OLLILife

A community of learners over 50

October, 2024 | Vol 4, No.11

Together, We Have Accomplished So Much!

On October third, I celebrate my second anniversary as the proud director of OLLI-USF!! Please know that my heart is full of gratitude for the love and support I’ve received from each of you. With nearly 1,400 members strong, I am truly honored and privileged to serve such a dynamic and passionate community.

As we step into this new fall season, we eagerly anticipate cooler weather and, perhaps, even cooler people.

Our recent Fall Open House was a fantastic success, showcasing a wide array of class offerings, shared interest groups, exciting travel opportunities, and all the other wonders that make our OLLI so special.

We are entering the last quarter of this year, and I must express my immense gratitude to OLLI's donors. Thank you so much for your generosity in the form of time, talent and treasure. Together, we have accomplished so much, and it is my desire that we continue pressing forward as a vibrant community.

In recent months, we’ve said goodbye to some beloved members, and in their honor, let’s commit to living and learning to the fullest. I hope to see you soon in one of our classes or at an upcoming OLLI event.

The photo above shows me with Mr. Photographer himself, Mike Hayes, one of our most excellent volunteers.

Circle Gatherings:

Oct. 4 - Circle Seven

Oct. 24 - Circle Three

Oct. 25 - Circle Six

Oct. 31 - Circle One

Nov. 1 - Circle Two

Nov. 2 - Circle Five

Nov. 8 - Circle Four

Nov. 15 - Circle Ten

Nov. 21 - Circle Eleven

Dec. 6 - Circles 8 and 14

See article below for details

Oct. 18 - USF Annual Homecoming Parade

Oct. 25 - Volunteer Information Session

Check out more OLLI events here:

OLLI Calendar

More Venues, More Classes, New Circles, and the Pitfalls of AI....Plus Scenes From The Meeting

What are the promises and pitfalls of artificial intelligence? How can you learn more about the topic? And what else is going on in OLLI?

Those topics and more were explored at OLLI’s Fall 2024 Open House and Course Expo on Sept. 12 at TPepin’s Hospitality Centre.

Nearly 400 OLLI members, guests and staff mingled and met with instructors, committee members and Shared Interest Group leaders at the event. They were able to sign up for classes and join the SIGs that interested them.

Veronica Maxwell opened the Open House’s formal program by marking her two years as OLLI director coming up in October. “I have been loving you that long, and you’ve been loving me back,” she said.

She also announced that 140 classes and lectures are being offered this semester by a talented group of all-volunteer instructors.

Those programs will be provided in more venues than ever, announced Educational Programming Manager Joseph McAuliffe. The USF Botanical Gardens, Discovery Village, Aston Gardens, Brookdale Senior Living, Busch Gardens, Centennial Park, Lake Rogers Park, New Tampa Regional Library, North Tampa Library, and the Museum of Science and Industry are newly holding classes this semester. Coming soon, USF-St. Petersburg and St. Leo College in Wesley Chapel will be offering OLLI classes as well.

Membership Committee Chair Pam Tyler discussed the new Circles program. The program divides OLLI members into 16 Circles based on their zip codes and then invites Circles members to lunchtime gatherings at local restaurants.

“We’re trying to make OLLI local for people who live in close proximity. For you to get together for lunch and share the joy and experience of OLLI at the local level,” Pam said.

The meeting’s predominant topic was technology and artificial intelligence. Twenty-one technology courses are being offered this semester, including four in AI, announced Technology Coordinator Jeanne Dyer. The classes are in such high demand that several filled up rapidly, leaving many people on waiting lists. OLLI staff were working on expanding opportunities for more people to get into those classes, Jeanne said.

Artificial intelligence was also the focus of the day’s keynote speaker, Dr. John Locato, founder and director of USF’s Advancing Machine and Human Reasoning Lab.

AI is “dramatically increasing in popularity,” Dr. Licato said. It can bring great benefits, for example in medicine. But it can also create problems such as hallucinations, information that seems factual but is actually incorrect. And it can be used to deceive and manipulate by falsely creating sounds and images of people and places. But it will not take away jobs, he predicted.

“AI will not take your job. But people who know how to use it will,” he said.

Here are some more of the sights at the Open House.

Are These Yours?

Someone left this key and pair of glasses at the Open House. If they're yours, please call 813-974-5848, or email olli-inquiries@usf.edu to arrange to pick them up.

OLLI Outdoors - Kick-Off Hike!

