PROBUS CLUB OF SOUTH LONDON

President's Message: 

Spring finally! Today as I write this the sun is shining, the skies are blue and I think I can see the grass greening up. Isn’t spring great? 

We had a wonderful speaker at the general meeting last week. Thank you to Miranda Bothwell of London Middlesex EMS. 

 A gentle reminder to members: Some members have scent sensitivities that can cause fairly severe health issues from allergies and asthma to migraines. We ask that you please minimize your use of cologne/perfume, scented sprays and similar body products when attending club activities. Thank you for your help with this.    

At the Management Committee we discussed our club’s need to grow our membership.  We are making our April 19th and our May 17th general meetings “Be a Friend, Bring a Friend” meetings. Please invite a friend to join you at the meeting and to learn about the London South Probus Club; how we do things together within the Probus goal of ‘providing Fellowship, Friendship, and Fun for men and women in their retirement and semi-retirement years’. Our speaker for the April’s General meeting is Bill Shepard of the Canadian Harvard Aircraft Association. Please invite a friend to join you at the meeting. 

Connie Mabb and Louise Straub are joining Bill and Shirley Harris, Karen Banks, Marian McIndoe and me on the Nominations Committee. Together, we will be recruiting a slate of officers for the club’s 2023/24 operating year. All Management Committee positions are available. We have the following vacancies on the 2023-2024 Management Committee roster to fill: President, Vice President, and Events Coordinator.  Responsibilities of each of the Management Committee Members can be found on the Club website. Sharing a position between 2 people has been very effective in our club. Each member of our Management Committee believes in the value of Probus. We need new people to step forward for our club to continue. We are asking every club member to consider serving in this way. Speak to any of the current members of the Management Committee or the Nominations Committee if you are interested in any of the positions.   

And speaking of next year, we will be accepting e-transfers for membership renewals for the coming membership year. Stay tuned for more details as we get closer to membership renewal time. 

That’s all from me today – Something that I read in Today’s Globe and Mail First Person – “At this time of year, less is definitely more; less black, less material, less cumbersome footwear. For the first time in months, our clothing no longer weighs more than we do” . Hope you spend some time outside soon, breathing in SPRING. 

General Meeting & Speaker, March 15, 2023

Miranda Bothwell is the Public Access Defibrillator/ Public Education Coordinator for Middlesex- London Paramedic Service (MLPS).  As the PAD coordinator, Miranda oversees the use and maintenance of over 480 public defibrillators throughout Middlesex- London, promotes/ facilitates emergency awareness and preparedness programming throughout the community, and acts as the Media officer for MLPS.

For our April 19th meeting, Bill Shepard will be our speaker, and he will be speaking on the Canadian Harvard Aircraft Association.

Pat Donnelly, Manager of Watershed and Climate Change for the City of London. Pat brought 72 hour emergency kits for a draw held  at the February and March meetings.   These kits were handed out to the lucky winners and are worth over $90.00 each.

Birthdays:

April:

Darlene, Gail, Bob, Mark, Carol, Leonard, June, and Deana.

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 

There are still seats available on the bus to Niagara Falls on May 2. We need at least 20 to make this event happen, so as of March 30th you are free to invite your friends to join us. The cost is $117 which includes lunch. The bus will depart Riverside United Church at 8:10 a.m. sharp so don’t be late. You can sign up at the April meeting or online.  A seat is not guaranteed until payment is received.

 We are still finalizing details for the Spring luncheon so keep an eye on the website for more information. We will post details there as soon as they are available.

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

Co-President's Message

Hello Everyone:

We hope you all enjoyed the January meeting. We had amazing speakers with so much information and humour.  Eric Wood speaking about the Phoenix Project.  Jim and Sandra Gilmour presenting the “Who Am I”, and Nancy Holmes introducing and thanking our speaker Chris Allum.  Chris had very informative information on Protecting Your Money. The February meeting speaker is Marlene-Butler Thornton.  Marlene is going to speak on Black History, which coincides with February being Black History month.

