July Program Chair -- Mort O'Shea
- July 4 -- Holiday -- No Meeting
- July 11 -- "How the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention Helps Tackle the Scourge of Suicide" -- Our speaker Beth Stapleton was introduced to the AFSP (www.afsp.org) after losing her son. Now she is a statewide volunteer coordinator and board member. She will tell us the history of the foundation and explain how it fights suicide, supports survivors, and advocates for mental health. [NOTE: July 11 Meeting on Zoom ONLY due to a church event in Parish Hall]
- July 18 -- "The Immigration System: Is it Fixable?" -- Speaker John Miano, a former computer programmer turned lawyer, serves as counsel for the Immigration Reform Law Institute (www.irli.org), an advocacy group. He will review our troubled immigration system, emphasizing its effects on employment and the prospects for change. Both Republicans and Democrats are responsible for the problems with immigration policy. In 2015, Mr. Miano and co-author Michelle Malkin published Sold Out, an exposé focused on foreign workers displacing Americans. He is a frequent contributor of articles for the Center for Immigration Studies, another advocacy group. [in-person and on Zoom]
- July 25 -- "The Supreme Court: Its Recent History and Decisions" -- Presenter Ian Drake, associate professor at Montclair State University (as well as a former practicing attorney), returns to the Old Guard with a review of the Supreme Court’s recent decisions, also touching upon the politics of nominations and the makeup of the court. Prof. Drake is an expert on the American judiciary and legal system, the U.S. Supreme Court, and constitutional history. [in-person and on Zoom]
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. He has held faculty positions at Princeton University, SUNY Stony Brook School of Medicine, Rockefeller University, and The Institute for Advanced Study, served as president and CEO of Rockefeller University and founder of The Simons Center for Systems Biology at the Institute for Advanced Study. 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]
- June 13 – "From Brooklyn to Texas, a Judge’s Tale" – 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 undergraduate and law degrees from New York University, passed the bar exam in 1964, and joined the U.S. Army serving as an infantry captain and paratrooper. Following his honorable discharge, he moved to Houston, Texas, passed the Texas bar exam, practiced law, won election to a Texas trial court, and in 1986 was nominated by President Reagan to the U.S. District Court and was confirmed unanimously by the U.S. Senate. A scoutmaster, lifelong Boy Scouts of America supporter, and member of a country and western band, Judge Hittner will describe his acclimation to life in the South and 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" – Marv Gersten grew up in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, graduated from Brooklyn Technical HS in 1956, 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 has served as monthly program chairman and birthdays committee chairman and has made presentations to the Math Interest Group on the math of highway engineering and to the Reminiscences Group on his model railroad hobby. His love of model trains began as a young boy with a set of Lionel trains. Marv 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" – 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. Gordon has conducted forensic analysis for cases in 30 states, DC, and Ontario, Canada. About a third of his cases have involved fatalities, half have involved pedestrians or bicyclists struck by vehicles, and a quarter have involved pedestrians struck by vehicles in parking lots. Several others have involved traffic signals or stop signs. Gordon will discuss his work in investigating and testifying on these cases. [in-person & on Zoom]
May Program Chair - Ian Lutes
- May 2 – "Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Community Recycling" – Speaker Melissa Harvey is the manager of Somerset County’s Department of Solid Waste and Recycling. She designs and implements special recycling programs in the county. She will cite China’s decision to stop accepting our recyclables, and the resulting impact on marketing and on how our recyclables (plastics, glass, paper, batteries, etc) are handled. She will discuss recycling markets and shredding/collection events for batteries and electronics throughout Somerset County, and give future projections for recyclables. [no video]
- May 9 – A Hidden Child -- My Experience Hiding from the Germans in WWII" – Maud Dahme is a World War II Holocaust survivor from the Netherlands. Separated from her parents at age six, she went into hiding with her younger sister during the German occupation. The two were placed with a family they had never met and had to understand an alias-family background in case they were ever questioned by the authorities. Their parents went into hiding at a different location. When it was feared the Germans would find them, they moved to another family and continued hiding until the war ended. Maud will relate all this and her eventual emigration to the US. [video]