The OLLI Outdoors SIG's kickoff hike was a glorious experience for the 27 hikers who enjoyed the John Chestnut Sr. Park on "Lucky Friday," Sept. 13th.

The gentle 2.5-mile hike started along Brooker Creek, then continued to the boardwalk to check out the observation tower and platforms to observe wildlife. What did we see? A closeup of a beautiful limpkin with its favorite food – the apple snail. And we were captivated watching the baby alligator trying to navigate the waters.

And that’s not all! Fourteen hikers trekked to lunch at the Tarpon Turtle on Lake Tarpon. What delicious food with only a few take-home boxes leaving the premises. Fresh air. Steps. Exercise. Friendship. Food. Who could ask for anything more!

Two Cooking Clubs = One Marvelous Feast

What happens when members of the ABC Cooking Club and the Cooks on the Loose cooking club get together for lunch? You can bet on an impressive feast with an array of appetizers, salads, main courses, and desserts -- all the work of these creative home chefs. The event was held on Sept. 16 at Compton Park, hopefully to become an annual event.

Lunch And A Visit With The Beatles

The Beatles Museum in Dunedin is a popular place for OLLI members. On Sept. 20, 13 members of the Food, Glorious Food! SIG visited the iconic museum after having lunch at Cafe Alfresco. Did they love it? Yeah, yeah, yeah!

Can They Make It Stop?

Six OLLI members and University of Tampa Professors Amanda Firestone. Ph.D., and Alisha Menzies, Ph.D., pondered the question Can We Make It Stop? Celebrity Culture Overload in Our Everyday Life in a recent OLLI class held at the University of Tampa. The professors discussed how new celebrities on social media become new entrepreneurs and the ramifications to the consuming public, who can't seem to get enough of today's pop culture. 

OLLI-USF And Premier World Discovery

In 2024, OLLI-USF members visited Cape Cod and the Islands in June and the Black Hills, Badlands and Mount Rushmore in September. Here’s what they said about these recent Premier World Discovery Tours:

• Tour director was superb!  
• Everything was orchestrated extremely well.
• Pace of tour was fine. 
• The guide was extremely knowledgeable. 
• Hotels were nice, very clean and comfortable, convenient. 
• Breakfasts were excellent.
• Although an inveterate traveler, this was my first ever group tour. Overall, it was a positive experience. I will add group tours to my travel options going forward. 

OLLI-USF has booked two tours with Premier World Discovery for 2025. OLLI travel committee hopes you'll decide to join these incredible destinations.

Join Us On This Journey To The Land Of Fire And Ice

Iceland Explorer

Oct. 1, 2025

$4,675 - roundtrip airfare is included from Tampa to Reykjavik

You’ll spend five nights at one centrally located hotel close to restaurants.

Tour highlights include the Blue Lagoon, a Golden Circle Tour, the Strokkur Geyser and Gullfoss/ Golden Falls, the Skogafoss Waterfall, and Thingvellir National Park.

You’ll explore Reykjavik with a city tour, and each day will be a new adventure to view Iceland’s pristine waterfalls, crystal clear rivers, 100-foot geysers and amazing unspoiled ocean views on your Golden Ring and South Coast tours. Learn how the Icelandic people make bread using geothermal heat, and sample some of your very own. No tour to Iceland would be complete without a visit to the world-famous Blue Lagoon, a geothermal pool sitting on a large lava field. Relax and swim in the mineral-rich waters. We hope that you can join us as we travel to this unique and incredible destination.

You can view the itinerary here .

Join us for a free Zoom presentation about this trip on Thurs., Oct. 24, at 10 a.m. Register here.

Landscapes & Lighthouses of Coastal Maine

Aug. 9, 2025

$3,3775 - includes roundtrip airfare from Tampa to

Boston

This trip is seven days, with one night in Boston and five nights at one hotel in the Kennebunkport area.

Highlights include a Tour of Boston with Fenway Park, the Portland Head Lighthouse, the Coastal Maine Botanical Garden, Boothbay Harbor, a lobster boat cruise and lobster clambake, the Cape Neddick Lighthouse and Walkers Point. 

