Old Guard begins 48th year of weekly meetings

The Old Guard resumes weekly Tuesday meetings of its 48th year on September 3 under the leadership of new President Phil Gardner.
Gardner succeeds Past President John Mitman who led a successful year of topical guest speakers, involvement in community activities, golf and bowling and special events. After a summer recess, the retired men's group will meet at the Westminster Presbyterian Church on the Boulevard in West Hartford.

President Gardner said "the speaker program for 2013-2014, under the leadership of Vice President Dale Richter and participation of his committee, is well under way and features outstanding presenters and topics.  In September alone, we will have the President of Hartford Seminary, Dr. Heidi Hadsell; Lt. J. Paul Vance, official spokesperson of the Connecticut State Police on the history and role of that organization; former Congressman and novelist Robert Steele, author of The Curse: Big Time Gambling's Seduction of a Small New England Town; and the Rev. Dr. Robert Evans, co-Founder and Director, Plowshares Institute…and that is just our first month."

Meetings begin at 10:30 A.M. every Tuesday until next May. Meetings begin with the Pledge of Allegiance followed by selections from the Old Guard song book, a guest story-teller, an update on activities and then a featured presentation followed by a question period. Following the meeting, many members adjourn to numerous local restaurants for lunch.  According to Gardner, "this is a formula which has worked for our 48 years and seems to continue to have appeal.  We have new and energetic members join the Guard during the year and are able to maintain strong energy in activities that the men provide for the community. Among the activities that Old Guard members support is delivering meals for the Meals on Wheels program, information desk staffing at the UConn Health Center, regular collections of food for the community food bank and the Salvation Army. While we have been fortunate maintaining our membership levels, we continually poll the membership to assure that we continue to meet their desires."

"We are in the process of creating an Internet site for the benefit of existing members and providing information for prospective members" Gardner says. "While all of our members don't use email for communication, an increasing number do and we have been able to reduce our mailing costs through use of the internet. With a home page, we can better communicate with men interested in knowing about the Old Guard and maintain our current diversity. The Old Guard provides opportunity for men to renew professional relationships with former colleagues and create new social relationships, especially for retired men new to the community."

The Old Guard leadership team will include Dale Richter, Vice-President, Don Kauke, Secretary, Tom Robinson, Asst. Secretary, Jim Bixler, Treasurer and Paul Dean, Asst. Treasurer. Leading recruitment of new members will be Jeff Lee and Paul Dean will head a new committee that will manage Special Events and Luncheons. "With this team, I am looking forward to continuing the fine work done by our predecessors" said Gardner.