Come for the Programs . . .
* During the pandemic shutdown, meetings moved online with Zoom. We resumed in-person meetings in June 2022 and have continued to offer "hybrid" access by Zoom. Please request a link by sending email 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, contact:
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).
June Program Chair - Marv Gersten
Theme: “From Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, to Brooklyn Technical High School, to….”
- June 6 – "Exploring the Origins and Treatments of Cancer" – Raised in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn and a 1957 graduate of Brooklyn Technical HS, Professor Arnold J. Levine is a teacher, mentor, and researcher in the biological sciences. Presently professor emeritus at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, he is best known for his discovery of the p53 gene, which undergoes a mutation found in over 50 percent of all human cancers and is the single most common mutation to cause cancers. We will hear the stories of the thousands of women and men who contributed the novel ideas and discoveries that changed how we detect, diagnose and treat cancers, and the rewards of lives extended. [in-person & on Zoom -- for access: [email protected]]
- June 13 – "From Brooklyn to Texas, a Judge’s Tale" – Speaker David Hittner, senior judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, was raised in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn where he grew from a Cub Scout to an Eagle Scout. A 1957 graduate of Brooklyn Technical HS, he pursued bachelor's and law degrees from New York University, and served as a US Army infantry captain and paratrooper. He moved to Houston to practice law. He won election to a Texas trial court, and was appointed in 1986 by President Reagan to the U.S. District Court. A scoutmaster, lifelong BSA supporter, and member of a country and western band, Judge Hittner will describe some of his most notable cases, involving Enron, racial gerrymandering, congressional redistricting, cross burning, financial fraud, and drug and sex trafficking. [In-person & on Zoom]
- June 20 – "From Lionel to Garden, My Wonderful Model Railroad Hobby" – Our speaker and MPC Marv Gersten grew up in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, graduated from Brooklyn Technical HS, and, intrigued by the planning and construction of the Eisenhower Interstate and Defense Highway System, began a 52-year consulting engineering career specializing in traffic and transportation engineering. Marv's love of model trains began as a young boy with a set of Lionel trains. He will describe his evolution from Lionel to a small “N” scale 2½ ft. by 5 ft. scenic layout with model town of Westfield buildings, train station, and NJ Transit and Conrail model trains, to a large “G” scale 6 ft. by 20 ft. garden railroad in his former backyard tomato patch. [In-person & on Zoom]
- June 27 – "Forensic Engineering" – Speaker Gordon Meth is a civil engineer and highway engineering expert with expertise in traffic, highway, and site/civil engineering. He applies his expertise to forensic casework involving highway and traffic signal design, municipal engineering, and land development. He has testified before municipal land use boards at over 500 public meetings and has conducted forensic analysis for cases in DC, and Ontario, Canada, a third of which involved fatalities -- half with pedestrians or bicyclists struck by vehicles, and a quarter with pedestrians struck by vehicles in parking lots. Others involved traffic signals or stop signs. Gordon will discuss his work in investigating and testifying on these cases. [In-person & on Zoom]
July Birthdays emcee -- Phil Apruzzese
For speaker photos, visit us on facebook
For an archive of videos of past meetings,