Escape the Florida heat and join us on a picturesque seven-day tour to New England, a region of unparalleled history and natural beauty. You’ll enjoy Maine’s stunning seascapes and lighthouses and one of America’s oldest and most historic cities - Boston, Massachusetts. We begin with a guided tour of Boston that includes Boston Common, the Old North Church where Paul Revere got the signal to start his legendary ride, Old Ironsides, and a guided tour of historic Fenway Park. Next, you’ll take in the natural beauty of the New England coastline as you travel north towards Maine with photo stop in the picturesque coastal town of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. You’ll spend five nights in coastal Maine with its rocky shoreline, sandy beaches, beautiful landscapes, quaint villages and lighthouses. Of course, no trip to New England would be complete without experiencing a traditional lobster clambake. We hope that you can join us on this incredible journey.

You can view the itinerary on OLLI's website.

Join us for a free Zoom presentation on this trip on Fri., Oct., 25 at 1 p.m. Register here.

Helping Feed a Bull

Members of the Food, Glorious Food! SIG collected food donations for the USF Feed-A-Bull food pantry on two recent occasions.

The ABC and Cooks on the Loose Cooking Clubs collected donations at their combined luncheon meeting on Sept.16 at Compton Park.  

Pictured are USF Bulls Lindsey and Steven who indicated that they are running low on supplies at the food pantry.

Lunch Bunchers brought food donations to Dunedin on Sept. 20 where they met for lunch at Café Alfresco and a Beatles Museum tour. The food pantry staff member pictured unloading donations mentioned how appreciative they are for the support they receive from OLLI.

The Feed-A-Bull pantry supplies supplemental food assistance to students facing food insecurity while attending USF.

Click here for more information on the Feed-a-Bull pantry and ways you can help.

Conviviality and Celebrations

Monthly Conviviality and Celebrations Socials evolved from the former OLLI-USF Social Events Committee. Once a month, the Social Events Committee would choose a different lunch spot in a casual setting to celebrate OLLI-USF. We would invite non-members among our friends and neighbors (who were encouraged to bring a guest) in an effort to increase membership with OLLI-USF. We also hosted a monthly first-Wednesday Pie Social 3:30-5 p.m. at the Village Inn near the campus. 

After the Covid shutdown, the Social Events Committee did not survive. When things started opening up after Covid, several people were contacting us to set up a get-together luncheon. I volunteered to coordinate the meetings. We started back just for fun! We had a lot to share, and getting together for positive conversation was welcomed. 

Once again, we gave out pamphlets to new attendees. Several of us also belonged to the Northdale OWLS group and invited OWLS to join us. It has become a win-win! We have many OLLI-OWLS who attend. We have continued the casual luncheons and now celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, recovery from surgeries, arriving safely home from vacation, mothers-in-law or children moving out, etc. It is seldom the same group of people due to location. We average 18 attendees. 

I ask new attendees if they want to participate in my email-info list where I share photos from the last luncheon. The next month’s celebrants are invited in an email specific to their birthday to choose a restaurant and date. First text/email response wins! 

They can choose any day of the week, any restaurant and location. However, there are six requirements regarding the restaurants:

• The restaurant accepts separate checks;
• Has plenty of free parking; 
• Offers tasty food;
• Charges reasonable prices;
• Provides a clean environment;
• 1 p.m. meeting time

I make reservations and email an invitation to the entire group on the first day of the month and, in return, they RSVP to me. Then we enjoy another month’s gathering!

Stay safe and have FUN

YOU deserve FUN

—-Kat Hanscom

2024 Summer Olympics

OLLI Newcomers were welcomed by OLLI Membership Committee Chair Pam Tyler and Membership Committee members, OLLI Advisory Board Chair Linda Feeney, and OLLI Director Veronica Maxwell at the Fall Newcomers Gathering on Sept. 25, at the Chicken Salad Chick on Fowler Ave.

A Message from the Membership Committee Chair

As Hurricane Helene winds down leaving a path of loss to so many Floridians and others, I’m reminded that community is everything. The Tampa Bay area and the barrier islands took a significant hit.

Be thinking individually and collectively how OLLI-USF can be of concrete assistance to those who are recovering from this disaster.

What a joy it was to see so many of you at the OLLI Open House at TPepin's Hospitality Centre wearing a Circle Dot.

The local OLLI Circles are taking root in their respective areas, but we still need local Circle members to volunteer with organization and logistics. The overall structure for 2025 will be in place by the end of November so you can save the dates well in advance. But carrying out how each circle wants to function will be up to members.

Let’s get smart, curious, and creative together. Take some classes, think about teaching a class, and bring your fresh ideas to your local circle. 

Meanwhile, OLLI leadership needs input from you. We want to understand what keeps you active, engaged and a fully supportive member of OLLI.

