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.
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:
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.
August Program Chair - Bill Joyce
- Aug 5 – A History of Humans and the Great Swamp: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly – We all know of the Great Swamp. But there is a less known long history of people and the Great Swamp. Thousands of acres of swampland have been a boon to people for thousands of years. Patricia Wells will tell us the fascinating story of how people have used, abused, and finally saved the Great Swamp. She is an educator, historian, and storyteller. Since retiring, she has been deeply involved in the Chatham Township Historical Society and the Friends of the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge. [video to appear]
- Aug 12 – Addressing Wrongful Convictions – New Jersey Conviction Review Unit – The criminal justice system in the United States is designed to ensure that only guilty individuals suffer the total loss of freedom of imprisonment. However, a number of factors, including DNA evidence, have demonstrated in recent years that a number of unjust convictions do occur. New Jersey established a Conviction Review Unit to review the cases of individuals who claim to be innocent. Our speaker Carolyn Murray was the first director of New Jersey CRU and will discuss the process used by the unit to review cases for possible wrongful convictions. Carolyn will discuss the process used and the case of a man who was exonerated after serving 20 years. [in-person and on Zoom – for access: [email protected]]
- Aug 19 – The Nature of Addiction – Our speaker Robert Alexander has served for 50 years in the treatment of drug addiction in various positions. For the last 41 years he has served as executive director at the Paterson Counseling Center. He has also taught as an adjunct professor at several universities in our area. Robert will discuss the history of methadone treatment as one of many treatments for addiction. He will describe the introduction of buprenorphine as an alternative form of medication-assisted treatment, and the challenges to effective treatment regimens presented by the AIDS epidemic, and more recently, hepatitis C. [in-person and on Zoom]
- Aug 26 – Managing Life’s Transitions – All of us experience life transitions. Kelly Falcone has spent the past several years helping her clients navigate these changes with more ease, from career reinventions to health transformations to adjusting to new stages of life. She brings to us her experience as a human resources professional and career counselor as well as her personal experience. In this presentation, Kelly will share some common life transition themes she has seen in both her work and research, and discuss how shifting our attention to a few key areas can help us more effectively cope with challenges that come up when we are in these liminal spaces in life. [in-person and on Zoom]
September Birthday Emcee: Steve Waddell
For speaker photos, visit us on facebook
For an archive of videos of past meetings,
