of some of the new classes and programs coming up this summer.

Keynote speaker Fulvia Fiorani, an OLLI instructor and retired military physicist, provided a slide show of incredible images taken by the Hubble Telescope deep into space.

Launched in 1990, the telescope has given us a view of space never before seen and has allowed us to observe the formation of stars, planets, and galaxies.

Fulvia also discussed the even more powerful James Webb Space Telescope. Launched in December 2021, this telescope “can see deeper into space and thus further into time” than Hubble, Fulvia said. The Webb images should start becoming available this summer she said.

Before and after the meeting, Open House attendees had the chance to meet and ask questions of representatives of our Shared Interest Groups and committees as well as of many instructors and leaders of this summer’s programs.

Among them was Don Clark (pictured meeting with an OLLI member), who is leading two tours of Tampa landmarks this summer. Check out the Summer 2022 Class Catalog for more information here.

Food, Glorious Food Meets Beer, Glorious Beer

Thanks to OLLI Instructor Pete Terzian, a group of Food, Glorious Food SIG members and friends were recently treated to a beer tasting and tour at Southern Brewing & Winery on North Nebraska Avenue in Tampa.

Pete is best known for his technological expertise and the technology classes he teaches for OLLI, but he told us the first class he taught for OLLI was actually one on brewing homecrafted beer.

An avid home brewer, Pete purchases his supplies at Southern Brewing & Winery. He explained the steps involved in brewing beer and distributed an instructional brochure. He also passed around hops samples for us to smell and observe to help us understand and appreciate the ingredients that go into a batch of beer.

Kelly Dempsey, one of the company owners, guided us on a tour through the facility. We tasted a sample of grains used in making beer and met Brewer Mike Bode in action as he boiled huge pots of several varieties of brews in the making. Kelly also treated us to a few samples of different beers that the craft brewery produces.

Additionally, the brewery is licensed for winemaking, so we were also offered a sample of one of their sweeter delights. After the tasting and tour, we enjoyed a perfect pairing of lunch from Rene’s Mexican Kitchen, adjacent to the brewery, and our favorite newly discovered beverages.

Simply Glorious!

--Kathy Palmer

OLLI Outdoors Ends Season On High Point

Members of the OLLI Outdoors SIG take in the view from the observation tower at Lettuce Lake Park in Tampa on May 12.

The hike to the tower was the culmination of an end-of-the-year brunch at the park to celebrate the group's successes and look forward to the future.

OLLI Outdoors activities are now suspended for the summer but will return in full force in the fall.

Learning, Adventure, Sharing, Lunch:

A Perfect Combo!

Food, Glorious Food! SIG members, a.k.a. “foodies,” recently spent the day in Dunedin. We covered a lot of territory and learned so much.

For example, did you know who the first foodies in Florida were? Do you know how to cook squirrel? Keep reading for the answers.

First stop: TüKrō Coffee where we met for coffee, tea and pastries. The amaretto gluten-free cookie was pronounced delish, and the cappuccino was excellent.

Next stop: the Dunedin History Museum’s Florida Foodways exhibit where we learned that Florida’s original foodies were hunters and gatherers who arrived here 15,000 years ago. They would have hunted megafauna, including mammoths, mastodons and giant land tortoises.

Another fun and informative exhibit included old Florida recipes using ingredients the early residents would have used, such as okra, guava, fish, opossum and, of course, squirrels.

How do you make Broiled Squirrel?

Ingredients:

-       2 cleaned squirrels

-       cooking oil

-       salt and pepper to taste

-       2T lemon or lime juice.

Rub squirrels with salt and pepper. Brush with cooking oil. Place under broiler for about 40 minutes. (courtesy of the Fort Lauderdale Historical Society).

Lunch at Casa Tina followed, which included authentic dishes like Tacos Estillo Guadalajara – soft corn tortillas with filling choices such as carne asada and panela (grilled Mexican cheese), or American tacos with chicken or cactus.

At least a few of the ten foodies who participated were later spotted shopping at the charming shops along Main Street. All in all, it was a great day of learning, adventure, sharing and, of course, food.

--Diane White

Shutterbugs SIG

Activities for the Summer

The OLLI Shutterbugs SIG will continue to have activities during the summer .... but in sheltered places or inside air conditioned buildings.

Our June outing will be an Ybor photo shoot on Thursday, June 9, starting at 10 a.m. The group will meet in front of Columbia Restaurant and take photos of the historic architecture and "street" photography of the activities along 7th Avenue. Afterwards, lunch!

Weather permitting, Shutterbugs is planning a sunset photo shoot along the Tampa Riverwalk on Thursday, June 30, during the "blue" hour.

Also, there will be several Zoom programs on photography topics during the summer. Check out Rich Edwards' Ybor City and Street Photography presentation at 7 p.m. on Thursday, June 2. 

Contact Jean Nixon or Rich Edwards if you're interested in joining the Shutterbugs SIG or you want more information.

Spanish Conversation SIG Now Forming

This group provides a place for Spanish speakers to meet and discuss topics of interest in Spanish. A basic knowledge of Spanish is required, but all levels of speaking ability are welcome. This SIG is still organizing itself and will meet Tuesday, June 7, at 6 p.m., on Zoom for a practice session, followed by a little group business. Join us:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81762201008?pwd=dklFTVhBdmVta1pRay9nMDc1T1A2Zz09 

or use Meeting ID: 817 6220 1008 with Passcode: hablemos.

SIGnificant EVENTS FOR JUNE 2022

Anne Haywood, SIG Liaison

OLLI Welcomes Our New SIG Liaison

On July 1, OLLI-USF will welcome a new SIG Liaison, Kathy Palmer.

Kathy is active in several Shared Interest Groups and is the originator and host of online Scattergories for the Online Games SIG.

She is also an editor of OLLILife and was recently honored with OLLI's 2022 Award of Excellence.

Welcome, Kathy!

PEOPLE NEWS