Fall blessings to all of you,

--Pam Tyler, Membership Committee Chair

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SAVE THE DATE!!

Fall Circle Gatherings

October

Fri., Oct. 4

Circle Seven: Shrimp Boat, 1020 Bloomingdale Ave., Brandon, at noon.

This event is full.

Thurs., Oct. 24

Circle Three: Jimmie B. Keel Regional Library, 2902 W. Bearss Ave., at 11 a.m. RSVP by Oct. 17, Evite

Fri., Oct. 25

Circle Six: The Living Room, 2001 Piazza Ave., Wiregrass Mall, at noon. RSVP by Oct. 18, Evite

Thur., Oct. 31

Circle One: Black Rock Grill, 11702 N. Dale Mabry Hwy, at noon.

RSVP by Oct. 18, Evite

November

Fri., Nov. 1

Circle Two: Yummy House, 302 N. Dale Mabry Hwy, at noon.

RSVP by Oct. 24, Evite

Sat., Nov. 2

Circle Five: Chicken Salad Chick, 2790 E. Fowler Ave, at noon.

This event is full.

Fri., Nov. 8

Circle Four: Michael's Grill, 11720 N. Dale Mabry Hwy, at noon.

RSVP by Oct. 28, Evite

Fri., Nov. 15

Circle Ten: Raining Berries, 10633 Sheldon Rd, Westchase, at noon.

This event is full.

Thurs., Nov. 21

Circle Eleven: Tarpon Turtle, 1513 Lake Tarpon Ave, Tarpon Springs, at noon. RSVP by Nov. 14, Evite

December

Fri., Dec. 6

Circles Eight and Fourteen: Wright's Gourmet House, 1200 S. Dale Mabry Hwy, 11 a.m. RSVP by Nov. 30, Evite

The Membership Committee has an article each month introducing a new OLLI member. Congratulations and welcome to OLLI’s newest member.

Meet Dianne Borovie

Dianne learned about our organization while volunteering at BayCare Hospital Wesley Chapel, where she attended a special OLLI event hosted by the hospital and open to the community.

In a Friday class in December, Dianne will present Patient Advocacy in Healthcare, focusing on advocating for yourself and others in the hospital and outpatient settings. Dianne has advocated for patients over five decades as a registered nurse in adult and pediatric critical care units, emergency rooms, public health nursing, high tech homecare, administration, and nursing education.

Raised in the Lehigh Valley of eastern Pennsylvania, Dianne earned a nursing diploma at Montgomery Hospital School of Nursing in Norristown, Pennsylvania. She married her high school sweetheart and followed him to Okinawa during his U.S. Army days.

On Okinawa, she was the charge nurse in the intensive care unit of the

U.S. Army hospital and cared for soldiers wounded in Vietnam. After Army years, the couple moved to northern Virginia, where Dianne earned her BSN and MSN at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virgin.  The couple spent 40 years in Virginia, where they raised their two sons.

After retirement, the couple returned to Pennsylvania to the family grain and hay farm, which has been in the family for over 100 years. Dianne enjoys yoga, swimming, gardening, reading, and playing the piano.

Dianne’s two sons are both active-duty military. Jason is a colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps, and Drew and his wife, Kelly, are both captains in the U.S. Navy.

For Dianne, traveling to visit her three grandchildren, currently in San Diego, is a top priority, along with spending winters in Florida.

--Shirley Herring

Volunteering With OLLI Lets You Follow Your Passion!

Attend a free, no-obligation volunteer information session to learn more about how your knowledge, skills or experience can help OLLI!

The next session will be held Fri., Oct. 25, at 1 p.m. Click here to register.

Have a question? Ask Us Anything about volunteering by emailing

the Ask Team.

--Diane Russell

In April, OLLI added three instructors to the Faculty Honor Roll. This honor recognizes OLLI instructors who have taught 10 or more classes. Over the next few editions, OLLILife will introduce you to those instructors.

Time Travel Through History With Barbara Goldstein

Barbara Goldstein is a cautious person. So much so that for many years, she avoided traveling to faraway places.

But when it comes to time travel, Barbara is fearless. And as an OLLI instructor, she often invites OLLI members to come along with her.

With Barbara, OLLI members have visited the Gilded Age, Edwardian times, and the Victorian era in both England and the U.S. They have witnessed the establishment of Jewish communities in our country’s earliest days. They have watched the Roosevelts – Theodore, Franklin Delano, and Eleanor – make their impact on the world.

