1

CORONADO THUNDERBIRDS NEWSLETTER

MARCH/APRIL 2017 http://www.coronadothunderbirds.com

President

John P. Anthes

281-0834—Home

379-3438—Cell

jpanthes@comcast.net

We have said many of times and will probably say it many times more... "Coronado Thunderbirds Exists And Thrives Be-cause Of Our People." We are so lucky to have the Best Mem-bers as part of the Best Retirees Organization... Anywhere!

And I’d be remiss to not underscore the contributions, both Past and Present, of our volunteer Board Members. We can't begin to thank them enough and remind them that they are a vital part of the T’Birds.

Just two recent examples are fresh in my mind from the Febru-ary monthly meeting on Valentine’s Day! Our Board Secretary, Guylaine Pollock, very generously thought to bring in flowers and candy for each table, pretty place mats, and funny party hats to recognize milestones for our members. We all laughed when Rod Boenig volunteered his birthday of “Four Score and 3 years ago!” And then, graciously, he wore the funny little party hat Guylaine had provided. (Oh, wish we had a photo!)

Secondly, Ellen Biernacki brought in a sheet cake to share in celebration of the day. We then were surprised to learn that the Mountain View Club needed $50 to cut and serve the cake. YIKES! So, Ellen and Barbara Desilets jumped up and generously did the honors themselves. Yummm!

You may have also noticed that Paul Hlava, 2017 Board VP/Programs, and I have been doing a Tag Team coordinating the monthly meetings. Paul, with contributions from Charlie Vittitoe and Ken Deller, was in charge of the January meeting while Janice and I were on vacation in Costa Rica. (You’ll hear more about this pre-celebration of our Golden Anniversary dur-ing the April meeting.) Then Paul was absent for the February

meeting while he was attending the “giant” Gem And Mineral show in Tucson while I was back in town. Fortunately, I, too, know the speaker. So I was able to introduce Nancy Attaway who offered a wonderful Program, "Fantastic Gems, Jewelry, and Minerals,” that received rave reviews from our members. Next, I will be absent again in March on my yearly dive vacation while Paul is back again. Whew!

Stay tuned for the Spring schedule of events. Until the next newsletter.... John P. Anthes, 2017 President. Till then, see you all again in April.

VP/Programs

Paul Hlava

265-4178

March 14, 2017, Program, "Hearing 101” presented by Callie Beauchamp, AuD — Callie Beauchamp’s presentation will cover the following topics: hearing loss—signs, diagnosis and recent research around dementia and hearing loss; hearing aid and technology update—what is new in hearing aid technology and hearing loss management; and cochlear implants—what is a cochlear implant, who is it for, and what does it do.

Dr. Beauchamp is an associate of Worth Hearing Center. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Speech-Language Pathology from Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdo-ches, Texas, followed by a Master of Science degree in Audiolo-gy from Lamar University. She completed her education at the University of Florida, where she earned her Doctorate of Audi-ology.

Dr. Beauchamp has many years of Audiology experience in a variety of settings. She has practiced Audiology in a large Ear, Nose and Throat clinic, at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston, Texas, and a hearing clinic in Chandler, Arizona. Dr. Beauchamp has also worked as a technical trainer for a hearing aid manufacturer. Dr. Beauchamp specializes in patient education and counsel-ing as well as hearing aid technologies and fittings.

Dr. Beauchamp has undergone extensive training by the Tinnitus Practitioners Associa-tion (TPA) on Tinnitus and hyperacusis treat-ment. She is well versed and educated regarding Tinnitus Re-training Therapy (TRT) and current technology used to manage tinnitus. She also works closely with Ear, Nose, and Throat doc-tors specializing in implantable hearing solutions such as coch-lear implants and bone conduction systems.

2

April 11, 2017, Program, “Our Winter Escape: Costa Rica” presented by John Anthes—From time-to-time Costa Rica has been an occasional topic with friends and in news stories. Costa Rica is bordered on the north by Nicaragua, on the southeast by Panama, on the east by the Caribbean Sea,

on the West by the Pacific Ocean, and by Ecuador to the south. The population is twice that of New Mexico (about 4.5 million) in a size of about 16% compared to New Mexico. The population is quite diverse with an estimated population of 70,000 mostly retired American citizens. The countryside con-tains volcanoes, tropical forests, a productive agriculture and burgeoning international eco-tourism.

