Come for the Programs . . .
* During the pandemic shutdown, meetings moved online with Zoom. We resumed in-person meetings in June 2022 and have continued providing "hybrid" access by Zoom. Please request a link by sending email 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.
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).
October Program Chair – Mike Martin
- Oct 3 -- "A Perspective of Climate Change" -- Dr. William Happer is a retired professor of physics at Princeton University. He will present a diverging interpretation of selected climate change data. Dr. Happer will question current dogma about climate change by presenting scientific data and theory, which questions the underlying assumptions of conventional wisdom. He expects many questions and will allow ample time to accommodate OG members. Dr. Happer worked in various capacities for the Bush and Trump administrations. [in-person and on Zoom – for access: [email protected]]
September Program Chair – Tom Dempsey
- Sept 5 – "Ukraine, a Journey" – Mark Di Ionno has made several trips to Ukraine for humanitarian relief. He will talk about his travels, people he met from Ukraine and Poland, and how the war has affected them. Di Ionno is a former general news columnist at The Star-Ledger and an adjunct professor of journalism at Rutgers University-Newark. He is a 2013 Pulitzer Prize finalist in news commentary for his columns on Hurricane Sandy, the suicide of Tyler Clementi, and other local events and issues. He has written extensively about New Jersey in several books that serve as guides to its landscape and history, including New Jersey's Coastal Heritage: A Guide and A Guide to New Jersey's Revolutionary War Trail, both published by Rutgers University Press. [video]
- Sept 12 -- "EMS Services and History of the Summit Volunteer First Aid Squad" -- John Staunton will explain the role of EMS services, the operation of 9-1-1, and the 61-year history of the Summit Volunteer First Aid Squad. The Summit Volunteer First Aid Squad is an all-volunteer, non-profit organization that responds to more than 2,100 emergency calls each year. Staunton has been an EMT with Summit EMS for over 38 years and is a trustee. In the past, he has held the positions of president and chief. [video to appear]
- Sept 19 -- "Professional Boxing in the 70’s to the 90’s" -- Gerry Cooney will describe the environment he experienced as a professional boxer from 1977 to 1990. In 1982, he fought Larry Holmes in Las Vegas. His boxing record is 31 total fights, 28 wins (24 wins by KO) and three losses. After retirement, Cooney founded the Fighters’ Initiative for Support and Training, which helps retired boxers find jobs. In 2019, he was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame. He is an author of Gentleman Gerry: A Contender in the Ring, a Champion in Recovery. [video to appear]
- Sept 26 -- "The History of the World Series" -- As all baseball fans know, the most exciting month is October when the World Series is played. The excitement is certainly heightened when the American League and National League teams are both from the same city. Why has this happened only once since 1957? John Cronin and John Nolan will explain this and much more from several perspectives. Cronin is a CPA, vice president of the Board of Trustees of the New Providence Memorial Library, and the author of six articles in The Baseball Research Journal. Nolan was the official scorer for the Somerset Patriots from 1999 to 2019. He worked in public education for 50 years as a teacher, principal, human resources administrator, and consultant. [video to appear]
October Birthday emcee -- Phil Apruzzese
For speaker photos, visit us on facebook
For an archive of videos of past meetings,