It’s not a time machine that Barbara uses to achieve these feats. It’s the power of her imagination – and a lot of research – all provided to the classes she teaches for OLLI.

Last April, Barbara became a member of OLLI’s Faculty Honor Roll Class. She joins a distinguished group of 130 instructors who have volunteered over the years to teach 10 or more classes for OLLI.

Taking A Deep Breath

Barbara has been a teacher most of her professional life, having spent 30 years at Hillsborough Community College as an English professor and as its dean of humanities. She enjoyed the bustle of working and raising her two children with her husband, Bruce.

But 15 years ago, with her children grown and off to college, she began looking for more ways to fill her time. So she became a docent at the Henry B. Plant Museum, started taking OLLI courses, and soon became an OLLI instructor – all while still on HCC’s faculty.

The first class she taught for OLLI was on the three prominent Roosevelts, a family she deeply admires. So much so, she says, that she’s read every book ever written about them. Eleanor is her personal favorite.

“When I was a little girl, I read a lot of biography books. I read one on Eleanor Roosevelt, and I fell I love with her. She became my personal heroine,” Barbara says. “As a child, I was afraid of everything, just like Eleanor. But she said you have to do the things you are afraid of. That always stayed with me. Just take a deep breath and do it.”

One of Barbara’ many popular classes focuses on the Downton Abbey TV series, which spans the Edwardian and Victorian ages in England, another of Barbara’s fascinations that date back to her childhood in Miami and her weekly visits to the library.

“I was always a British literature person. I was always reading books about the British monarchy. They are fascinating stories,” she says.

“You Can Feel Those Ghosts”

Other classes focus on the Gilded Age in America, an interest she developed as a docent at the Plant Museum, a National Historic Landmark that served as a resort for the very rich during that era.

“It was the most interesting time in history -- and the clothes were great,” Barbara quips. “It was much like our time today. There were people who were very wealthy and people who were very poor. People were becoming wealthy from all the new technology. They were patenting stuff and making lots of money, kind of like now.”

Her classes on early New York history and Jewish-American history stem from visits to the area and the interest they sparked.

“When you walk around New York City, you look at the buildings and you know they were something else. What was that before? The Indian Consulate was once [socialite] Carrie Astor’s home. Cartier Jewelry on Fifth Avenue was [railroad and shipping magnate] Morton Plant’s home. You can feel those ghosts,” she says.

It’s those “ghosts,” the people who inhabit the times, that hold the most interest for Barbara. “My classes are more about the people than about the times. The personalities, their lives,” she says. “For example, you have to understand who Theodore Roosevelt was to understand why he did what he did.”

It takes Barbara about a year to put a class together, she says. It takes a lot of research and immersing herself in the topic.

“When you’re really immersed in any historical period, you kind of become part of that period. You’re living in that period,” she says. "When I’m doing Franklin and Eleanor, I’m living in my parents’ time or in Teddy Roosevelt’s time. You’re living in the Gilded Age. You become part of it.

“It’s like being in a time machine,” she says.

Living In The Present

Retired since 2017, Barbara is not just a time traveler. She also lives very much in the present. Until recently, she had spent 15 years as a professional photographer, mainly focusing on weddings, bar mitzvahs and portraits, and she still maintains a studio in her home.

She’s also a tap dancer. Every Tuesday, Barbara dances at a studio in Seminole Heights and periodically at recitals.

She also enjoys traveling with her husband and visiting her grown daughter, son and the five grandchildren she calls “the loves of my life.”

-- Sandy Buckley

SIGnificant EVENTS FOR OCTOBER 2024

Nancy Baily-Williamson, SIG Liaison

PEOPLE NEWS

 In Appreciation

Longtime OLLI member Larry Thurmond recently lost his mother, Eva Thurmond, at the age of 99. He would like say a big "thank you" to everyone who reached out to him during this time and shared their condolences and warmth and support. The overwhelming kindness shown to him was greatly appreciated and helpful at this difficult time for his family. OLLI means so much to him, and he is grateful for the OLLI community surrounding him with love, prayers and encouragement.

Anyone wishing to send a card to Larry can do so to 9805 54^th Street

Temple Terrace, FL 33617-4017.

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.

Send Us Your News

OLLILife wants to share topics of interest that pertain to OLLI-USF and other OLLIs in the country.

Send your article to ollinewsusf@gmail.com to reach your editors Sandy Buckley, Pat Dodge, Veronica Maxwell, and Kathy Palmer. If possible, please send a picture along with the article as pictures help tell the story.