PIOTSDAM -- On Nov. 16, SOAR members and friends came together once again after more than two years to celebrate the end of a successful semester of in person classes.

The fall luncheon took place in the Barrington Student Union on the SUNY Potsdam campus and was held to thank and recognize those who presented classes, those who volunteered in any way during the semester and to acknowledge the work of two outstanding SOAR members.

Prior to the beginning of the luncheon, the New Horizons Band under the direction of Diane Mathie entertained the gathering with some wonderful music.

Jim Barry, a longtime member of SOAR who passed away in June of this year, received the Outstanding Contribution to SOAR Award posthumously. Following a remembrance of Jim read by Lyn Swafford, Vice Chair of the Board of Directors, Dana Barry, Jim’s wife, accepted this special award in his memory, given only from time to time to extraordinary SOAR members. Additionally, the award has been renamed the Jim Barry Outstanding Contribution to SOAR Award.

Jim joined the SOAR Board of Directors in the early Spring of 2002, shortly after the organization came into being. Later in that semester, he joined its Curriculum Committee, the group responsible for developing course lists for each semester and then recruiting people to present them. The rest, as we say, is SOAR history. Why? Because for more than 20 years, Jim prepared his lengthy lists of potential classes and then coerced – er, persuaded – presenters into teaching them. In many minds, Jim was and always will be MR. SOAR.

Mark Coleman was this semester’s recipient of the 2022 SuperSOARer (ED: no spaces) Award. This award honors a SOAR member who has contributed significantly to the SOAR organization in the following ways: governance, administration, teaching and volunteerism.

Mark’s service to SOAR fills each category. He has served as both Vice Chair and Chair of the 15-member Board of Directors, and while Chair of the Scheduling Committee, Mark was responsible for finding classrooms and workable times for the courses offered over many semesters. He is well known for his excellent Shakespeare classes and, along with his wife Cynthia, for their extensive worldwide travels shared through a popular course called Vicarious Voyages.

Awards Committee Chair Juanita Babcock presented both citations.