Come for the Programs . . .
* Since the Covid shutdown ended, 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 to sign in.
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 follow-up 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 using this dues link.
March Program Chair - David Bondy
- Mar 3 - Perspectives on the Middle East from a Former U.S. Ambassador – Recently retired, Steven Bondy had been a U.S. ambassador to Bahrain. He will speak about the role of the Foreign Service in advancing U.S. policies internationally, describe his 34-year career with the State Department, and, as a career Middle East specialist, will discuss topics, conflicts, and trends that are strategic to interests of the United States in the region. Among other achievements, he led 6,000 employees and contractors as COO at the U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan, worked to reconcile armed militias fighting U.S. and local forces in Iraq, assisted Jordan and Israel to negotiate their 1994 peace agreement, created the 2023 U.S.–Bahrain Comprehensive Security Integration and Prosperity Agreement, and confronted Iranian interference and aggression throughout the region. [in-person and on Zoom -- for access: [email protected]]
- Mar 10 - Bridge: A Fun Card Game for Players of All Ages –local bridge teacher and author Rick Hartley will talk about the many facets of bridge. He’ll describe his own journey into the land of bridge, highlight celebrities who play bridge with some interesting quotes, discuss the many personal benefits to playing bridge, describe a scandal in an otherwise honorable game, provide an overview of how to play the game, explain why it might be the only “perfect” card game, and where you can learn to play it. [in-person and on Zoom]
- Mar 17 - Life in the Soviet Union - Author Anat Shmulovich will be interviewed about her book Where the Night Train Ends: How I survived Russia, Ukraine and the loss of the Man I Loved. The Book is a personal memoire of her youth in the Soviet Union describing her passion for advancing her education in music, as well as the personal challenges and sacrifices she and her family made along the way. It also describes the experience of life in the Soviet Union in the 1960s and the repression and anti semitism experienced by Anat and her family. She will discuss issues raised in the book and read passages that highlight important milestones in her life. [in-person and on Zoom]
- Mar 24 - Investment Strategies for the Retired Investor – Our guests Matthew Wunder and Samantha (Sam) Keane will speak on several investment, tax, and estate planning topics for the retired investor. Matthew is a partner at Park Avenue Capital, an investment advisory firm associated with Northwestern Mutual, and Sam is an account manager and certified financial planner. They will discuss investment strategies deployed by Park Avenue Capital that are designed to produce attractive after-tax returns with reduced risk for their clients, as well as providing insightful tax, retirement, and estate management strategies. [in-person and on Zoom]
- Mar 31 - The Intersection of Art and Science: Art by Humans and Machines – Speaker Larry O’Gorman will describe how technology has contributed to the creation of visual art from the time of Experiments in Art and Technology (E.A.T.) in the 1960s to today’s era of generative AI (artificial intelligence). Over this period, the artist’s role has evolved from solitary creator to orchestrator of immersive viewer experiences to one where the “brushwork” has been ceded to artificial intelligence. Larry, a Fellow at Nokia Bell Labs who has personally collaborated with artists in this type of art, will show a sampling of the interactive artworks starting with the Experiments in Art and Technology that involved New York artists working with Bell Labs engineers in the 1960s and up to the present day.With this increasing use of AI technologies, we will ask the question: whose creation is this—human or machine? [in-person and on Zoom]
April Birthday emcee: John Tomaszewski
For speaker photos, visit us on facebook
For an archive of videos of past meetings,
