October Program Chair - Michael Katz
- Oct 5 "Newspaper Obituaries" - Richard Goldstein, former New York Times sports editor and obituary writer, will speak about writing obituaries of famous athletes and other noted personalities. [video]
- Oct 12 "Saxophonist Gerry Mulligan" - Sandy Josephson, author and editor of Jersey Jazz magazine published by the New Jersey Jazz Society, will speak about Gerry Mulligan, renowned American jazz saxophonist, and his book on Gerry. [video]
- Oct 19 "Nursing Homes—The Issues You Should Know" - Linda Ershow-Levenberg, elder law attorney at Fink Rosner Ershow-Levenberg Marinaro, LLC (Clark, NJ), will speak on issues concerning nursing homes. [video]
- Oct 26 "East African Community—A Regional Intergovernmental Organization" Sister Magdalena Chubwa, Order of the Daughters of Mary, will speak about the East African Community, a regional intergovernmental organization of six countries in East Africa, including Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Burundi, and South Sudan. [video]
September Program Chair - Paul Groom
- Sept 7 "Historic Places of Plainfield, New Jersey and the People Behind the Scenes" – Nancy Piwowar, president of the Plainfield Historical Society, provides an overview of Plainfield's role in the Revolutionary War, site of the Blue Hills encampment; Washington Rock, Green Brook; Drake House: Drake family, Caesar, and John Harberger; Muhlenberg Hospital and the Obama connection; Fitz Randolph family; and Evarts Tracy, architect and World War I soldier. Plainfield historic districts are also highlighted. [no video]
- Sept 14 "Rising from the Ashes—World Trade Center 20 Years After 9/11" – We will mark the 20-year anniversary of 9/11 with a review of the World Trade Center. Peter Rinaldi, retired Port Authority engineer, who worked on its original construction, recovery, and was the general manager overseeing its rebuilding, will talk about pre- and post-9/11, but mostly the rebuilding of the facility and revitalization of the area. One World Trade Center is, again, the tallest building in New York City and the World Trade Center site is an active business center, memorial, and vibrant public space. [no video]
- Sept 21 "Institute of Jazz Studies at the Dana Library of Rutgers University" – Vincent Pelote is the senior archivist and digital preservation strategist at the largest jazz library in the world at Rutgers in Newark, New Jersey. Mr. Pelote will describe his work of preserving that most American of cultural endeavors—jazz recordings. He will also describe the development of the Institute and Library from their inception, including the library's treasures and rarities. [video]
- Sept 28 "In 1970, Three Friends Take a Trip from New York to San Francisco in a VW Kombi" – Summit resident Marty Alexander climbs aboard a 1960 VW Microbus and learns about the history of cross-country travel and its impact on the culture and zeitgeist of America. In his book, “The Idea,” Marty looks back at a trip taken a half century ago. It is a memoir of his youth and friendships growing up in Brooklyn leading up to the journey, and a tale of what the travelers discovered about the country as it existed at the close of the turbulent 1960s. [video]
August Program Chair - Eric Hausker
- Aug 3 "The Battle for Clear Air and Water in the Northeast" – Charlie Kratovil of Food & Water Watch will talk about this organization's battle for clear air and water in the Northeast and progress in getting pollution under control. (Originally scheduled for Aug 24) [video]
- Aug 10 "The Steady State Economy – Real Sustainability" – Brian Czech of CASSE (Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy) will talk about the concept of the non-growth oriented economy of the future in which human development and fulfillment will be possible within the strictures of a world economy that does not extract and pollute more and more annually. [video]
- Aug 17 "Climate Justice Amidst the Pandemic & Beyond: What It Means For Our Region" – Doug O'Malley will relate the mission and history of Environment New Jersey, his nongovernmental organization (NGO) which is fighting multiple, endless battles to preserve forests, wildlife, and diversity of the NJ biosphere. [video]
- Aug 24 "The Importance of the Pinelands of New Jersey" – Becky Free of Pinelands Preservation Alliance will discuss the importance of the Pinelands of New Jersey to our environment and the long fight to keep them from being overrun by developers. [video]
- Aug 31 "The Drake Equation for Assessing Extraterrestrial Intelligence" – Aaron Zuckerman of Amateur Astronomers of Cranford will discuss the Drake Equation, which is a tool that cosmologists devised to estimate the number of advanced civilizations in our galaxy that might have reached the stage of being able to communicate with ours. [video]
July Program Chair - Jim Fagan
- July 6 "Moving Cargo into the U.S and Elsewhere in a Post-911 Environment" -- John Donohue, international trade lawyer, will discuss how international customs authorities are coping with the new dual responsibilities of both collecting national revenues through customs assessments and ensuring that cargo entering the country does not pose a threat to our national security. [video]
- July 13 "NASDAQ: Evolution of a Stock Exchange" – Rob Phillips, managing director, NASDAQ, will speak about NASDAQ and the evolution of its operations to include support for public companies in all stages of their business life cycle. He will also give a market overview and cover current developments. [video]