 The member and guest registration, before entering the meeting room, went well. Many thanks to Connie Mabb and Cheryl Whipp.

Marian and I would like to thank you all for the smiling faces and for all the kind words we received when we chaired the last two meetings. Susan Wolnik, your President, will be returning from holidays for the February meeting.

Again we thank you!!

Take care and stay well

Karen Banks and Marian McIndoe
Co-Vice Presidents

PREPARE YOURSELF!                    

A reading list suggested by Joy Wendling, our upcoming speaker,  in preparation of her presentation:

Thomas King
The Inconvenient Indian
Indians on Vacation (fiction)

Richard Wagamese
Indian Horse (fiction)
One Drum

Tanya Talaga
Seven Fallen Feathers

Bob Joseph
21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act

Robbie Robertson
Hiawatha and the Peacemaker (children)

Christy Jordan-Fenton and Margaret Pokiak-Fenton
Not My Girl (children)

Jody Wilson-Raybould
From Where I Stand: Rebuilding Indigenous Nations for a stronger Canada

Charlie Angus
Children of the Broken Treaty

Truth and Reconciliation
Calls to Action
They Came for the Children

General Meeting & Speaker, January 18, 2023

Our speaker today was Chris Allum.  She spoke on “The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC)”,  a crown corporation that is responsible for regulating the capital markets in Ontario. Through their outreach program, they partner with community associations and organizations to help people to make more informed financial decisions.

The presentation, Protect Your Money, covers common scams and warning signs, working with your financial representative, money tips and resources.

Protect Yourself Against Fraud

Four ways to avoid investment fraud:

1. Take the time to make an informed decision.
2. Research to understand the risks and any fees.
3. Get a second opinion.
4. Do a background check.

Six ways to protect yourself from scammers and identity theft:

1. Delete unsolicited emails –no legitimate company will ask for your personal information by email.
2. Never give out personal information over the phone.
3. Keep your bank account and credit card information safe –Don’t give out your passwords to anyone.  Shred anything with your account #
4. Be cautious when shopping online –
5. Only enter your credit card number on secure websites that you know are legitimate.  Don’t allow the site to keep your credit card # on file.
6. Report lost or stolen credit cards immediately.
7. Review your statements each month.

INVESTMENT FRAUD CHECKLIST

1. Were you promised a guaranteed return? Be suspicious of investments that guarantee a return.
2. Were you told the investment is low-or-no-risk? There are no risk-free investments.
3. Did you feel pressured to invest quickly.  Scammers frequently use high pressure sales tactics to get your money and then move on to other victims.
4. Were you offered insider information or a “hot tip?” The sources of “hot tips” or “insider information” don’t have your interests in mind.
5.  Did you check the seller’s registration information and discipline record?Always take the time to check that the person or business you are dealing with is registered with the securities regulator in your province.
6. Can you verify the investment with a credible source? If you receive an unsolicited investment opportunity, get a second opinion from your registered financial representative or lawyer.
7. Do you understand how the investment works?  Never invest until you understand how the investment works.  What are the fees to buy, hold and sell the investment? What are the tax considerations?

Before you invest, visit CheckBeforeYouInvest.Ca or call the OSC at 1-877-785-1555.

You might also like to read:

"How to protect yourself from real-estate title fraud".
Title fraud involves stealing a homeowner's identity to refinance or sell home without them knowing.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/prevent-title-insurance-fraud-1.6711615

The Phoenix Project: Eric Wood  

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

Birthdays

Monday, February 1, 2023,12 PM (noon) Crossings Pub Company https://www.crossingseatery.com/ 1269 Hyde Park Rd. Telephone: 519-472-3020. Convenor: Cheryl Whipp. Register by: Sunday, January 29th by contacting Cheryl Whipp. 

See the event on our calendar.

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.

