Deltaville’s Great Decisions lecture series returns this winter with in-person sessions at the Deltaville Community Association (DCA) building at 17147 General Puller Highway (Route 33). In pre-pandemic times, the popular series attracted 70-plus in-person attendees to many programs.
The inaugural 2023 program is set for 10 a.m.-noon Friday, Jan. 27. Programs are scheduled to continue each Friday through March 24.
The Jan. 27 session will be on China and the U.S. and will be presented by Deltaville’s John Hooper, a retired U.S. Coast Guard commander, who organizers say has prepared an outstanding comprehensive presentation on the competition between the two nations and China’s increasing global influence.
China is by no means the only “hot-ticket” item on the schedule this year. Other topics include:
- Feb. 3 — Iran at the Crossroads.
- TBA — Climate Migration.
- TBA — Politics in Latin America.
- TBA — War Crimes.
- TBA — Energy and Geopolitics.
- TBA — Economic Warfare.
- TBA — Global famine.
A typical session format includes:
- A welcome.
- Speaker introduction.
- Fifty-minute presentation.
- Twenty-minute coffee and cookie break.
- Question and answer period and conclusion at noon.
In the event COVID-19 becomes a deterrent to in-person sessions, organizers will try to continue with Zoom sessions, as was done last year.
Inclement weather policy: If Middlesex County Public Schools are closed for weather reasons on a certain day, the Great Decisions session for that day will also be cancelled. If school openings are delayed, the Great Decisions session will be conducted as scheduled.
To learn more, the 2023 Great Decisions briefing book, which provides an article written by prominent experts on each topic, is available for purchase for $25 at the Deltaville and Urbanna branches of the Middlesex County Public Library system and at each Friday meeting. The supply is limited and can be reserved in advance by contacting Moderator Stan Coloff at stan@stan.coloff.name.
Cookie providers are most welcome and are invited to sign up at the first meeting, Coloff said. He added, “We’re looking forward to a great year for Great Decisions.”
