Encore Vol. XIV, No. 1 Members� Newsletter August 2010 Fall 2010: Courses, Courses For Every Taste Travel-learn goes �Back To John�s Harvest Inn� He�ll do it again�just for Encore! Busy chef and restaurant proprietor John Botti offers a one session �John�s Surprise� cooking experience October 7. Classified as a Travel- Learn opportunity, this experience will choose participants from an experimental lottery drawing. All members who send in a registration form will be in that lottery, notes our Steering Committee who hopes this method will be an opportunity for members who have been closed out of this always popular offering. So return the completed form and check asap. What are you hungering to learn about? To learn to do? Jewish pirates of the Caribbean? Seniors and crime prevention? Mah Jongg? Writing a short play? Then you will want to check out the fine schedule of Fall courses, say Shirley Gordon and Bob Foglia, Curriculum co-chairs. The Fall 2010 schedule offers tantalizing opportunities from new and repeat short-term courses. In addition to those noted above, consider what you can learn and do in: . Words & Movies I . Conductorsize . The Morning Show (TV) . Matisse: His Career & Major Role . The Economy So Far . Spoken German For Beginners . Ballet For Seniors . History of Jazz . Wonderful World of Baroque Music Membership includes registration for two courses each year. Additional choices can be added for a minimal $10/course. See more, p.6. Select From Delightful Buffet John Botti of John�s Harvest Inn Need Special Access To Classrooms? If you can�t navigate the usual entrances to our SUNY Orange learning areas, use the Encore Accessibility Guide enclosed with the Fall mailing. Follow the guidelines there. Copies are also available from the Encore office. Philipsburg Manor Travel-Learn Back In Time, Near At Hand Join us for yet another Travel-Learn experience, September 1. And it�s almost in our own �back yard.�We�ll visit historic Philipsburg Manor just over the Tappen Zee Bridge. This restored 1750s farming, milling and trading center offers tours of the Manor House, Grist Mill & Dutch Barn; its historic interpreters tell us of the slaves who worked the estate, the textile processes, the gardening techniques in the 18th century. After group and individual tours, there�s lunch at the Sunset Cove Restaurant overlooking the Hudson River. See flyer for details. New Members: Join us at the New Member Orientation, 1 pm, Friday, August 27, in the Music Room, Morrison Hall. After the meeting and refreshments, there is an Optional Campus Tour. This will acquaint you with building and classroom areas as well as college history. Candid Camera Records Encore Members & Events May, June, July: Encore members kept learning and living the active life. And our candid camera was there to record everyone. Below are some of those moments: June Members� Meeting ice cream bar and audience enjoying keynoter Ron DeFesi�s music. From Encore�s President Welcome, everyone, to Encore�s 14th year of lifelong learning. As this issue details, our exciting year will be filled with challenging courses, vibrant instructors, and YOU. Right now, I�d like to update you on key items our Steering Committee has worked on during these last months: . Extending membership opportunities. Because of past waiting lists, we�ve raised our membership cap from 350 to 400. The actual 2010-11 membership total should be available in September. . Extending our office services & availability. Funding our own office staff, we have Linda and Kathy, two seasoned retired Civil Service professionals, for regular M-Th office hours (8-11 a.m.) They now insure more timely printings & mailings, email & phone contacts, and response to member queries. . Making high demand, limited seating offerings open to more members. We�re experimenting with a lottery system for enrollment in one session, limited seating, off campus offerings like �John�s Surprise.� Seats will be filled by drawing member registrations out of a �hat.� Checks will be returned to those whose names are not drawn. . Continuing our partnership with SUNY Orange. With SUNY Orange as our sponsor, Encore is participating in two college initiatives: �Going Green� for which we�ve sponsored a recycling bin near Morrison Hall, and May 2010 AT Expo� where we staffed an Encore info booth. While we fund our staff, office, supplies and printing (thus the need for a rise in annual dues), we thank the college for office space and ongoing college faculty & support staff volunteers (see p. 3 in this issue). What does Encore�s future hold? Learning, learning, learning. Come along with us this year. Send us your suggestions for even more educational opportunities. june ice cream crowd 1 Members look up and up during the tour of Grand Central Station, our May 2010 Travel- Learn trip in NYC. june audience 1 Meanwhile, Rhoda Pollock shares Encore info with