Dear Encore Learning Member,
Welcome to The Inside Scoop, our electronic newsletter for members only. Please enjoy this issue, and share your feedback by email. We always look forward to hearing from you. This is the October edition of The Inside Scoop.
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Give the Gift of Learning
The best thing about Encore Learning is our members! Since our founding in 2002, Encore Learning members have shown impressive ingenuity in designing activities that delight us. That’s why we are inviting you to help recruit new members. Growing our membership will further strengthen our organization and support our rich array of activities.
Here’s an idea: Give a friend an Encore Learning “gift membership” this holiday season. That would be a warm, Encore Learning welcome for the coming year.
To do that, email the staff at info@encorelearning.net and provide the gift recipient's name, address, email, and telephone number. A trusted Encore Learning staff member will call you and take your credit card over the phone to activate the membership. Indicate the date you want the membership to start, for example January 1, and the membership will be valid for one year. Encore Learning can send you a certificate for the gift membership.
Alternatively, if you know someone now who seems interested in joining or know someone recently retiring, take a moment to explain to them what you find rewarding about Encore Learning. Then, let them know how to join. Joining is easy; all they have to do is visit the website and click on “join.” If they have questions about the process, they can email the staff at info@encorelearning.net.
If you have an idea for membership recruitment you’d like to share, please email us at info@encorelearning.net. We appreciate your creative thinking.
A member said she loves Encore Learning’s activities because “I never stop being curious.” And members highlight the friendships they make. Lifelong learning is simply a great way to connect.
With virtual classes we have spots for more students. Please join us in helping to expand our world a little more by expanding our membership. Because we know: The very best thing about new members is the joy they bring to all of us. -- submitted by Kate Mattos and Kathy Lapier, Membership Committee Co-Chairs
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October Member Tours
October’s Special Events’ tour occurred on October 19 when over 60 Encore Learning members virtually toured the Frist Museum of Art in Nashville to participate in a wonderful tour of their Art Deco, Designing for the People exhibit. Our enthusiastic docent, Meryl Kraft, introduced us to a few of the 140 wonderful objects in the exhibition, pointing out how these Art Deco objects reflected the US spirit of optimism that was so prevalent during that era (between the World Wars). There was a lively discussion about the Museum building, which was built during that time period and is, itself, a wonderful example of Art Deco.
The Smithsonian Museum of Art virtual tour of their current Murano glass exhibit, which was to take place on October 14, was postponed by the museum. We were able to reschedule the virtual tour for Monday, November 22. Members are advised to use the waitlist option if you didn't get registered and want our Special Events Committee to consider repeating the tour if the venue permits. -- submitted by Michelle Trahan
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Remembering
Colin Powell
With the passing of Former Secretary of State Colin Powell, I have been asked if I had any experiences with him. I was not at the senior levels of the Department during his tenure as Secretary, so had only a handful of times when I was in the same room with him, but two of those stand out.
The first was shortly after his confirmation as Secretary in January of 2001. There was a town hall meeting of employees in the Departmental auditorium which was also broadcast on the Department’s internal TV network and relayed to our overseas missions. I had been to several of these types of meetings and invariably during the question and answer period someone would ask an odd, cringeworthy question. And sure enough, once Secretary Powell had delivered short remarks, someone stood up and asked him what he would do if he asked us to do something and we did not do it. The Secretary gave the questioner a stern look and then replied in his best deadpan manner, “I would make them do pushups!”. The audience roared and anyone who was not already a fan quickly became one.
Much later in his tenure at the State Department, I heard that Secretary Powell had the habit, when he had unscheduled time, to bolt from his seventh-floor office and wander around the building sans entourage, walking into offices to engage his surprised employees. I reasoned that this would not happen to my office because we had been moved out of our offices at Main State so they could be renovated, and into a very old building across the street on Navy Hill. The building was said to have been where Abraham Lincoln’s body had been taken after he was assassinated. The building was in poor shape, cold in the winter and hot in summer, another reason I figured the Secretary would never find his way into it. Imagine my surprise when one hot afternoon I heard a commotion in the hallway outside my office. I looked up to see Secretary Powell, smiling at me in the doorway. I don’t remember exactly what was said but he asked a few questions about our work in the former Soviet world. And a few days later the air conditioning was upgraded.
This little visit only reinforced to me his reputation as a leader who cared about his troops. During my many years at the State Department, I served some 13 Secretaries. Only three of them, including Powell, really seemed to care about the institution and take steps to strengthen it. -- submitted by Tom Adams, Encore Learning President. Tom spent over 40 years in the U.S. Government, with most of it at the State Department managing foreign assistance. He currently consults on foreign affairs.
