From the Editor July 2014

I hope that you all are having a great time this Fourth of July!

It looks like it will be a good day here in Milwaukee. There were lots of people in Kletsch Park at 6:30 AM this morning. They were setting up for their day’s picnic and parade watching with family and friends. The festivities here in Glendale include a parade at about 10 AM, games through the day in the park, and fireworks tonight at 9 PM. I suspect that is a familiar pattern to all of you. Enjoy every minute of it!

Speaking of celebrating with friends, we have the 25th Anniversary of the WSJ Society to celebrate at our Reunion 2014. The Reunion Team, members and company reps, are putting the final details for the day together. We plan to post the detail in just a few short weeks, so be sure to check back here to get the latest scoop.

Here’s what we have planned so far:

Reunion 2014 will be held on Saturday 27, 2014 with gathering at Johnson Controls HQ, 5757 N Green Bay Ave, Milwaukee. Light breakfast fare will be shared with short tours and Power Solutions technology on display. Timing for this is planned for 8:30 AM to 10 AM.

The morning headliner follows. Alex Molinaroli, CEO is scheduled to talk to us about “Johnson Controls Today.” As you all know, there is a lot to talk about there. You won’t want to miss this opportunity to get it straight from Alex. Alex is scheduled to be with us from 10 AM to 11 AM.

From 11 AM to 2 PM we have something new in the works. Since this is our 25th Anniversary, it might be a good time to step back and ask what you would like the WSJ Society to be and do as we go into our next 25 years. There will be a short introduction to ask the question and we’ll take notes on your ideas for the remainder of the session.

Now, this is not a 3 hour brainstorming session! We had lots of those in the past. Sharing experiences with each other, for fun and support, is a core part of the society’s activities. We’re setting up a group networking session — sharing our experiences in preparing for retirement and living it. There are a good number of topics of interest, finance, health & well-being, volunteering, work, craft & hobby, learning, travel, entertainment. Groups will be formed by topic and we’ll ring the bell every 30 minutes or so to allow participants to move to another group of interest. That’s the rough idea.

What would you like to discuss? Would you be willing to lead a discussion?  No formal presentation is required, just bring your experiences to share and ask others gathered in your group to offer theirs. If you would like to contribute or have an idea for a discussion, just use the Help link to send us your interest. Or, contact Jude Anders (jra4128@gmail.com).

OH! And the discussion groups will include special exhibits with some real hardware. Scott Jamieson, will be here with one of his telescopes to share his experiences with the Milwaukee Astronomical Society, and Dennis Miller will return with his collection of robots to share his experiences with FIRST and the Marquette U. School of Engineering Outreach Program.

Throughout this session, a light lunch will be served to tide you over to our evening fellowship, dinner and dancing at the Italian Conference Center.

The Reunion Team is working hard to make this both fun and rewarding for you. Plan on joining us at Reunion 2014. Look for more details right here at WSJSociety.com.

See you there!

Jude Anders Editor