a visitor at SUNY Orange�s AT EXPO, also in May. GCS 5 inside looking up at expo rhoda booth Gert Mokotoff gert mokotoff 2 Encore & SUNY Orange Celebrating A Lively, Learning Partnership Do the faces at the left seem familiar? They should because you�ve met them during Encore�s 14 years of operation---teaching Encore classes, giving special talks, founding and serving on the Steering Committee, supporting Encore activities in a dozen other ways. And where have they come from? All are among the current or retired members of the SUNY Orange faculty, staff and administration who have participated in our activities. What they also represent is the vital partnership between us and the college that always benefits YOU, the senior learners that both the college and Encore serve. What has this decade and a half partnership resulted in? 1. An effective way to bring lifelong learning to the senior citizens of the Orange County community . Encore plans, implements and coordinates the courses, trips and special events each Fall and Spring semester that bring senior learners to the college. Serving that contingent is also part of a community college�s mission. 2. Additional membership benefits. Encore membership provides course, travel-learn and special event access; the college adds use of the college�s library, recreational venues and information about college cultural programs. 3. A practical base of operations for Encore. The college provides our classroom, meeting & office space; college staff help us to schedule classrooms, use equipment, and facilitate member communications. Encore delivers the actual learning opportunities and funds our staff, materials and other expenses. 4. The establishment of our organization itself. 14 years ago the college sponsored the founding meeting of community citizens and SUNY Orange faculty, staff & administrators. Together they created Encore�s mission, design, structure, constitution & bylaws. 5. That vibrant component of volunteer teachers, staff and administrators�current & retired�who augment our faculty & special presenters. They continue to join with volunteer teachers and speakers from the Orange County community who create and teach our courses. So celebrate this partnership as you attend our Fall classes, take a Travel-Learn excursion, attend the New Members and Annual Members� meetings. Say thanks to SUNY Orange; continue to be lifelong learners! Above:B. Richards, M. Garnowski, R. Heppner, T. Zeszutek, B. Foglia, G. Mokotoff, H. Elia, p. Basinski, P. Abt, C. Godwin,H, Clarke, E. Godwin, L. Smith, K. Hamilton, B. Kass, F. Hannes, H. Sherman, S. Stiles, R. Smith, A. Charnukchan, M. Larsen, J. Hamburg., N. Griffin. NOTE: There are many more for whom we do not have photos. Spotlight on Anne Foland, New Columnist Most Encorers know Anne Foland as our mistress of quilting and instructor, Quilting courses. But this dynamite 84-year-young senior has now added a mighty pen and a host of published newspaper columns to her name and expertise. She�s authoring a new column, �Long Ago But Near At Heart,� which has appeared twice weekly since April 2010 in the Sullivan County Democrat . What does she write about? Stories from her childhood and teenage years in Callicoon, NY where, she explains, her family published that same newspaper and, living above the newspaper offices, she had a great vantage point from which to observe the goings-on among the townspeople, stores and homes. She shares the story of a local minister who performed a wedding and baptized a new baby for the same couple--- 20 minutes apart. She recounts her interactions with the post office clerk she always called �Francis,� only to discover years later his name was George. �Why did you let me do that?� she asked. �Because,� he answered, �you seemed so sure that was my name!� She recounts the games they played as kids or how they used to float on inner tubes along the Delaware, using an umbrella as a sail. Why take up writing and publishing at this time in her life? �I realized,� Anne explains, �that these stories �are the stuff in my head but nobody else�s.� They evoke memories in older readers, and enlighten younger readers, who have expressed delight in learning about them. Applause for Seymour Gordon, recipient of the Orange County Outstanding Contribution by a Senior Award, 2010. Nydia Talley, seated, who celebrated her 100th birthday with her daughter and Porta Nickles at the June Members� Meeting. Gert Mokotoff new Vice- President, SUNY Orange Board of Trustees; Bob & Helen Elia retiring after 36 yrs�and 7000+ students they taught to dance via the college�s Continuing Ed program. Congratulations to All of You !!! Then it�s time for some more quilting and teaching. She runs her weekly �Quilting Bee� at the Wallkill Town Center, her Spring semester class for Encore, and still finds time for her 4 children, 6 grandchildren and 3 � �great grands,� the last due later this year. One of the first adult women to return to college in the 1970s, she traveled 75 miles each way to Oneonta every day, earning a 3.62 average and her BS in Elementary Ed. She then taught in area schools. Quilting started in 1992; her writing, just this year! They do much more, Anne explains. �They show how life is really funny if you have the right eyes to see it. That�s why people get a kick out of it�they tug at their memories.