- July 20 "Astronomical Constellations" – Bob Starcher, a teacher at the New Jersey Astronomical Association, will make a presentation on the history of the constellations and what they tell us about the earth’s orbit. [video]
- July 27 "The Extraordinary Art of Mia Wolff" – Mia Wolff, a highly original and provocative Brooklyn based artist, will talk about her art and give us a Zoom tour of her art studio. [video]
June Program Chair - Alan Haveson
- June 1 "2021 Industrial Manufacturing & Distribution" Ann Arnott, executive vice president / CEO Power Transmission Distributors Association, will discuss the roles, efforts, and challenges for the industrial distribution industry and the relationship with manufacturers serving the industrial marketplace. She will also provide insight into what the industry is doing to offer education / job opportunities for rewarding career experiences. [video]
- June 8 "Union County College – Its Foundation and the Students" – Doug Rouse, Union County College Foundation executive director, will discuss the role the foundation plays in working with students whose opportunity for a continuing education involves resources like scholarships and mentoring services. An emphasis will be on the decline of applications to all the community colleges ... pandemic, economic, or politically influenced. [video]
- June 15 "The Union County Gateway Chamber of Commerce – A Value Added Benefit to the Community" – Jim Coyle, president, Gateway Regional Chamber of Commerce, will discuss the role of the chamber in Union County, its relationship with the business community, local service providers, and efforts of the Educational and Scholastic Committee [video]
- June 22 "Imagine – A Center for Coping with Loss" – Nicole Hudson & Jamie Saltamachia will relate to us the services offered by Imagine in Mountainside, a grief support center for children, young adults and families dealing with the death or life-altering illness of a parent, sibling or child. [video]
- June 29 "Questions with Answers on a Style of Living in Our Senior Years" – Brian Cassidy, sales director at Lantern Hill, New Providence, will discuss considerations for independent living and the pros and cons of what type of planning should be considered. [video]
May 2021 Program Chair - Nolan Asch
- May 4 "The Precedents of the Preſident – 1789" – Rich Rosenthal, historian, popular lecturer, and president of the NJ Civil War Roundtable. There is only one No. 1, and that No. 1 was our first president, George Washington, who walked on hallowed ground (his words) to set the standard for future presidents. [video]
- May 11 "Saving the Human Race (from Comets & Asteroids) – Part 3" – Nolan Asch, Old Guard member, has given two prior talks on this crucial topic (in 2014 & 2017). He will reprise the history, and highlight more recent developments, of which there have been many, including asteroid Bennu which saw the first landing of a U.S. space probe on an asteroid to harvest material and return it for study, to arrive home in 2023. Japan has already collected asteroid samples. [video]
- May 18 "Samuel Adams – Instigator for Independence" – Grab a beer and learn from Rand Scholet how Sam Adams utilized information technology and social media to foment a revolution against the mother country, England, leading to the title, “Father of the American Revolution.” He was well known as tenacious, intelligent, and passionate, while his handiwork could be seen in every major initiative against British rule, perplexing the leading ministers of the day in England. [video]
- May 25 "Covid-19 – Part 2" – Robert Martin’s address to Old Guard in January was enormously informative and popular. He has graciously agreed to return and tell us more of what’s been learned about this remarkable coronavirus and what’s been happening since January in the fight to tame it. [video]
April 2021 Program Chair - Bob van der Valk
- Apr. 6 "Passport to Penguins" – Vanessa Darras, naturalist, Somerset County Park Commission, will take you to the bottom of the globe in an adventure in learning about our black and white waddle-y friends, the penguins. She will discuss their varieties, their environment, their diet, and more. [no video]
- Apr. 13 "Yoga" – Raghuvir (Ravi) Rustagi, yoga teacher, author, retired nuclear engineer and Old Guard member, will discuss the history and traditions of yoga and its relevance to the total health of seniors. Yoga asanas and pranayama postures will be demonstrated for performance in your chair. Join this Zoom class in your active-wear, having breakfasted at least one hour before. [video]
- Apr. 20 "The Art of Persuasion and Effective Negotiation" – Lawrence D. Eichen, attorney, negotiator, mediator. This presentation centers on The Power of E=MC^5, a unique formula that will exponentially improve anyone's negotiation abilities, whether for business purposes or to improve personal relationships. Emphasis will be on the five core components of the formula: Commitment, Confidence, Courage, Compassion, and Calmness. [video conference]
- Apr. 27 "World Oil Analysis" – Tom Kloza, Oil Price Information Service analyst, will discuss downstream oil markets from the perspective of his four decades of providing expert commentary to print and electronic media,especially during times of oil volatility. [no video]