2nd Euchre Group:

L-R: Liz Gorden,  June Rooth, Diane Wells

L-R:Linda Deckert, June Rooth, Diane Wells

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

New Members:

L-E: Karen Magowan; Ralph Pincombe; Wayne McLachlan, Norma McLachlan; Eric Wood

Who Am I? Speakers - Jim and Sandy Gilmore

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.

PROBUS SOUTH LONDON NEEDS YOU!!!!!!!

Please consider your talents, and the gifts that you may be able to offer. Whether you have a “sprinter” mentality of wanting to be involved or a  “marathon” mentality, there are opportunities right now, urgently needed at the moment, are Audio/Visual Tech support.  Monitoring the sound board and support to the projection person.  Training provided.  Contact Patrick Scott for more information.

Co-President's Message

HELLO EVERYONE  

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!  

We hope you all had a wonderful holiday.

Our Christmas Luncheon had a super turnout. Our thanks go to Nancy Fazackerley and her committee, Sheila James, Carol Hodson and Brigitte Davidson,  for  arranging a great venue, delicious meal and enjoyable entertainment.

2023 will bring us interesting speakers and new adventures. Stay tuned.
Our January speaker will be Christine Allum. Christine will educate us on protecting our finances.

We look forward to you attending our meetings and joining our activities as well as giving us your thoughts and suggestions.

See you at the January 18th meeting.
Take care, stay safe and healthy.

Karen Banks and Marian McIndoe
Co-Vice Presidents

General Meeting & Speaker, January 18, 2023

Our speaker today is Chris Allum.  She will speak on “The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC)”,  a crown corporation that is responsible for regulating the capital markets in Ontario. Through their outreach program, they partner with community associations and organizations to help people to make more informed financial decisions.

The presentation, Protect Your Money, covers common scams and warning signs, working with your financial representative, money tips and resources.

Climate Change Meeting

Click here to see our new photo page! View our participants at the Climate Change meeting hosted jointly  by the North and South London PROBUS Club on Tuesday, October 25.

Birthdays

Investment Club:

Investment Club meeting on  December  7^th at the Riverbend Club House.  The meeting began with a discussion of developments that could influence the market.

Today we discussed the Royal Bank possibly buying HBSC and the development of solid state batteries for electric cars.  We then reviewed our Investment Forum Portfolio.  It is made up of eleven categories that include Tech Stock, Financial Stock, REITs, EFTs, and Consumer Staples.  We also look at the Watchlist of stocks we are considering buying.  Don Jamieson sends members an updated portfolio before the next meeting.

The members don’t invest any actual money as part of the group but do use information learnt at the meetings to make their own investment decisions.  

Contact Don Jamieson.

Left to right: Meredith Cass, Julie Igras, Don Jamieson, Sine Herold, Don Bernachi

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.

Second Euchre Group:

L-R: Liz Gorden,  June Rooth, Diane Wells

L-R:Linda Deckert, June Rooth, Diane Wells

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

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

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

Our Christmas Party at the Highland on December 14, 2022.   To see all photos, click here

Bernie Gilmore was our entertainer for the Christmas party singing many favorites and keeping the party going with a sing-a-long.

Bernie Gilmore, singer, guitarist and banjo player is always looking for a good story to make into another song.  Bernie combines his enthusiasm for song writing and performing with a passion for international development - (recipient 2001 Lewis Perinbaum award for excellence in development in rural Africa). Bernie has recorded two solo cd's - “another path,” songs of personal inspiration and “OIL BOOM!,” celebrating Canada's history of oil discovery and most recently “Sea Fever” with his folk roots/celtic band Scallywag. Bernie has twice received nominations in the London Music Awards for best singer-songwriter in the folk/roots category.

Co-President's Message

Hello all.  Let us introduce ourselves -  Karen Banks and Marian McIndoe co-vice presidents. As Susan Wolnik our president is away, we co-chaired the November 16th meeting.