� So Anne showed her work to her nephew, now the newspaper�s publisher; he suggested doing a column. She�s made a list of stories she wants to tell; she jots down 4-5 pages of hints and details, then writes a longhand draft, edits it, and turns it in. More Members� Meeting Highlights The faces say it all, don�t they? At our annual Members� Meeting in June, Encorers delighted in mingling with each other, sampling the ice cream sundae bar from Blueberry Mountain, and following along with Ron DeFesi�s musical program. During the short business meeting, the Steering Committee reported on travel- learn plans, conducted the election of Steering Committee members, and reviewed the Fall repertoire of courses. Once again our sponsor, SUNY Orange, welcomed us into the Shepard Center cafeteria; we thank college maintenance workers for setting up the area for us. And for next June? Encore, encore, encore! Olana includes the original designs and their implementation by Church, a prominent member of the Hudson River School of Painting. The tile work, the stenciled wall and window decorations, the splendid use of natural lighting enhance this estate. Guides also point out many family possessions and tell stories of famous visitors. Frederic Church�s Olana and the Hudson River from on high were two works of true art for members, June 25. Our guided tour included the estate, the beautiful interiors, the gardens, and the Museum display. And then� Encore Marveled At Olana & The Hudson River Top left to lower right: Nydia, Gert & daughter; Ron De Fesi; yummy ice cream; friendly chatter; more sundaes; a great member smile; and just enjoying each other! Try These New Fall 2010 Courses How To Contact Encore 1. Call the office (341-4896). Our hrs are M-Th , 8 a.m.-11 a.m. Leave a voice mail message if you are asked to. Include your name and phone number, plus a brief reason for your call. 2. Email us at encore@ sunyorange.edu. Learn Basic Genealogy If you have ever wondered about how to find out about the who or where or when of your family�s history, here�s a new three-session course, GENEALOGY FOR BEGINNERS. It includes three sessions on basic steps to starting your genealogical research and an optional fourth class at the Orange County Genealogical Society. Instructor Elmire Conklin has extensive background with the Orange County Land Trust, Board of the Orange County Genealogical Society,and a genealogical Elderhostel based at the Warwick Conference Center. Keep up with Encore by using our webpage (at left) on the SUNY Orange website. You�ll find our course schedule (posted in August & February), travel-learn details, photos from our trips and meetings, back issues of our newsletter, and membership info. How do you get there? Follow these steps: 1. On the Internet, go to http://www.sunyorange.edu . 2. On the upper black ribbon, click on �About Us�. 3. When the menu drops down, click on �ENCORE�. 4. When our webpage appears, click on the subject areas in the light blue box at the left. An Internet �How To� For Encore Members At left, Alan Lewis; at right, Tim Zeszutek. SENIORS AND CRIME PREVENTION: 3 sessions Bob notes that this course is designed to inform participants about how seniors can take the initiative in crime prevention. Its instructor, Tim Zeszutek, brings deep experience as a criminal investigator, state policeman, and SUNY Orange Criminal Justice instructor. Guest speakers will also be included. WRITING A 10-MINUTE PLAY: 2 sessions How about unlocking the writer and story teller in you? During this fascinating course, you�ll read published 10-minute plays and discuss how they illustrate basic elements of drama. Then you�ll write your own and sharing them with the class. Instructor Donna Spector is a veteran published writer from our own Orange County. TREE & SHRUB SELECTION FOR THE HOME GARDEN: 1 session Gardening and landscaping are two popular avocations among us. Shirley observes. So Alan Lewis, a retired educator & horticulturist, will help us learn to choose the correct trees and shrubs for our properties. He�ll do a one hour classroom presentation on planting, pruning and garden design basics, followed by a 2 hour walking and talking tour of the SUNY Orange gardens. Rain or shine! What we want to learn: that�s been the guide by which Encore�s Curriculum Co-Chairs Bob Foglia and Shirley Gordon have used to set up the Fall 2010 schedule. So here is more detail about some of the newcomer offerings.