- May 16 – "Fusion Energy: Progress and Prospects" – Dr. Nathaniel Ferraro, principal research physicist and deputy head of the Theory Department at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, will explain fusion, the process that powers the sun and stars, which offers an opportunity for clean, safe, and plentiful energy on Earth. The way atoms combine and release energy produces no greenhouse gasses, avoids the risks of nuclear fission, and promises to provide an unlimited source of reliable, dispatchable power. However, the process requires sustaining fuel temperatures of 100 million degrees. Learning how to do that economically and reliably has challenged scientists and engineers for decades. Promising advances have emerged lately, causing a spike in investment from private industry, realignment of the goals of the US fusion program, and a commitment from the US executive branch to a “Bold Decadal Vision” for developing fusion energy. [video]
- May 23 – "International Education -- In Search of World Peace" – The Institute of International Education (IIE) was founded in 1919 to prevent war through international educational exchanges. So what happened? The Institute today administers the Fulbright Program on behalf of the US Department of State, as well as other prestigious scholarship programs for multiple governments, foundations, and corporations. Grantees of these programs have won 105 Nobel Prizes in all fields and three of IIE's trustees have won the Peace Prize. Nevertheless, world peace continues to elude us. What's ahead? Why do some believe that higher international education is our best investment toward making the world a less dangerous place? Dr. Allan Goodman, CEO of IIE, will address these questions. [video]
- May 30 -- "Cable-Laying on the High Seas" -- Captain Carl Winter will share his experiences as commander of an ocean-going telecommunications cable-laying ship on the high seas following mapped routes with previously determined bottom terrain. He will explain the use of ploughs to bury the cable (it’s not just laid on the bottom) and how they accommodate reefs. Modern ships can lay up to 125 miles/day up to six miles deep for 8,000 miles without stopping. Cable companies keep their cable laying operations private except to port authorities, municipalities, and shipping companies. Captain Carl will discuss national security risks to cables that are relatively fragile and that can be damaged or intentionally cut. [in-person & on Zoom]
April Program Chair - George Kull
- April 4 – "Is AI Replacing the Artist? Will Artists Become Obsolete?" – George Kull, a Summit Old Guard member, has presented talks on computer security, 5G, and home networking to the Technology Users Group. He has been analyzing current advances in artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms and their implementation. Now with the media all abuzz with AI programs such as ChatGPT and Stable-Diffusion that allow laypersons to replace writers and artists by just entering some simple text, George will give a not-too-technical talk on the generative AI evolution and revolution and whether artists will become obsolete. [video]
- April 11 – "My Experiences in Uganda and Other African Countries" – Tony Visocchi, a Summit Old Guard member, intrigued us at last August’s Birthday Boys celebration when he mentioned that he had “shook the hand of Idi Amin” while in Uganda. Tony will give us a very personal view of his experiences in Uganda and other parts of Africa, including Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, South Sudan, and Tunisia. [video]
- April 18 – "The Evolution of (Affordable) Housing Policy from the Great Depression to the Great Recession" – Vito Gallo, a Summit Old Guard member, has spent 50+ years in the field of housing and community development. He will present his view on these challenging questions: Is there a constitutional right to housing in America? In a private market economy, what is the federal government’s role in housing policy? Isn’t the regulation of housing development a local government responsibility? Is there a legitimate role for state governments? Is there even a housing policy in America? [video]
- April 25 – "Maintaining Mobility as We Age" – Dr. Michelle Millner, a doctor of physical therapy and director of Pilates rehabilitation and training at Better with Physical Therapy in Madison. Just as financial planning is used to reach our financial goals as we age, we need to be focused on bettering strength, flexibility, and mobility to fulfill our activity goals as we age. [video]
March 2023 Program Chair – Jim Blinn
- March 7 – "Finding Common Ground in Divided Times: An Introduction to Braver Angels" – Cindy Mullock, New Jersey state coordinator for Braver Angels, will describe the mission of Braver Angels. As a nonprofit organization, Braver Angels is committed to finding common ground and is equally balanced between conservatives and progressives at every level of leadership. The organization works in communities, on college campuses, in the media, and in the halls of political power to depolarize American politics through grassroots organizing based on patriotic empathy and the idea that our love for our country is shown by our concern for our fellow citizens. [video]
- March 14 – "Under-appreciated Excellence: The Pianism of Duke Ellington" – Marcel Simon, retired from Northrop Grumman and jazz aficionado, whose knowledge was gained from semi-obsessive listening over 45 years of jazz fandom and discussions with numerous jazz experts, will focus on Ellington’s piano style with a few biographical details supplemented by excerpts from various performances recorded during Ellington’s life. [video]
