2021 May Coffee+Conversation: SING! BREATHE! and BE HEALTHY! (for VIDEO, Click HERE)
Guest Speaker: Jinny Guy, QA @H Member and Sweet Adeline
QA@H member Jinny Guy shares the secret powers of healthy singing. With techniques learned from her college years as a voice student to 25 adult years as a Sweet Adeline where she sang and learned as a quartet and chorus singer, director and coach. Jinny outlines the important emotional and physical health benefits of proper breathing and good vocal production. These techniques are used by singers of course, but also by successful speakers the world over. Join us to boost your energy and find your "voice"!
2021 April: Zoom Tutorial Series
Guest Speaker: Margan Glover, QA@H "IT Department"
QA@H is delighted to partner with the QAC Senior Centers to provide this 3-part, hands-on Zoom tutorial. Margan Glover reprises this popular series that aims to get novice Zoom users comfortable with participating in and hosting Zoom meetings.
Pre-Tutorial: CLICK HERE for instructions on joining a Zoom meeting via invitation link
#1: Zoom Basics: things you need to know, how to access in-meeting controls and what they do, basic troubleshooting
CLICK HERE for recording of Part 1
#2: Zoom Accounts: setting up your free account, scheduling a meeting and inviting participants
CLICK HERE for recording of Part 2
#3: Hosting a Zoom Meeting: host's controls, inviting people once meeting has started, fun things you can do with Zoom
CLICK HERE for recording of Part 3
CLICK HERE for Margan's presentation slides.
2021 April Coffee+Conversation: SENIOR EXERCISE (for VIDEO, Click HERE)
Guest Speaker: Mary D'Orseaneo, Personal Trainer
Mary D'Orseaneo is a certified personal trainer whose specialty is bodies over 55. Mary addresses how to stay fit and get the most out of all our working parts, including which exercises work best for a 55+ person. The bottom line: MOVE!! The best-received part is the very specific, actionable tips she provides. Mary begins with the importance of stretching morning and evening to regain flexibility and reduce achiness, motivation (think, exercise buddy!), hydration for health and feeling healthy, and "sneaky" balance exercises. She also gives tips on cardovascular movement to increase your energy, as well as resistance training that doesn't require special equipment or gym membership.
2021 March Coffee+Conversation: TRAVELS with DORA JEAN - LIVING IN HAITI (for VIDEO, Click HERE)
Guest Speaker: Dora Jean Hanna, QA@H Member
A special treat today! QA@H member Dora Jean Hanna talks about living overseas with her husband Nabil, and family. Some of the places they have lived include: Haiti, Samoa, Tanzania, Czecheslovakia, Morocco and Israel. She shares pictures and fascinating personal stories about their experiences, especially in Haiti. As she puts it, "mankind is one - even though we have some quirky, and delightful differences." This event was such a hit that we've asked her to come back for a future C+C and give us some insights into another country where they have lived.
2021 January Coffee+Conversation: TELEMEDICINE (for VIDEO, Click HERE)
Guest Speaker: Dr. Dan Lamphier, Maryland Primary Care Physicians
With everything else that this pandemic has done to complicate our lives, few things have had more impact, especially on us seniors, as the restrictions on face-to-face meetings with your doctor. The medical profession has stepped up to this challenge quite effectively with innovations in telemedicine. But if you have had to use this method, you know how unsatisfying it can be. Dr. Dan Lamphier from Maryland Primary Care Physicians, will talk to us about advances being made in telemedicine and things that you can do to enhance the experience.
2020 December Annual Party and Play Reading [For VIDEO, Click HERE]
Play: "BB Wolf v. CurlySue Pig"
QA@H celebrates the holiday season with members and guests by reading a "mock trial" prepared by the 19th Judicial Circuit Court of Lake County, IL. With elaborate costumes and (Zoom) stage production, this event is the capstone of an extraordinary season for QA@H. For this courtroom dramedy, think "Perry Mason" meets "3 Stooges". Accusations and counter-accusations fly. Did, or did not, CurlySue try to poach her erstwhile friend, BB? YOU, the audience, will serve as the jury after our able and estimable cast members act it all out for you. (Full disclosure, hamming it up is involved.)
2020 December Coffee+Conversation: PETS on WHEELS [For VIDEO, Click HERE]
Guest Speaker: Laura Plosila, Pets on Wheels Coordinator for Queen Anne's County
Laura Plosila, a long-time volunteer with Pets on Wheels, gave us a behind-the-scenes look at this wonderful organization. By sending volunteer teams (a pet with its human) into settings such as schools, libraries, nursing homes and hospice, Pets on Wheels creates life-changing and life-affirming opportunities. Laura told us some beautiful stories about her own "team's" experiences as well as those of other teams, and members of the audience shared the magic they observed when their own loved ones interacted with a Pets on Wheels volunteer team. Laura also provided the inside skinny of what it takes to become a successful team, and encouraged those with pets to look into this extraordinary organization.
