DROP IN TO SAY GOODBYE ANN AND HELLO ANDREW | |
Ann Nikolai's last day with OLLI before she transitions full-time to Professional & Continuing Education (PCE) is fast approaching. Andrew Lavin has been with OLLI just a few weeks. Don't miss your chance to say goodbye to Ann and welcome Andrew to the OLLI community.
Join us for a drop-in reception. We'll have cookies and iced tea at this relaxed event where you can visit with friends and with Ann and Andrew.
Wednesday, June 26, 3-4:30pm
Bradley 2 at The Social Chico
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WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! | |
OLLI has gone through a lot of changes in the last few years. We went entirely online during the pandemic, then we returned to in-person classes while still offering a number of online classes. We changed our fee and term structure. We continued to add new classes each term. We have a new program director.
With all that change, it's time to check in and find out what you think about OLLI. Please take a few minutes to complete our member survey. Your responses will help us guide OLLI into the future.
Thank you and we look forward to reading your thoughts.
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OLLI OFFICE ACCESS UPDATE | |
During Chico State's summer break, all academic buildings, including the one that houses the OLLI office, are locked at all times. The OLLI office hours will remain Monday-Thursday, 9am-2pm. If you want to visit our office in Aymer J. Hamilton during our open office hours, you can call us from outside the building and we will let you in. There are signs on each of the doors to our building with this information. You can also reach us by phone at 530-898-6679 or email at olli@csuchico.edu.
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MEMBER BENEFIT: LOST AND FOUND | |
Did you know that if you leave something behind at The Social, we keep it for you? There are lost and found bins in each of the four classrooms at The Social.
The bins are getting full! If you think you've left something behind, take a moment at your next class to find your item and take it home.
Any items left in the lost and found after June 30 will be donated or thrown out.
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SUPPORT THE NIKOLAI FAMILY SPRING FUNDRAISER | |
We are almost halfway to our goal of raising $12,000 before June 30 to honor Ann Nikolai's 12 years of service, with $6,093 to go. Will you join us in making our goal?
Whether you donate $12, $24, or $120, your donation will help us provide financial support for members, offset our classroom rental fees, and keep OLLI running into the future. And the Nikolai family will help. For every $300 we receive on the way to our goal, the Nikolai family will donate $12 to OLLI.
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Roy Cook, pictured, was an engineering and physics major at Oregon State University, but he later discovered that this wasn't to be his calling. He landed a highly competitive job at Proctor & Gamble that launched him into a successful career in marketing. He spent three and a half years doing the unenviable work of living out of a suitcase and traveling constantly without a home. He oversaw campaigns for products like Gain and Tide. After time in Procter & Gamble's home base of Cincinnati, Roy moved to San Francisco. He worked at smaller marketing firms before striking out on his own to form a national network of distributors for product samples. The company was successful, and he and his partners retired in a short 11 years after starting the company.
Roy met Bernice Reed in San Francisco at the bank where she was working. She rejected him because she was seeing someone else at the time. When Roy found out she was single, he asked her out again and she again rejected him. Turns out, she was still seeing the same fellow and Roy had been misinformed. Later, once Roy confirmed she was truly single, Bernice said yes to his third date invitation, and the rest is history. The couple moved to Chico when Roy retired since Bernice grew up in Willows and was familiar with the area. Soon thereafter, the two discovered OLLI.
Roy said he loves that you can take any class you want and you can pursue learning without any prerequisites or restrictions at OLLI. He was convinced that he should lead a class that no one else was teaching at the time, "Great Books," and led the class a number of times over the following years. His goal in travel and study is generally to understand more deeply the phenomenon of Western culture and its global reception and often dominant power in history. In fact, Roy and Bernice are about to depart on their 60th trip to the greater Mediterranean region in an effort to more fully understand Western history. Roy has also taught classes on iPads, museums and cultural landmarks of Butte County, and historical novels. He loves learning and discussing great ideas with others, and loves that he can lead a class without being an expert on the class; he often learns quite a bit from his fellow OLLI members in the process.
