Technology User Group (TUG) Discussions for all users at all levels via Zoom, after the regular meeting, at about 11:45 a.m. (First and fourth Tuesdays of the month).
- May 7 -- User issues & technology discussion
- May 28 -- Steve Varley will lead a discussion on "Negotiating with service vendors"
Timely Topics Discussion via Zoom, with participation encouraged from all in attendance. Usually at 11:45 a.m. on the second Tuesday of the month.
- May 10 -- We will discuss - Refugees and asylum seekers: What should the US do? Are we ready to welcome the ”huddled masses"?
Trips Scheduled (For Old Guard members and guests)
- No trips for the duration of the COVID crisis
Walkers Group walks are suspended during the COVID-19 shutdown and will resume when it is safe. Please stay tuned.
May Program Chair - Art Williams
- May 3 - "Our Plans for the Future" – Lamont Repollet, president, Kean University, will speak of the past and the future of Kean University. Kean began in Newark in 1855 as the Newark Normal School to educate teachers, became New Jersey State Teachers College in 1937, and relocated in 1958 to Union Township, site of the Kean family's ancestral home at Liberty Hall. Kean is now the third largest institution of higher education in New Jersey and the only public college or university in the US with a foreign campus (in Wenzhou, China). [video]
- May 10 - "Our Health Care Mission" – Clelia Biamonti, president, Overlook Foundation, joined the Overlook Foundation as executive director in 2017 and has a PhD degree in biochemistry. She returns to Old Guard to give us an update on Overlook Hospital’s response to Covid, getting through it, and now moving on to pursue excellence as a full service, cutting-edge hospital in a small suburban town. [video to appear]
- May 17 - "The EV Revolution is Upon Us" - Shani Jarvis of AAA will present facts and ideas. Your next car may well be an electric vehicle (EV). Have you thought about which one appeals to you, or even the criteria for deciding? How would you charge it? What about batteries? How do you figure electricity costs? What about this strange disease called, “range anxiety,” the fear of your battery going dead in a strange neighborhood? (Strange because supposedly only people who don’t have EVs have this disease.) [video to appear]
- May 24 - "Honeybees and Beekeeping" – Old Guard member Walt Meissner will tell us about this interesting subject—which we should all pay more attention to! Many people are allergic to bee stings. Bees pollinate our flowers, and more importantly, our plant-based food, without which those crops would be lost. Bees are endangered. Are we doing enough to protect them? [video conference -- contact: [email protected]]
- May 31 - "The End of An / Our Empire?" – Our speaker, financier Ray Dalio, has written about the rise and fall of empires. In the 17th century the Dutch were the dominant country in trade and military power, and the guilder the center of finance. Then Great Britain took its place, with the British pound the reserve currency. Now the US and the US dollar hold the honors. But can we keep them? Are we slipping off the throne? How soon could this happen? Are there telltale signs? And what do we do about it? [video conference]
June Birthday emcee - Phil Abruzzese
June Program Chair - Jim Shanley
- Jun 7 - "How the Irish Saved Civilization" - Dr. Dermot Quinn is professor of history at Seton Hall University. He has a degree from Trinity College Dublin and a PhD from the University of Oxford. He will talk about Irish monks in Europe in the Middle Ages and how they kept Christianity alive when it was on the verge of extinction. [video conference]
- Jun 14 - "A History of the Inventors of the Stanley Steam Cars" - Chatham residents Sarah Stanley and her husband Don Davidson are avid collectors of antique automobiles. Don has restored several cars, including an 1899 Locomobile Steam Carriage, which will be presented via video and it may even be brought to our meeting if we go live. Sarah will discuss the early history of Francis and Freelan Stanley (twins), her ancestors. She will discuss how the development of the Stanley Dry Plate funded the twins’ future. She will also discuss the Stanley connection to Chatham, New Jersey, which began in the 1860s. [video conference]
- Jun 21 - " Life in the Ukraine Shortly After the demise of the Soviet Union" - Albie Ashbrook who currently lives in Chatham and is the librarian at the Long Hill Township Library. From 1995 to 2000 she was contracted to USAID/State Department at the US Embassy in Kyiv. While stationed in Kyiv she traveled throughout the country working on agricultural privatization projects. After leaving Ukraine, she was stationed in Bucharest, Romania and Hong Kong. [video conference]
- Jun 28 - "Life as a US Navy Helicopter Pilot" - US Representative Mikie Sherrill is a graduate of the US Naval Academy. She spent 10 years on active duty during which time she obtained her master’s degree at the London School of Economics. After leaving the Navy, she earned a law degree from Georgetown University Law School. She worked as a US attorney. She was elected to Congress in 2016 and represents New Jersey’s 11th district. She is married with four children and lives in Montclair. [video conference]
July Birthday emcee - Phil Abruzzese