In addition to joining a 9-day tour group including four others, I also wondered if we might combine the organized tour with a separate vacation to scuba dive. The April Program will in-clude a photo review of both aspects of our January 2017 adventure.

We visited four separate locations during the tour. Unfortunately, although we had determined that January was not during the rainy season, we experienced 8-days-straight of non-stop, day and night rain. In the tropical forest locations this included 50-mph winds. These two unanticipated weather conditions resulted in flooded trails, and others closed due to falling trees and tree limbs. YIKES! Despite this inconvenient shift in the tour planning, we were rewarded by many sightings of the diverse and amazing wildlife.

The next part of our vacation challenged us to make internal Costa Rica flight reservations to the NW Pacific coast, car rental, hotel and scuba diving plans. We were seeking the opportunity for a tourist-friendly stay in a local small-town beach community. We found a very nice hotel in Playa Coco Beach surrounded by inviting shops, sports-bars, and spas. Each after-noon and evening we walked along the beach, shared in whoops and hollers watching the US football semi-finals in the sports bar, and enjoyed the local fresh fish items and the wonderfully-varied entertainment of the lively little beach community.

John, a retired laser Physicist from Sandia National Laborato-ries, is enjoying his roles in the Coronado Thunderbirds, col-lects antique radios, enjoys touring on his motorcycle, and has been diving for 4 years. Janice is a retired Computer Sci-entist from Sun Microsystems, enjoys training our dogs, shows them in competitions, is a volunteer trainer in a local club, and is an AKC dog show judge. We will be married 50 years in September and have two wonderful children, a son and a daughter, who are both engineers.

Entertainment

Ellen Biernacki

269-1036

Please call Ellen if you want tickets to any of the following events. We get a fantastic discount from Popejoy Hall, and we get a bit of a discount from The Adobe Theatre and Albuquer-que Little Theater. New Mexico Philharmonic also offers a group discount. Ellen also can get discounted tickets from Isleta Casino and Sandia Casino.

Popejoy Hall

Motown The Musical, Tue, Feb 28, 2017-Sun, Mar 5, 2017-various times

In the Mood, Sat, Mar 11, 2017, 2:00 pm-Sat, Mar 11, 2017, 8:00 pm

Altan, Fri, Mar 17, 2017, 8:00 pm

Last of the Red Hot Lovers, Sat, Mar 18, 2017, 8:00 pm

The Doo Wop Project, Sun, Mar 19, 2017, 3:00 pm

Piano Battle, Fri, Mar 24, 2017, 8:00 pm

ABBA The Concert: A Tribute to ABBA, Sun, Mar 26, 2017 3:00 pm

Taj Express: The Bollywood Musical Revue, Fri, Apr 14, 2017, 8:00 pm

MOMIX – Opus Cactus, Sun, Apr 23, 2017, 7:00 pm

The Illusionists – Live from Broadway, Thu, May 4, 2017-Sun, May 7, 2017 – various times

The Popejoy Awards, Sun, May 14, 2017, 6:30 pm

An Evening with Bernadette Peters – A Special Concert Event, Sun, May 21, 2017, 6:00 pm

Dirty Dancing, Thu, Jun 15, 2017–Sun, Jun 18, 2017 – vari-ous times

An Evening of Classic Lily Tomlin, Sat, Sep 23, 2017, 8:00 pm

An American in Paris, Tue, Oct 17, 2017–Sun, Oct 22, 2017 — various times

The Adobe Theater

Feb 10 - Mar 5 Sanctuary (W.G. Allen), director George Williams

Mar 17 – Apr 9 The Shadow Box (Michael Cristofer), director Fred Ponzlov

Apr 21 – May 14 The Mikado (Gilbert & Sullivan), direc-tor the Hoffmans

Jun 2 – 25 Come Blow Your Horn (Neil Simon), director Marty Epstein

Jul 7 – 30 Funny Money (Ray Cooney), director Tim Crofton

Aug 11 - 3 Sep The Savannah Sipping Society (Jones Hope Wooten), director Pete Parkin