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LEARN ABOUT AUSTRALIAN ART | |
Erika Esau taught modern art history at the Australian National University, Canberra, Australia and has written books and articles about Australian art. This term, she's bringing that expertise to OLLI for Australian Art: Some Topics.
The class's abbreviated look at the Australian continent's artistic history will consider its creative efforts since its colonization by the British in 1788. Topics include expeditionary artists, Australian Impressionism, women artists 1880-1960, Australian and Californian aesthetic connections, and what Robert Hughes called "the last great art movement of the 20th century": Aboriginal art. It isn't all beaches, didgeridoos, and shrimp on the barbie!
This class, already in progress, is recorded. Register now and catch up with the recordings.
Pictured: Shearing the Rams, Tom Roberts, 1890
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The social meetup committee met two weeks ago to discuss new possibilities for the summer '24 social meetup session. One of the exciting things about this time on the OLLI calendar is how easy it can be to arrange a social meetup.
"It is so easy to set up a social meetup," committee member and social meetup organizer Myron Flindt, pictured, said. "You just decide what you want to do, when, and where, fill out a simple form online, and it goes out to all of the OLLI members on Sunday morning each week. It is just so easy and low stress."
Summer social meetups begin on June 30 and run through September 8. Fill out the easy form to submit a social meetup to the calendar or email us at olli@csuchico.edu to join the volunteer social meetup committee.
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Juneteenth, celebrated each year on June 19, commemorates the day Major General Gordon Granger issued General Order No. 3 proclaiming freedom for slaves in Texas in 1865, 2.5 years after the Emancipation Proclamation.
Opal Lee is known as the grandmother of Juneteenth for her efforts to make Juneteenth a federal holiday. At the age of 89, she traveled from Fort Worth, Texas, to Washington, D.C., speaking in various cities and leading 2.5-mile walks. She told NPR, "I was thinking that surely, somebody would see a little old lady in tennis shoes trying to get to Congress and notice." At 94 years old, she got to see Juneteenth become a federal holiday in 2021.
African American Family & Cultural Center Juneteenth Celebration
Celebrate locally with live performances and vendors.
Saturday, June 15, 3-7pm
Martin Luther King Park, Oroville (map)
The OLLI office will be closed and there will be no classes on Wednesday, June 19 to observe the holiday.
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TRAVEL AND LEARN WITH OLLI | |
Tropical Costa Rica, Winter '25 | |
Experience the paradise of lush forests and stunning waterfalls, rumbling volcanoes and endless coastlines in Costa Rica. Take in tranquil views of Arenal Volcano, visit the Cano Negro nature preserve, experience the Monteverde Cloud Forest's lush canopy, and relax on sandy beaches. Your 9 days and 13 meals will be guided by seasoned tour guides from Collette.
View the Tropical Costa Rica full itinerary (pdf) and book now for discounted rates.
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Exploring Greece and Its Islands, Spring '25 | |
Memorials of World War II, Fall '24 | |
WEATHER FORECASTING NOW AND IN THE FUTURE | |
The League of Women Voters of Butte County invites OLLI members to join them for Weather Forecasting: How We Do It Now and What the Future Will Bring with local weather reporter Patrick Wright.
Maybe you don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows, but it can be a matter of life and death to know what the weather has in store -- especially in these times of climate change-caused changes in weather patterns.
Thursday, June 20, 7-8:30pm
Chico First Baptist Church, 850 Palmetto Avenue, Chico (map)
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CELEBRATE PRIDE MONTH WITH CHICO PRIDE | |
June is Pride Month! Celebrate and show your support by attending a local Pride Month event.
Drag Storybook Hour
An all-ages opportunity to hear stories read by local drag stars.
Sunday, June 16, 12-3pm
Stonewall Alliance Center, 358 East 6th Street, Chico (map)
Downtown Pride Festival
All-ages event with live performances, music and dancing, vendors and resource booths, and lots of fun for everyone.
Saturday, June 22, 10am-5pm
Downtown Chico Plaza (map)
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HAVE SOMETHING TO SHARE?
If you have something to say, a photo to share, or a question to pose to the editor, you can submit information using our OLLI Newsletter Submission form.
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