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In-Person Classes are in Full Swing at GMU
October brought us both in-person and virtual classes, marking the first in-person since the Fall of 2019. Students who attend these in-person courses are required to wear a mask at all times, have proof of vaccination, as well as complete the GMU safety check each day time they enter campus.
There are two in-person classes that still have spots available, both on Wednesdays:
Aging and the Brain will be taught by Michael Stutts and will run from November 3 to December 15. In this course, students will learn the functions of the different parts of the brain and develop a better understanding of the brain’s normal aging process, with particular attention to memory. You will also learn about cognitive changes that are normal with aging versus cognitive decline due to disease. Finally, you will examine behavioral and lifestyle practices that are likely to help preserve or enhance brain functioning.
Urban Green: Great New City Parks will be taught by Peter Harnik and will run from November 3 to December 1. The course will cover not only the physical development of the parks but also the behind-the-scenes coalition-building and intense politics underlying campaigns. The course will also look at the possibilities for creating new city parks in Arlington, the Washington area and elsewhere.
We have five virtual classes starting in November that have space available:
If you would like to find out more about these courses check out our website!
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George Mason COVID-19 Campus Update
All visitors to Mason's campus are required to complete a Health Safety Check. Additionally, Mason has mask guidelines when you are on campus. Everyone must wear a mask while indoors. Information about requirements for in-person courses may be found on our Courses page on our website, including resources for completing the Health Safety Check.
Encore Learning is planning courses for Spring 2022 to be a combination of in-person or virtual. Many instructors and students prefer in-person, and others prefer virtual. We realize that the format of a class offering may not be a match to your preference. The decision about whether a course is offered in-person or virtual is based on the instructor preference and the feasibility. The decision to offer in-person courses this fall was made by the Encore Learning Board of Directors.
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Staff Corner
Our October has been busy with the launch of Fall Semester. Each staff member assists with hosting a class so we are able to see first hand the high quality courses being offered. Seeing more than 70 students in-person at George Mason on October 8 was very exciting. We had incredible cooperation from students with providing their vaccination information, completing safety checks and wearing masks.
Our virtual classes have students more engaged and instructors more confident. We do have students who struggle to get into their Zoom classes; they can't find their login information or their meeting ID and passwords are not working. Please try connecting to your class ten minutes before the start so you can get help in advance if needed. Remember that your Zoom login instructions are found under My Activities in your Encore Learning member account. Find the course in your list of current enrollments (you may have to scroll down). Click on View Media to the right of the course title to find the Zoom login instructions.
Another highlight of October was sharing one of our most popular special events featuring MSNBC correspondent Chuck Rosenberg giving insights on numerous timely topics. Our audience posed more than 25 questions that our esteemed correspondent was able to thoughtfully address.
I am grateful to all of our volunteer instructors, class aides, board members, committee members and our staff for all of their work to make this 38th semester a success.
~ Lora
Lora Pollari-Welbes, Executive Director
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Calendar Announcements
- The office is closed and there are no classes on Tuesday, November 2 for Election Day. If you go to the polls you may see one of our staff members serving as election officials.
- The office is closed and there are no classes on Thursday, November 11 for Veterans Day. There is one Encore Learning special event that day being held virtually.
- The office is closed and there are no classes November 24-26.
- The Spring Course Preview will be Thursday, January 27 at 10:00 AM on Zoom.
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Spring Course Registration is on Monday, January 31 at 10:00 AM.
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Welcome New Members
In September 2021, the following new members joined Encore Learning. Please be sure to give these folks a warm welcome.
- Natasha Atkins
- Ann Baker
- Thomas Burgess
- Necia Chambliss
- Dotty Dake
- Helen Ely
- Melanie Gray
- Rebecca Hierholzer
- Nancy Lammers
- Ann Landrum
- John Miller
- Moira O'Brien
- Amy Reed
- Satsuko Young
THANK YOU to Carol Morland, Katie Wittenberg, Kathy LaPier, John Seal, Vivian Gray and all of you who kindly refer friends. We have many new members who have joined us in October and we'll tell you about them in our next newsletter.
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Remember that many of our virtual Encore Learning Presents events are recorded and may be found on our YouTube channel.
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We hope you enjoyed this edition of The Inside Scoop. If you would like to submit an article or share some photos of members participating in Encore Learning activities, please email us at info@encorelearning.net.
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Lifelong Learning For Those Over 50
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