Thank you all for attending the meeting. Our speaker Joy Wendling spoke on Reconcilliation. She was very informative and we all learned a great deal.

As of November 16th our membership is 102 and we have 5 new membership applications.

Deanna Wright our "Who Am I" speaker was very interesting and entertaining. Thank you Shirley Harris for introducing Deanna.

We would like to thank the Management Committee members: Susan Wolnik - president, Treasurer - Mike Smith, Membership - Patrick Scott,  Special Events - Nancy Fazackerley, Newsletter - Brigitte Davidson, Past Co -Presidents -  Shirley and Bob Harris. They have all been extremely helpful to us adjusting to our position of Co-Vice president.

We  want to let you know that this committee is working very hard for you, the members, and we appreciate your input and suggestions. We also thank all members who participate in meetings and special interest groups. We are here for YOU.

MERRY CHRISTMAS and hope to see you all in 2023.

General Meeting & Speaker, November 16, 2022

Joy Wendling was our November speaker. For a long time Joy has been interested in Indigenous culture, and used these teachings as a Brownie leader. So, when the Presbyterian Church in Canada asked its congregations to become involved in Healing and Reconciliation, Joy was happy to volunteer. Her first task was to introduce the congregation to Indigenous history, particularly as the PCC ran some Indian Residential Schools. With the minister’s support, the history and current issues of Indigenous peoples have been gradually introduced through special services for Indigenous Peoples Day, Orange Shirt Day and Red Dress Day, as well as presentations. In 2019 Joy was part of a PCC journey of reconciliation which visited First Nation centres and reserves in Northern Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatchewan. This trip was life-changing for Joy and she returned even more committed to truth and reconciliation. Her church continued to have services for special Indigenous days on-line during the pandemic. Joy has spoken to groups, attended Indigenous gatherings, and connected with First Nations people, as well as conducting the Blanket Exercise, a participatory exercise to introduce people to the complete history of the settlement of Canada by Europeans. This history is complicated and reconciliation will not happen quickly, but Joy is committed to doing what she can to further the process.

Our Speaker for Who Am I: Deanne Wright

The individual who is going to share her biography is a new member who joined our Club in September, just two months ago.  Deanne Wright was delighted to accept my invitation to speak with us today. She is a very social woman with a wonderful sense of humour and is very comfortable with speaking to groups.

Birthdays

December:

Barbara Boothe, Ray Goldfarb; John Wolnik.

Social Events

The sign-up sheets for the events below will be available at the next several meetings. If you have any questions in the meantime, please contact Nancy Fazackerley.

December - Christmas lunch is December 14th at the Highland with the cash bar open at 11:30. Our entertainment is a musician called Bernie Gilmour

January – mini golf at Fleetway on January 24 at 10:00 a.m. with lunch after at State and Main on Wonderland Rd N. Cost is $13.50 plus lunch extra.

February – Tour of the Royal Canadian Regiment Museum on Oxford St E. at 10:00 a.m. on February 21st. Cost is $10/person

March - TBD

April – TBD

May – Bus trip to Niagara Falls for a tour of the hydro plant and Bird Kingdom.  Date is May 2nd or 9th,  but will be confirmed soon. Approximate cost is $135 plus lunch. If we don’t sell at least 20 tickets the trip will be cancelled

June – lunch TBD

Trip to Walters Theatre June 13 for performance of music from the Bee Gees, Beatles, Beach Boys and Motown. Cost is $70. Only 5 tickets left and this will open to friends and family January 1st.

Contact Sheila James.

Watch for more details at the January general meeting.

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. There will be more information about events in January, February, March, April and May at the next general meeting.

Website

Most of our current club documents/records are now available on the website. We have just added new "buttons" on the right hand side of our Home Page for  NEWSLETTER, CALENDAR  and DIRECTORY (Membership Listing).

Hot off the press! We have just added a PHOTOS button. You can click on it from our home page, or click here to see all of our photos this year!