March 2021 Program Chair - Jay Leatherbee
- Mar. 2 "Women in the Revolutionary War" – Joel Farkas, a well-known lecturer at The Florham Institute for Lifelong Learning at Fairleigh Dickinson University, will talk about the support roles women played in the Revolutionary War including aspects little known to this day, such as the story of a woman who dressed as a man in order to fight on the front lines.. [video]
- Mar. 9 "Shipwrecked on a Deserted Island" – Old Guardian Jay Leatherbee will relate his experiences with five other people on a chartered 40-foot sailboat shipwrecked in the Bahamas. A storm came up suddenly on an overnight sail, and they tried unsuccessfully to seek refuge. They were washed up on a coral reef on an uninhabited island where Jay was marooned for six days before being rescued. [video]
- Mar. 16 "March Outlook 2021" – David G. Dietze, managing principal, senior portfolio strategist at Peapack Private Wealth Management, will speak on the outlook for markets in 2021. How will the new Biden administration affect the economy and the markets? How should you best position your investments amid the COVID-19 vaccine rollout? What potential tax changes may occur and how might they affect your income? [video]
- Mar. 23 "The U.S. Constitution" – Old Guard member, Nolan Asch, will be speaking about a very timely topic: the U.S. Constitution. He says to develop a deep understanding of the U.S. Constitution, we need to understand the events before, during, and after the May to September 1787 meeting in Philadelphia that we now call the Constitutional Convention. [video]
- Mar. 30 "Banking Now and in the Future" – Kevin Cummings, CEO and chairman of Investors Bank, which has become the 50th largest bank in the U.S., will talk about the history of banking since it became more regulated after 2008. He will also offer thoughts on expectations for the next four years. [video]
February 2021 Program Chairs - Mitch Erickson & Steve Varley
- Feb. 2 "The Fierce Urgency of Now" – Margaret McMenamin, President of Union County College, will describe the college's work to help students and their families achieve economic and social mobility through higher education. Since her arrival in July of 2010, President McMenamin has refocused the institution on student success with a particular emphasis on equity. UCC is a federally designated Minority Serving / Hispanic Serving Institution where 70% of the 20,000 students are Black or Hispanic. [video]
- Feb. 9 "A Contrarian View of Julius Caesar's Assassination" – Summit Old Guard's Foster Osborne will pose questions such as: Was the assassination a good or bad thing? Did he deserve it? Was he a great leader or a despicable tyrant? And what makes his assassination the most famous in history? (Spoiler alert: It helps to have William Shakespeare write about it). [video]
- Feb. 16 "Student/Partner Alliance (S/PA)" – Executive Director Maggie Momber will describe how Summit-based S/PA increases low-income student success through scholarships and mentoring. Over 25 years S/PA has supported more than 2,200 scholarships for high school students from the Newark and Jersey City areas. This combination is key to S/PA's 100% high school graduation and college admissions rate over the past five years. [video]
- Feb. 23 "COVID-19 Vaccines" – Dr. Ashish Parikh, Chief Quality Officer at Summit CityMD (formerly Summit Medical Group), will talk about COVID-19 vaccines, their safety and efficacy and will answer all our questions. [video]
January 2021 Program Chair - Al Aho
- Jan. 5 "What Should a Well-Informed Person Know About Computers?" – Brian Kernighan is a professor of computer science at Princeton University and one of the original Unix Pioneers at Bell Labs. Brian will describe his experiences teaching "Computers in Our World," a first year course designed to inform non-technical students how modern hardware, software and communications systems operate." [video]
- Jan. 12 "SARS-CoV-2 – The Mouse that Roared" – Robert Martin, former CTO of Bell Labs and VP at Bellcore, will discuss the historically quite tame SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 that is causing historic economic, political, and behavioral disruptions. Bob will cover COVID-19 – the cause, prevention, and treatment – and the consequential behaviors. Who would have thought a year ago we would become facile with terms like super-spreader and herd immunity? [video]
- Jan. 19 "Adventures in Biking Europe with a Father of the Internet" – Robert Lucky is a former executive director of research at Bell Labs and VP of research at Telcordia. In recent years, Bob took a dozen bike trips through Europe with his close friend, Len Kleinrock, one of the fathers of the Internet. These were roll-your-own, meticulously planned trips. What could possibly go wrong? His talk is about what they learned as well as the joys of these great adventures. [video]
- Jan. 26 "Future Cameras" – Shree Nayar is T.C. Chang Professor of Computer Science at Columbia University, head of the Columbia Vision Laboratory, and a member of the National Academy of Inventors. Shree will describe computational imaging and show examples of novel cameras that are changing the way visual information is being used by both humans and machines. He will also describe Bigshot, his educational experiential camera that has been used to teach science and photography to kids in underserved communities around the globe. [no video]
