PROBUS CLUB OF SOUTH LONDON

President's Message 

It was great seeing many of you at last week’s meeting. Our speaker, Marlene Butler Thornton, gave us local context for Black History Month that I found very interesting. Also, three of our members won Emergency Grab and Go bags, which were provided by The City of London as part of our club’s participation in learning about the city’s Climate Emergency Action Plan. Members will have another opportunity to win an Emergency Grab and Go bag at the March meeting. A message I forgot to pass on to members at the February general meeting was to encourage you to contact Connie Maab if you know of any member whom you think would appreciate a message of cheer or get well wishes.   

Today, our Club’s Management Committee met and discussed several issues that are important to report to the members: Membership fee increase, COVID policy revision, and Privacy concerns.   

Since September, I have advised club members that our current membership renewal fee is insufficient to support our operation. Today, the Management Committee approved an increase to our membership renewal fee. Effective Aug 1, 2023, the annual membership renewal fee will increase to $45. This is a significant increase. We are confident that this fee increase is necessary to ensure the continued operation of the club. 

We also reviewed our club’s COVID Policy. After a very thorough discussion, the Management Committee decided that we will no longer retain records of members’ COVID vaccination status. 

We will continue to follow the advice of the Middlesex London Health Unit which states the following:  

COVID-19, Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) and influenza are co-circulating in Ontario. Please follow the public health guidance below and take steps to protect yourself.

·         Wear a mask if you think it is appropriate for you.

·         Screen yourself daily for respiratory symptoms.

·         Stay home if you're sick.

·         Keep your vaccines up to date, including booster doses. 

·         Wash your hands regularly.

·         Clean surfaces regularly.

As always, members are welcome to wear masks at any of our club events. 

Our third major discussion was about safeguarding the privacy of our members. On the public facing area of our club website, we have posted photo’s of members participating in club activities. The photo’s show members enjoying the benefits of their membership in Probus – Fellowship, Friendship and Fun. The Management Committee believes that these photos are important in attracting new members. However, we recognize that some members may be uncomfortable with having their photo on the public facing portion of the club website. We decided to continue to monitor this issue. In the meantime, please step away from our club photographers if you have any concern. We are considering your smile for the photo as your giving consent for the photo to be displayed on the website. 

In summary, we had some serious discussions about important issues at today’s management meeting. We continue to make our decisions in the best interests of our members. If you have any concerns or comments, please talk to any of us on the management committee. We can only know what you are thinking if you tell us.

Susan Wolnik

General Meeting & Speaker, February 15, 2023

February is Black History month and our speaker was Marlene Thornton, a direct descendent of a group of free black people settling in Lucan, Ontario in 1829.  Only six families settled in the Lucan area and Marlene is a sixth generation descendent of Peter Butler the First who was in the first group of people who came to Canada to create the Wilberforce Settlement community, now known as Lucan.

Pat Donnelly, Manager of Watershed and Climate Change for the City of London. Pat brought 72 hour emergency kits for a draw held this meeting as well as in March.  See bottom of newsletter for the lucky recipients.  There will be more draws for these kits, worth over $90.00 each next month.

The Phoenix Project: Eric Wood  

Eric has offered to securely wipe clean the hard drive of any used lap top computers no longer needed, he rejuvenates them and distributes to needy families.

Birthdays:

March:

Jane Pettitt; Angela Jansen; Hilda Smeltzer; Lynda Felker; Jennifer Bodnar; Patrick Scott; Brigitte Davidson; Wayne McLachlan; Donna Jean Innes; Larry Rosevear.

Social Events

Sign-up for our Social Events online:  

Click on one of the event links below, then hit the register button to sign up for that event and bring your cheque to the meeting! If you have any questions in the meantime, please contact Nancy Fazackerley.

March 30:  Heemans Nursery Tour at 10:00 a.m.  Cost is $10.00

April 13: Villages of Glendale Crossing Tour at 1:00  p.m. This event is free.

May 2:  Niagara Falls Hydro Tour departing at 8:30 a.m. Cost $117. Members only until March 30

June 13. Walters Music Theatre Trip. Cost is $70. All tickets sold. Wait list available.  Car pooling will be organized closer to the event . 

Please pay for all events ahead of time, by cheque made payable to Probus Club of South London and note on the cheque which event it is for. This will secure you a place at the event. .

Activities

Lunch After General Meeting:                                                 

Join us for lunch after the  meeting at the Sweet Onion in Byron.

Dine Out:

See the event on our calendar.

Our next dine out will take place Wednesday, March 1, 2023 at 12 noon. We will meet at Tuscanos Pizzeria and Bistro , 1579 Oxford Street East, London  (near Giant Tiger in Hyde Park. Lots of parking)  Telephone number 519-452-3737. Please be sure to register at least 3 days in advance of our lunch.

The convenors for this event are Tom Williamson and Kathy Anderson. They can be contacted by phone or by email.

Looking forward to seeing you there.

Coffee Mornings:

Men's Coffee:

2nd and 4th Monday of the month at 10:00 a.m. except 4th Monday in December.  We meet in Westmount Mall across from Tim Horton's.

Women's Coffee:

2nd and 4th Monday of the month at 10:00 a.m., except 4th Monday in December.  See the photos from our  coffee meet ups, in the photo section at the end of the newsletter! Convenor: Shirley Harris.   We meet in Westmount Mall across from Tim Horton's.

          Investment Club:

Contact Don Jamieson. Meetings held at Riverbend, first Wednesday of the month.

Euchre: 

4th Thursday of the month (except December) at 1 pm in a member’s home. 8 players maximum plus spares. Usually over in about 3 hours. There is one opening available as well as sub positions. Convenor: Gail Clarke.

Support:

If you know someone who is feeling under the weather or needs cheering up,  please contact Connnie Mabb.

Book Club:

Book Club meets the 4th Tuesday of the month at 2:00 p.m. except December, July & August in a member’s home. Our book club membership is now at capacity. If interested in joining, please call Susan Wolnik or Liz Gordon,  to be added to the waiting list. If the waiting list grows to 4-5 members, we will help prospective members form a second book club. 

Photo  Corner

Who Am I? Speakers - David & Julie Collins

Women's  Coffee: Click here to see more coffee photos.

Men's Coffee: Click here to see more coffee photos.

As the convenors of an event or group please to submit pictures to me to include in the newsletter,  as well as a brief description of what has been discussed ie. book club - the book and author and how it was received; dine out - where it was, how many attended and brief description of the food; investment club - some snip of interest etc.

Thank you for your co-operation in this matter to ensure our newsletter is more interesting to our members.

Your Management Team Hard at Work on your Behalf:

Winners of the 72 Hour Emergency Preparedness Kit:

L - R: Deana Wright, Liz Gordon, Connie Mabb