Most of the information is available on our website without the need to login. However to use the online membership Directory or update your profile, you will need to  LOG IN—as this information is for members only. 

To access the site, just copy and paste: https://www.southlondonprobus.ca into your web browser. Please note: everyone needs to have their own email address to log in—two people sharing an email will not work.

To create your password:

• Click on the Log In icon on the top right corner of the home page
• Type in your email address, then click on Forgot password beside the LOG IN button
• You’ll be sent to a RESET PASSWORD page where you can enter your email address and the code you see there 
• Click Submit, then reset instructions for a new password will be emailed to you
• After you have reset the password, if you click on the “Remember Me” box when signing in, the computer will remember your password and signing in should be semi-automatic from then on. 

If you have any questions about how to log in to the website, please contact Patrick Scott.

Activities

Lunch After General Meeting:

Join us for lunch after the November meeting at The Mandarin.

Dine Out:

The November Dine-out was at the Mandarin Restaurant in Hyde Park.  A good time was had by all.

For more information, see the pictures, click here

Coffee Mornings
Men's Coffee:

2nd and 4th Monday of the month at 10:00 a.m. except 4th Monday in December.  Call Norman Eligh if you are planning to attend by Sunday evening prior to the coffee meet-up.

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 October coffee, in the photo section at the end of the newsletter! Convenor: Shirley Harris.

Investment Club:

The Investment group typically meets for about 90 minutes once a month on the second Wednesday.  Discussions focus on 1) Canadian and international issues and events that are likely to impact our finances and investments; 2) the performance of and expected prospects for companies which the group "holds" in a virtual Portfolio or might wish to acquire; and 3) finance and investing questions and issues raised by group members.  Decisions taken at the most recent meeting included selling a portion of our "shares" in the stocks of Apple and of Nuvista energy, to capture profits and maintain an appropriate balance relative to other holdings. contact Don Jamieson, for more information./p>

Please Note: since our December lunch falls on the 2nd Wednesday of the month, the December Investment Club will meet on December 7th.

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 Connie 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

A big welcome to our newest members! Julie Igras (top right), Terry Peters  (bottom left), Ralph Pincombe (bottom right).

               

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

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

Our November outing was to the Jet Air Museum. 19 people attended, lunch followed at the Kantana Cafe where we had a great view of planes large and small taking off.  A fun time was had by all who attended.  Click here to see all 11 photos!

Membership:

As of November 22, 2022 we have 103 Members, which includes 21 New Members.

Probus News:

Repurposing Old Laptops:

The Phoenix Project is seeking older laptops that have become too slow and sluggish to be useful, so that they can be rejuvenated and placed with needy families and/or newcomers to Canada. I have now repurposed 20+ laptops and their new owners are very pleased with the results.

If you have an older laptop that you no longer use and you would like to securely dispose of it, please consider donating it. The hard drive will be securely erased to ensure NO data can ever be recovered—so you need have no concerns about compromising your personal information. Then a new lightweight operating system is added to make these old machines functional once again. And, importantly, this helps minimize the production of e-waste, as these old units are put into useful service rather than being thrown out!

Thanks for considering this request. You can contact me directly for more information or to arrange a donation pickup or drop-off.

Eric Wood
New Member – Probus Club of South London

         

      

President's Message

I thought that we had a great general meeting last week. Those who attended were treated to an excellent presentation by Kristene Steed, owner operator of Rheo Thompson Candies in Stratford and to some very tasty Rheo Thompson chocolates as well!  Thank you so much to Karen and Marian for all your work to bring speakers to talk to our members at each of our general meetings. 

Our membership is growing; as of Oct 26, we have 102 members. In July 2022 we were at 87 members. Please reach out to our new members as they start to participate in our club meetings and interest groups. It helps everyone if we remember to wear our name badges to general and interest group meetings. We can each remember what it was like to be a new member and now pleasant it feels for members to introduce themselves and make a new member more comfortable in the group.  

