I wrote this missive prior to our 36^th annual Presidents’ Weekend retreat at Asilomar, which this year was held 17-20 February. If you haven’t ever before attended one of these retreats, you NEED to come! It is a learning experience like no other, and you’ll meet PBK-NCA members who have come for decades and always say they are taking home so many new ideas. If you couldn’t make the retreat this year, put it on your 2024 calendar as soon as you get one: it’ll be held 16-19 February 2024. 

During the year, PBK-NCA hosts visits to remarkable sites around our “neck of the woods,” sign-ups for which are available on our Website: www.pbknca.comand in our Newsletter (ably edited by Ray Hendess, my go-to person for historical information about the Association and all things Internet). Our First Vice-President for Programs, O’Neil Dillon (oneilsdillon@gmail.com) and his committee members (Judy Hardardt, James Richardson, Jean James, Becky Beach, Libby Tyler, Tina Hittenberger and Young Professionals Joy Wang and Whitney Roeder), plan most of the almost-monthly meet-ups that PBK-NCA offers throughout the year. Full event information, and means of credit card payment are available on our website https://pbknca.com/Events/. 

If you should have a yen to serve our Association on a committee, please let me know at mltg@aol.com. We can probably match a job to your interests and qualifications. There are also opportunities for one-off activities (at this time of year I’m thinking Audit Committee) and helping with tours/visits. 

I look forward to meeting you at one of our upcoming activities, and I thank you for your continued support of Phi Beta Kappa Northern California Association. 

With best regards, Mary Turner Gilliland, PBK-NCA President

PBKNCA Book Club

There is an ongoing virtual book club open to interested members.

Contact Program VP O'Neil Dillon at oneilsdillon@gmail.com

Currently, the Phi Beta Kappa Northern California Association suggests masking for indoor activities.

Note: The price of the events is for current NCA members; elapsed- or non-members will pay a surcharge. Full event information, and means of credit card payment, are available on our website https://pbknca.com/Events/.  If you want to register for an event but don’t have Internet access, please contact O’Neil, cell 510-207-8761.

If you won’t be able to make an event, contact O’Neil Dillon at oneilsdillon@gmail.com ASAP, or if it is the day of the event call him at 510-207-8761, as there may be others on the waiting list who will then be able to take your place.

No-shows do NOT receive a ref­­­und!

Truhlsen-Marmor Museum of the Eye

March 18, 2023, 10:00 AM @ 645 Beach St., San Francisco (Fisherman’s Wharf). Parking On-street, and right next door at the Hyde St. Parking Garage. Fee $20 ($10 goes to scholarships)

To register, we prefer you pay online via the black "REGISTER" button. But you may mail the coupon and a check by snail mail.  Vaccination, booster and mask required.  Go to https://pbknca.com/event-5038265

Private, docent-led tour of the Truhlsen-Marmor Museum of the Eye® March 18th @10AM.

Look through the pupil of an enormous eye, explore interactive displays and try on a virtual reality headset to see how new technology can impact medicine. Through high-tech exhibits and a renowned collection of ophthalmic artifacts, you’ll discover surprising facts about how your vision works and about the field of medicine devoted to protecting it.  

Through innovative exhibits, school tours, and free resource materials, the museum promotes eye health on a broad scale.

Visitors of all ages will enjoy the interactive displays and:

  Learn how VR is changing ophthalmology 

  Dive deeply into the historical collection

  See the evolution of eye care through the ages

  Learn about the latest innovations saving sight today

  Develop an interest in the study of medicine and ophthalmology    

The museum will be closed to the public during our tour.

Date:  Saturday March 18 @ 10 AM.

Address: 645 Beach St., San Francisco (Fisherman’s Wharf)

Parking, On street, and right next door at the Hyde St. Parking Garage

Directions by Car, Bus, Bike and Foot here

Cost: $20, PBKNCA members. $30, non-members. 

($10 from either goes to Scholarships)

Duration; 45-60 minutes

Minimum:  7, Maximum: 30

Website: https://www.aao.org/museum-of-the-eye

Mayo Family Winery:  Enjoy a wine tasting with us, Sunday, March 19, 2023. Fee YP members, $20; New Initiate members, free.

Calling all Young Professionals! We're hosting a wine tasting event, on March 19th in Glen Ellen, CA at Mayo Family Winery. Join us to taste some wonderful family produced Mayo Wine, while connecting with other PBKNCA Young Professionals in the area. 

Date: Sunday, March 19, 2023

Time: 12:00 pm start time

 

Mt. Burdell (Novato) Nature Walk Saturday, April 15, 11:00 AM – 1:00 or 2:00 p.m. Fee: $20 members, $30 non-members. Full amount goes to scholarships.

On the hike, we should see many wildflowers - among them blue-eyed grass, brodiaea, mallow, buttercups, cream cups, mules ears, poppies, and whatever else the experts among us can identify. Birders might sight lazuli buntings, lark sparrows, house wrens, red-tailed hawks, and turkey vultures. In addition to enjoying Mt. Burdell’s several different species of oaks, we will encounter “bouncy trees” and an acorn granary tree. Those interested in agriculture might meet cows who use the open space this time of year as pasture, but move out of our way with a bit of encouragement

History Cruise on the USS Potomac May 27, 2023, 10:30 AM, Fee $53

The USS Potomac was first commissioned "The Coast Guard Cutter Electra" on June 30, 1934.  She was subsequently re-commissioned "The USS Potomac" in 1936, after being chosen to become the Presidential Yacht, enjoyed by then president Franklin Delano Roosevelt.  As Roosevelt's "Floating White House," the Potomac is docked in Jack London Square.  The history tour will include the story of the ups and downs (literally) of the ship, how it was adapted to serve the needs of a physically handicapped President, and all the while we will be enjoying the very special views one can get only from the waters of the San Francisco Bay.

37^th Annual Asilomar Conference – February 16 – 19, 2024

Registration $150 members, $180 non-members. Plus Asilomar fees.

If the news of the day is getting you down, take heart – it’s once again time to reserve your weekend of learning, inspiration and fellowship on the magnificent Monterey coast!

Right now, Deirdre is working on the final details of this year's event. But she already has some ideas for next year!

To register, go to https://pbknca.com/event-5159419

“A faithful study of liberal arts humanizes character, and allows it not to be cruel.”  -- Ovid

If you have questions on this year’s program, please contact  dfrontczak@scu.edu. For registration or logistics matters, please contact Barry Haskell at bghaskell@comcast.net. Registration is $125, which goes mainly to scholarships. Cost will be similar to last year, about $550 per person, double occupancy, and includes all nine meals and parking. All registered participants will receive forms to reserve their Asilomar accommodations, including meals; please check your email. (Remember, to be part of the PBKNCA package, do not reserve directly with the facility.)  Make reservations at PBKNCA.COM or via the form on page eight.

Please join us once again for the annual Asilomar Conference, where we gather to learn, engage in discussions, and to listen to one another in new ways.  A preview of the 2023 event. More info is at PBKNCA.COM:

Deirdre Frontczak, Asilomar Chair