OLLILife
A community of learners over 50
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September 2021 | Vol 1, No. 11 |
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It's a ‘September to Remember’ for OLLI!
Garrison Keillor calls September “the finest month,” with cooler weather returning (at least a little in Florida), the excitement of back-to-school and work activities, autumn leaves, pumpkins and festivals like Oktoberfest.
Our OLLI is in full swing, too. Volunteers and staff have been hard at work all summer preparing for our back-to-school events and courses for the fall term. You will find some new developments this fall, so be sure to read the articles in this edition to help you get the most out of everything being offered.
The fall catalog is online at our website, www.usfseniors.org. Our paper catalog is being printed for the first time by the Tampa Bay Times and is in the mail to members. The catalog will look somewhat different because it is 11" square and will arrive in an envelope labeled “Here is your new catalog.”
We originally planned to offer several face-to-face and online courses this term, but the resurgence of COVID is causing us all to think again. We have a plan B in place for face-to-face classes; some will move online, some will cancel, and some will meet as planned. Please bear with us during this is rapidly changing time; so watch for information from OLLI or ask about courses you’re not sure of when you register.
A dynamic group of members is working hard to get the word out about OLLI, so that people who may not have heard about it will have a chance to discover us. The group’s big new project will come to life on Sunday, Aug. 29, when the Tampa Bay Times will include our catalog with their newspapers.
Word of mouth is still the best way to inform people about OLLI, so let’s all be mindful of the value of telling people about OLLI and what you like about it. You may enhance someone’s life! I shared my enthusiasm about OLLI with three recent retirees lately -- my sister and two good friends -- and now they all are excited OLLI members!
As always, if you find something you think would be interesting to your fellow OLLI members, please share it by sending an email to me, Mary Ettinger (ettinger@usf.edu).
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Announcement from Ara Rogers
Fall Debuts New System
We open fall registration Monday with a new registration system, called Lumens. A team of three OLLI leaders—Mike Viren, Phyllis Alpert and Bruce Gobioff worked with Cath Mason and Charise Dixie for several months to learn the system and all its capabilities, and work at preparing it for our use.
Current members were imported into Lumens, so it will recognize you when you first try to log in. Your email address is your username. If you share an email with another member, your username is that same email address with a 1 at the end.
After you establish your own password in Lumens, you are ready to register for classes online. Or you can call Charise. She will be at 813-974-5848 from 8:30 and 4 pm Monday.
Get a sneak peek and set up your profile by going to usfseniors.org and clicking on Member sign in on the home page, or browsing classes. If you like written instructions to Lumens, you can view those here.
We think Lumens will serve OLLI-USF well for the coming years. Please bear with us as we continue to tweak and improve Lumens over the coming weeks and months.
OLLI staff will be available all week to help answer questions about OLLI, about classes, and about Lumens.
Please call Charise only for registration by phone between August 30-September 3.
Questions / Help with Online Registration:
Ara Rogers 813-974-5263 OR Cath Mason, 813-974-8422 (except Tues.)
Request a catalog:
Mary Ettinger ettinger@usf.edu
Questions about OLLI Classes
Joseph McAuliffe 813-974-5166
Jeanne Dyer 813-974-8037 (Technology classes)
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Meet the OLLI Bird
You know that early birds get the worm…well, the OLLI Bird gets the best deal.
This fall, we are offering over 40 classes at half price. You’ll find them easily as you browse our fall catalog: just look for the OLLI Bird! She signals that you will get a great deal on this class, provided you register early.
No matter what month the class starts, OLLI Bird discounts will become available to you on opening day, Monday, Aug. 30, and run through 4 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 16.
After that, the OLLI Bird flies away until the winter term.
Benefits of the OLLI Bird discount:
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No minimums or maximums. You can register for just one OLLI Bird class and receive the discount.
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No codes to know or remember! The system will always apply the discount, provided you register before the end of the OLLI Bird period. For fall, that will be Thursday, September 16.
Questions? Contact Charise or any OLLI staffer.
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The Open House is coming up
The 2021 OLLI-USF Fall Open House is on Wednesday, Sept. 15, starting at 10 a.m. on Zoom.
The meeting will include an overview of 120 liberal arts and technology classes.
The keynote speaker will be Daniel Ruth, the Pulitzer Prize-winning member of the Tampa Bay Times and visiting professor of profession practice for the USF Honors College. He will discuss Crisis of Civil Literacy Today in the United States.
To Register for the Fall Open House, click HERE
Feel free to invite a friend to join the meeting!
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We love our instructors!
Without instructors, we wouldn't have fantastic classes to enjoy along with lots of friendships. Our list of instructors keeps increasing to provide a variety of areas of learning.
For the fall term, OLLI is welcoming 15 new instructors with amazing topics ranging from Hamlet and Macbeth to astrology, The Beatles, a Culinary Tour, Chromebook? Why Not?, and many more.