Thanks to the work of our past presidents Shirley and Bob Harris, I am happy to report to you that we have ‘Who Am I’ and ‘Slice of Life’ presenters lined up for our general meetings till the end of the 2022/23 meeting year. This is also a wonderful opportunity for us to get to know each other better. 

We joined forces with the London North Probus club in supporting the City of London Climate Change and You event at Gateway Church on Oct 25th. It was an excellent opportunity to learn about our city’s approach to climate change and what we can each do to make a difference in our collective future living here in London Ontario. There were door prizes and treats to add to the excitement of the event. We were outnumbered by the London North club in terms of the numbers of members attending. Greg Belz, the London North Probus Club president, and I agree that this combined club support was a good idea that we may repeat in the future. 

Thank you to all our members who participate in general meetings and interest groups and, in doing so, help us meet the Probus goals of friendship, fellowship and fun. 

General Meeting & Speaker, October 19, 2022

Kristene Steed is the owner-operator of Rheo Thompson Candies and has 32 years of experience in the retail industry, starting out with the Hudson Bay Company. She was part of the team which created the concept store for Home Outfitters and then was recruited to become the Eastern Canadian Director of Photolabs and Electronics for the Loblaws Companies. She moved back to her hometown to purchase Rheo Thompson Candies in 2003 with husband Marc Johnstone.

Kristene wears many hats in running a small business including leading a customer-focused retail and e-commerce operation, merchandising, sourcing giftware and packaging, procurement of all non-confection materials, human resources, financial analysis, and inventory controls. She maintains up-to-date industry knowledge through regular attendance at industry tradeshows and seminars in Canada, United States and Europe.

She graduated from Western University (Bachelor of Arts, Sociology) and then received her Bachelor of Arts Business Administration degree from Wilfrid Laurier University. The Gallery Stratford, Stratford Tourism Alliance/ Destination Stratford Board and the Stratford Middle Years School’s Parent Advisory Group are organizations to which she has lent her expertise. Kristene joined the Stratford Festival’s Board in March 2021 and serves on the Marketing and Communications committee.

Climate Change Meeting

Click here to see our new photo page! View our participants at the Climate Change meeting hosted jointly  by the North and South London PROBUS Club on Tuesday, October 25.

Birthdays

Investment Club:

The Investment group typically meets for about 90 minutes once a month on the second Wednesday.  Discussions focus on 1) Canadian and international issues and events that are likely to impact our finances and investments; 2) the performance of and expected prospects for companies which the group "holds" in a virtual Portfolio or might wish to acquire; and 3) finance and investing questions and issues raised by group members.  Decisions taken at the most recent meeting included selling a portion of our "shares" in the stocks of Apple and of Nuvista energy, to capture profits and maintain an appropriate balance relative to other holdings. contact Don Jamieson, for more information.

A new member's Account:

I recently joined Probus and have benefited from my attendance in the satellite investor group. My particular circumstance is such that I do not have a previous understanding and contacts within the stock investment realm but have a strong motivation to learn as much as possible to best manage my own personal finances. The two meetings that I have attended have already benefited me and I have acted on some initial advice. The breadth of knowledge the members have is substantial and during and after the second meeting I attended I have been provided with even more information to assist in and accelerate my learning curve. I really appreciate the educational dynamic of the meeting as a 'think tank'. The parallel impetus of the meeting to review past virtual share investments lends itself to getting a more detailed understanding of past and current stock behaviour. I strongly recommend that other members of Probus participate in this group to help them navigate the complex world of investments. I look forward to attending the future meetings.  -- Meredith.

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

A big welcome to our newest members!

Left to Right: Susan Wolnik (President), John Wolnik, Nancy Holmes, Moira Connell, Andrea Graham

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

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

October20: Anderson Craft Ales Tour.  Fun time was had by all who attended.  Click here to see the photos!

