Come for the Programs . . .
* Since the Covid shutdown, we have been running in-person meetings with "hybrid" access by Zoom. To join by Zoom send a request to [email protected]
Meetings start at 9:30 AM with coffee and socializing. At 10:00 we sit down, sing a song or two, and hear a few jokes & announcements. The day's invited speaker starts at around 10:30. Visitors are asked to arrive by 10:00 AM.
Note: For the present, in-person attendance requires full Covid vaccination. Face masks are optional.
Programs consist of stimulating talks by people such as past governors, mayors, politicians, physicians, Nobel Prize winners, judges, professors, historians, scientists, authors, economists, journalists, financial advisors, medical specialists, conservationists, etc. The following Q&A is lively. Put on your business casual attire or jacket & tie (or something more casual from May to September) and attend a meeting with us. All visitors are welcome. Admission is free.
Stay for the Friends*
After the meetings, many members join together to have lunch at various local restaurants.
In addition to the weekly meetings, there are activity groups for golf, bridge, hiking, trips, computer help, tennis and more.
* Or, as one member put it recently, "Come for the Jokes, Stay for the Talks", since we start each meeting by singing a few songs and enjoying a few jokes :-)
Policy on Weather Cancellations
During very bad weather or when the NPPC is unavailable to us, our meetings simply move online with Zoom. We will post a notice at this website and send an email to members.
For more information:
On Retiring – A Stimulating Road Ahead
Where will you find a sense of purpose and satisfaction? How will you find mental stimulus and a sense of community? Click on this PDF file to consider an answer to these questions.
Donations to Old Guard are welcome and greatly appreciated (although they are not tax deductible).
Dues are $55 a year with a $10 early-payment discount and can be paid by using this dues link.
October Program Chair - Mitch ErIckson
- Oct. 1 -- The Toucan and the Sublime -- Some of the discoveries made in the New World in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries were just too much for European natural history to handle. Among those curious new discoveries was the toucan, whose forms and functions remained a mystery for well over a century. Join Rick Wright in a historical, literary, and artistic exploration of the halting reception of this outlandish tropical bird in early modern Europe. After an academic career, Rick now leads bird and art tours for Victor Emanuel Nature Tours in Europe and the Americas. He also publishes extensively about birds. [in-person and on Zoom -- For access: [email protected]]
- Oct. 8 -- Prison and Bail Reform in NJ -- New Jersey is one of the states that has struck the right balance on bail reform. It has eliminated cash bail, lowered pretrial detainee prison population and actually made New Jerseyans safer in the process. That cannot be said of other states such as New York. Our speaker Charles B. McKenna is a partner with Riker Danzig in Morristown and is the former executive director of the New Jersey Schools Development Authority and chief counsel to Chris Christie, the former governor of New Jersey. [in-person and on Zoom]
- Oct. 15 -- Ladies Day Luncheon—No Meeting
- Oct. 22 -- The Carbon Almanac -- The Carbon Almanac is a best seller! Our speaker Robert Gehorsam will discuss how this book came to be written, and in particular, describe how it came to exist—300 volunteers from 42 countries with little to no expertise in climate science or in publishing—and more importantly, why his project has become a compelling model for collective action in climate control going forward. Robert currently advises several climate-related investment funds and research firms, consults to a wide range of technology start-ups and impact-oriented nonprofits, and has had a career as a corporate media and tech executive as well as start-up founder. He’s been an advisor to DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) and just completed teaching an undergraduate course on entrepreneurship and social impact at Grinnell College, where he earned his B.A. in religious studies and English literature. [in-person and on Zoom]
- Oct. 29 -- How to Value Priceless -- Valuations of Intellectual Property, Business Startups, and Who is Investing -- What are the methods of valuation of an early-stage company? Such methods provide entrepreneurs with a set of criteria that are essential to persuading both customers and investors effectively. Our guest Chris Droussiotis lives in New Providence and is co-founder and senior partner at Kinisis Ventures (a seed, pre-seed business startup investment firm). He lectures at Columbia University, and is the author of three books. [in-person and on Zoom]
November Birthdays emcee - John Tomaszewski
For speaker photos, visit us on facebook
For an archive of videos of past meetings,