Besides the new instructors, many of our seasoned teachers will continue to deliver great classes.
There are lots to pick from, including Dave Smolinski, pictured here, who is teaching our first-ever Chromebook class.
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Membership Survey
We periodically survey our members to understand your likes and dislikes with a view toward making OLLI better.
If you haven't had a chance to complete the OLLI survey we sent out last month, please click here to do so. We appreciate learning your thoughts.
Thank you to the 300+ of you who have already responded!
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Research participants wanted
If you’ve retired within the past five years, you may want to participate in a quick, five-minute survey about your retiree experience.
The survey, conducted by researchers at North Carolina State University, is completely anonymous and could help employers improve their ability to manage future retirements and the knowledge transfer process.
The survey will include a few questions about you and then ask about your experience. The summary results may be shared in academic and business publications to help employers improve. The survey has been reviewed by the NC State University Institutional Review Board.
To participate, please click here.
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DECISIONS! DECISIONS! So many classes and SIGS to choose from.
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Ask us anything…about volunteering with OLLI
How can you help? What talents are needed? What is the time commitment? What exactly is OLLI?
Find out all this and more at this friendly information session on Friday, Sept. 17, from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. on Zoom.
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Virtual Wine Tasting – Exploring Less Common Varietals |
Wednesday, Sept. 15, 6:30 p.m. (Zoom Room opens at 6:15 p.m.)
We're now deep into the dog days of summer, so named because the sun occupies the same region of the sky as Sirius, part of the constellation Canis Major, the Greater Dog.
To help us through the heat, thunderstorms and lethargy of this time, Sales Manager Bill Stobbs, of ABC Fine Wine and Spirits, will lead us in a virtual wine tasting. Bill will present three slightly less common varietals as well as some cheese pairings.
Bill recommends Boursin, Chevre, or Swiss with the whites and Camembert, Cheddar, Edam, or Gouda with the reds.
These are the wines to be tasted:
Zinck Portrait Gewurztraminer ($14.99) from Alsace, France.
Hope Estate ‘The Ripper’ Shiraz ($13.99) from Western Australia.
Lamadrid Cabernet Franc ($17.99) from Agrelo, Argentina.
Order early to ensure you can find the wines. ABC Fine Wine and Spirits offers online ordering with curbside pickup at its seven locations in Hillsborough County. The company also offers a FedEx option. Drizly.com and Saucey.com are online liquor stores that will deliver from ABC. DoorDash.com also delivers.
Sign-Up Genius and Zoom invitations will be sent prior to the event.
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Did You Know....
There are now 125 OLLIs in the United States with approximately 167,742 OLLI members (the newest OLLI is at Drake University, in Des Moines, Iowa). Lots of members are enjoying the benefits of OLLIs, just like OLLI-USF.
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SIGnificant Events for September 2021
China SIG
Tues, Sept. 21, at 10am. Chinese musical presentation by Dr. Haiqiong Deng and Qinhan Jin and a China/US relations update from Don Menzel. For more information, contact Nancy Stuart.
Community of Readers and Writers
Food, Glorious Food!
Mon, Sept. 27, at 10a.m. Laura Reiley, former Tampa Bay Times food critic, will speak about Covering the Business of Food. For more information or to receive a guest invitation, contact Jane Applegate.
Ici on parle français!
Games
Thur, Sept. 9 at 3:30 p.m. To play Scattergories, contact Kathy Palmer.
German Conversation
Tues, Sept. 14 and 28, at 1p.m. For more information, contact Christine Basch
OLLI Outdoors
Wed, Sept. 8, at 11a.m. How to Lead a Hike - hike leader virtual classroom training
Thurs, Sept. 9, at 9:30 a.m. - Crews Lake Wilderness Park hike, social and picnic
For more information and to try out an event, email OLLI Outdoors.
OLLI Shutterbugs
Welcome back Shutterbugs to the first photo outing of the fall/winter series. We’ll take photos on Sat, Sept. 25, at 10:15a.m. at the Orchid Expo at USF Botanical Gardens and submit photos to the group Facebook page. Newcomers welcome; masks required. For more information, contact Jean Nixon.
Operatunity
P-SIG
Will meet next in November. Email Bill Sapper for more information
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Al Carlson, who was indispensable to this OLLI during the pandemic by becoming our lead Zoom expert and coach, is leaving our area to be closer to family in North Carolina. Al has been involved in several important projects, including managing our member blog, olliconnects.org, and our faculty website at teach4olliusf.org. Al, we will miss you.
Mary Ettinger had a milestone birthday recently, and has another milestone coming up: her 18th OLLI anniversary is this month!
Carolyn Clark is our Goodwill Ambassador, sending notes of support, congratulations and comfort on our behalf. If you or another OLLI member have a significant personal event, please let Carolyn know.
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