2020 November Coffee+Conversation" KI HISTORY [For VIDEO, Click HERE for Part 1, and HERE for Part 2]
Guest Speaker: Jack Broderick, Board President of the KI Heritage Society
Jack Broderick is a consummate storyteller and local treasure. During this C+C, he talked about the first Europeans who settled in Kent Island around the time of the establishment of Jamestown. He then moved on to how Kent Island was almost lost during the War of 1812 and lastly how one man, a senator, saved the island in World War I. In the last part of his presentation, Jack talked about planning status for a new bridge across the Chesapeake. This was a fascinating way to get a better understanding of our local history. (Due to a technical glitch with Zoom, the session recording is in 2 parts.)
2020 October Special Event: US CURRENT EVENTS [For VIDEO, Click HERE]
Guest Speaker: Bruce Wolpe, Journalist (Sydney Morning Herald)
Bruce Wolpe is a US journalist who has lived in Australia for many years. A columnist for the Sydney Morning Herald, frequent commentator on Australia's Sky News, and author (The Committee (2018) and Lobbying Congress: How The System Works (1990, 1996), Bruce spoke to us from Sydney. With a quick and enlightening series of maps and charts, Bruce laid out the key issues in the upcoming US election, explaining why and how voters of different persuasions were likely to vote. Although we now know the outcome of the election, it is still a fascinating analysis of the US political landscape, including the issues that will need to be addressed as the country works its way forward.
2020 October Coffee+Conversatio: GENEALOGY [Click HERE for Notes & Resources- available only to QA@H Members]
Guest Speaker: Debbie Hardy, Cataloguer for QAC Libraries
Debbie Hardy, led this intensive introduction to genealogy. The topic can get overwhelming pretty quickly, but she generously provided a host of tips, shortcuts and suggestions gleaned from her own experiences. For example, before you even start working on your family tree, figure out what your goal is. Do you want simply to compile a list of the family’s forebears for, say, 5 generations? Work on an extensive biography of one or 2 famous ancestors? Without some guidance and limits, Debbie warned that it is easy to become overwhelmed and lose focus as you dive into the wealth of data that is now available to all of us. She also provided an exhaustive list of free and paid online and archive resources (click on link above), and offered her email for follow-up questions. With so much to learn, we are grateful that Debbie could share her expertise and insight.
2020 September Coffee+Conversation: AUTHOR PRESENTATION [For VIDEO Click HERE]
Guest Speaker: Mark Treanor, Author of "A Quiet Cadence"
From the publisher of “A Quiet Cadence” - "Family and friends know Marty McClure as a kind, peaceful man. They aren’t aware that when he was young, he plumbed the depths of terror, hatred and despair with no assurance he’d ever surface again. Now he needs to reveal what happened in Vietnam and how, with the help of Patti, his wife, Corrie Corrigan, a disabled vet, and Doc Matheson, a corpsman turned trauma surgeon, he made peace with the ghosts that have visited his dreams all these years."
About the author: Mark Traenor was, until recently, our neighbor here on the Wye River. He and his wife Clair have since moved to the Western shore. Mark is a Naval Academy graduate, was a Marine rifle platoon leader in Vietnam, an artillery battery commander, and leadership instructor and later served on the boards of the National Defense University and the Naval Academy. A lawyer, corporate executive, and leadership coach, he has participated in national security fact-finding missions in Iraq, Yemen, Africa, and the Caucasus. He lives in Maryland and Vermont.
2020 August Coffee+Conversation: WYE FELLOWS PROGRAMS [CLICK HERE for RECORDING]
Guest Speaker: George Dixon, Wye Fellows
George Dixon, co-director of the Wye Fellows program at the Aspen Institute, spoke about the mission and history of the Wye Fellows, the current status of the program, along with a preview of coming activities and objectives for the future. The Aspen Institute is a Washington-based think tank whose mission is to bring together some of the best minds in the world to address problems vital to national as well as international society. The Wye Fellows program is an offshoot of the broader organization that brings interested people of the Eastern shore together to share in the Aspen experience through lectures, social events, and outings.
2020 July Coffee+Conversation: QA COUNTY LAW ENFORCEMENT [CLICK HERE for RECORDING]
Guest Speaker: QAC Sheriff Gary Hofmann
In our July Coffee and Conversation session, we got some insight into law enforcement in Queen Anne's County. Our guest was QAC Sheriff Gary Hofmann who updated us on his efforts to improve and maintain good community policing practices. He explained the measures he has taken and will continue to take regarding training, transparency and responsibility within the QAC Sheriff's department.