Sep 22 – Oct 15 We Have Always Lived in the Castle (Hugh Wheeler), director TBD

Oct 27 – 19 Nov Morning’s at Seven (Paul Osborn), director Fred Ponzlov

3

Dec 1-23 Charley’s Aunt (Brandon Thomas), director Micah Linford

Albuquerque Little Theatre

South Pacific, Rated PG—3/10/2017-4/2/2017

The Miracle Worker, Rated PG—4/12/2017-5/7/2017

Mary Poppins, Rated PG—5/26/2017-6/18/2017

New Mexico Philharmonic

The Fifth Annual New Mexico Philharmonic Gala, Satur-day, March 11, 2017, 5:30 p.m.—10:30 p.m., Las Puer-tas Event Center

Passionate Sunday: Protégé Series, Sunday, March 12, 2017, 2 p.m., National Hispanic Cultural Center

Three Times Mozart!, Saturday, January 28, 2017, 6 p.m., Popejoy Hall

Olga Fantastique!, Saturday, March 25, 2017, 6 p.m., Popejoy Hall

Sci-Fi Spectacular!, Saturday, April 1, 2017, 8 p.m., Popejoy Hall

The Wizard of Oz Ballet, Saturday, April 8, 2017, 6 p.m., Popejoy Hall

Koh Plays Brahms, Saturday, April 22, 2017, 6 p.m., Popejoy Hall

Bach, Just Bach!, Sunday, May 21, 2017, 2 p.m., Nation-al Hispanic Cultural Center

Membership

Pete Havey, Sr.

268-6816

BE SURE TO CHECK THE DATE ON YOUR BASE PASS SO YOU DON’T FORGET TO RENEW IT IN A TIMELY MANNER! Try to get badge paperwork in 2-3 weeks before they ex-pire. The pass office is doing a good job and is typically turning requests in 7-10 days, but sometimes military activ-ities take precedence.

Travel Special Interest Group Brian Hermann

ST. JAMES TEAROOM – The afternoon tea is scheduled for 11:00 am to 1:00 pm on March 22, 2017. There are still 4 seatings available for participation. Please contact Brian Hermann (505-401-1450) for additional information and/or signing up for this wonderful experience of having “great

food” and sharing time with wonderful friends. For members that have signed up, please ensure you respond to the “Coronado Thunderbird Retirement Club” RSVP by March 15, which was provided in your St. James Tearoom information packet.

ABQ INTERNATIONAL SUNPORT TOUR – The Coronado Thun-derbirds (T-Birds) finalized the date of the tour for Wednes-day, April 26, 2017. There are 2 slots still available for partici-pation. Please contact Brian Hermann (505-401-1450) or see me during the March or April T-Bird general membership meetings for additional information and/or signing up. The tour will include van/bus tour of Sunport operations; walk- through of B-727 aircraft, walking tour of indoor airport facili-ties/communication center, and briefing on airport safety/security, improvement projects and other areas of interest.

FUTURE TOURS Brewery tour(s) – Summer 2017 Dr. Frank C. Hibben “Safari House” tour – Summer/Fall

2017

Calling Committee

Barbara Desilets

822-0059

If you are interested in being on the Calling Committee, please contact Barbara. It’s just a few calls to those members who don’t have email to let them know about our activities.

2017 T-Bird Board of Directors President: John Anthes - 281-0834 Vice President: Paul Hlava – 265-4178 Secretary: Guylaine Pollock - 296-6910 Treasurer: Lionel Holguin - 821-7181 Membership: Pete Havey - 268-6816 Entertainment: Ellen Biernacki - 269-1036 Publicity/Newsletter—Connie DeFoe - 298-0330 Travel SIG: Brian Hermann – 401-1450 Awards: Adron Pritchard - 299-3543 Calling Chair: Barbara Desilets - 822-0059 Past President: Charley Vittitoe - 299-9298 MVC Manager: 846-1746