- March 21 – "Islam: Religion, Beliefs, Practices, and Facts" – Saba Laeeq, co-chair, Interfaith Committee, Islamic Community & Cultural Center (ICCC Parsippany), will provide both a historical overview of Islam and of Islam today. Islam is one of the major religions in the world with almost two billion Muslims around the world, just slightly fewer than Christianity, and yet there are misinformation and myths surrounding it. She is looking forward to answering your questions about Islam. [no video]
- March 28 – "Understanding the Most Common Types of Arthritis in Older Adults" – Dr. Dimitri Baldwin,
DPT, COMT, and owner of Blueprint Physical Therapy and Wellness, will
define exactly what arthritis is, its common symptoms, treatment, and
short and long-term management techniques, including the difference
between cortisone injections and gel injections. [video]
February 2023 Program Chair – Pete Bolton
- Feb 7 – "Current Financial Market Promises and Perils" will be laid out by Old Guard member and returning speaker David G. Dietze, JD, CFA, CFP managing principal, senior portfolio strategist at Peapack Private Wealth Management. David's widely-respected opinions are heard on TV, most recently on Bloomberg, TD Ameritrade Network, and Fox. Currently David also heads the Suburban Chamber of Commerce. [video]
- Feb 14 – "GRACE Helping Neighbors" – GRACE founder Amanda Parrish Block, recipient of the Union County Women of Excellence Reward, will explain GRACE’s role in ministering to Summit area residents with 16,000 lbs. of food a week to over 500 families, coats for the winter, and many other helping services. [video]
- Feb 21 – "TheraYouth Foundation: Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapy for Children" – presented by Irina Marcoff, founder and director of Central Physical Therapy in New Providence. Irina is currently busy launching a new non-profit, TheraYouth.org, which will be located in Elizabeth and will provide to inner city kids physical therapy services that would not otherwise be available to them. This has long been a passion of Irina's, since immigrating from the Soviet Union at age 20, and earning her bachelor and doctorate degrees in Physical Therapy at Queens College. [video]
- Feb 28 – "Summit Area YMCA – COVID behind Us" – Returning speaker Paul Kieltyka, president and CEO, will explain trends the Summit Y, now in its 136th year, is seeing: many more groups, young and old (did someone say pickleball?) coming back after COVID, including new fitness trends and local outreach. [video]
January 2023 Program Chair – Mike Bennett
- Jan 3 – "Bridges: Outreach to the Homeless" – For over 30 years, Bridges has been a non-profit organization committed to meeting people in the streets, providing for many of their most basic needs, and connecting with them as fellow humans and neighbors in locations like NYC, Newark, Irvington, and Summit. Richard Uniacke, president of Bridges, will show us how Bridges addresses homelessness through volunteer-driven outreach and individual case management focused on health, housing, and independence. Time spent on the streets by the Bridges teams can provide more than provisions or supplies—it can provide connection and meaning to the homeless. [video]
- Jan 10 – "Food Insecurity in New Jersey" –The Community FoodBank of New Jersey was founded 45 years ago and has served as a model for many food banks around the country. Carlos Rodriguez, President and CEO of The Community FoodBank of NJ with headquarters in Hillside, and Lauren Snyder, a Volunteer Organizer, will discuss food insecurity in New Jersey and why the food lines are not shortening despite the unemployment rate approaching a 50-year low. [video]
- Jan 17 – "Pine vs. Elm: The Impact of Community Engagement on Urban Development Proposals" – Richard A. Zdan, professor of sociology at Rider University and Rahway Zoning Board of Adjustment commissioner, will discuss both the Pine Street and Elm Street applications for urban development in Rahway, with a focus on the manner in which local community members were mobilized in support of or opposition to the two proposed projects. He will also discuss the broader role that communities play in guiding the course of urban development, both in a historical and in a contemporary context, as well as how neighborhoods might be actively mobilized around development issues. [video]
- Jan 24 – "History Repeats Itself" – Eva Jedruch is the author of Crossing the Bridges, published in Polish in 2013 and English in 2021. What Putin is doing to the Ukrainians is a mirror image of what Stalin did to the Poles 83 years ago, across these very same lands, which at that time were part of Poland. It is a familiar story of a familiar modus operandi: Thousands of Ukrainian citizens are being rounded up, packed onto trains and deported to Russia, to the euphemistically called “filter camps.” Hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers and civilians have been executed. Eva will present her family’s story prior to and after 1939 and compare it with the events in Ukraine today. [no video]
- Jan 31 – "VA Health Services" – Many of our Old Guard members served in the United States military. We are fortunate to have many Veterans Administration facilities in the immediate area. Scott Dadaian is a VA outreach speaker who will detail the services provided by the VA, some of which may be new to our members. [video]