Presidents' Message

Fall seems like a new beginning in many ways – school, theatre season, pumpkin spice season – and the same is true for Probus. Your new executive has started our work on your behalf for the coming season of Probus. We are fortunate that we have several experienced members on the Management Team with the happy addition of new faces too! Thank you especially to Shirley and Bob Harris for holding our club together over the past couple of challenging years.

As a management team we are keen to bring you an interesting year with speakers and ongoing club activities. Stay tuned to the website and the newsletter for all the details. Take a look at the following web links to see our new Management Committee members and the minutes from our AGM.

October is Probus month. As a special Probus event, we are working with the London North Probus club and The City of London to bring a special event to you on Oct 25th – “Climate Change and You; Actions you can take to prepare your family”. This is very timely as we watch the news of severe storms including Hurricane Fiona’s devastation on the East coast of Canada and Hurricane Ian in the southern American states. ‘Climate Change and You’ will take place at the Gateway Church from 1 – 5 pm on Oct 25th. Free admission/parking, with displays, door prizes and light snacks. Please plan to attend and bring as many guests as you like, the event is open to all.

With Thanksgiving coming soon, please enjoy the holiday with friends and family. I know that I am thankful for so much this year—getting back to more normal living with family get togethers and travelling; all based on remarkable science that produced vaccines to help fight COVID. As I look outside today, I see our beautiful Southwestern Ontario fall colours under a bright blue sky. It doesn’t get much better than this, wherever you are in the world.

Here are two quotes that explain the season of Thanksgiving to me:

"Showing gratitude is one of the simplest yet most powerful things humans can do for each other." Randy Pausch 

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite days of the year because it reminds us to give thanks and to count our blessings. Suddenly, so many things become so little when we realize how blessed and lucky we are." Joyce Giraud

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Susan Wolnik

General Meeting & Speaker

Our regular general meeting will be held on Wednesday, October 19 at the usual Riverside location, starting at 9:30 a.m. Our guest speaker will be Kristene Steed from Rheo Thompson Chocolates in Stratford.

Climate Change Meeting

A meeting  on climate change, sponsored by the City of London, will be hosted jointly by the North and South London PROBUS Clubs:

When:   Tuesday, October 25
Where: Gateway Church, 890 Sarnia Rd, London
Topic:     Climate Change and You

This is a drop in event from 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM with presentations at 2:00 PM and 4:00 PM.  For more details, click on the poster below to enlarge.

Birthdays

Investment Club:

Meetings are held on the second Wednesday of each month. Anyone interested is encouraged to contact Don Jamieson.

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 Connie 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

A big welcome to our newest members!

Left to Right: Kathy Nafziger, Bette Kline, Catherine Morrison, Larry Morrison, Ray Goldfarb, Ken Schaus, Barbara Schaus, Meredith Cass, Deana Wright, Dave Webster

Below: Handing over to our new president at the AGM...

Women's  Coffee

Member Bios

Introducing our new Treasurer—Mike Smith

Mike was born in Wales. After graduating with an Honours degree in chemistry and math, followed by a post grad in Education, he taught high school in London, England for a year before moving to Kingston, Jamaica for 3 years. He then moved to Toronto where he lived for 5 years, followed by Winnipeg for over 30 years.

Since moving to Canada, Mike has worked in insurance and financial services. He travelled extensively across Canada training/educating brokers on taxation, investment and insurance products, as well as estate planning concepts. He also provided educational seminars to business owners and farmers. Mike has obtained, among other professional designations, a CFP and coached CFP students. He is a past president of the Estate Planning Council of Winnipeg. Mike retired 15 years ago—first to Mexico then to Florida and finally London. Mike is married and has 2 daughters - one in Toronto, and the other in California.

Presidents' Message:

We felt that our Presidents’ Message in the June newsletter was our swan song, but apparently not.  We were pleased to see individuals offer to fill the positions of Vice-President and Treasurer for next year.  We’re excited about the prospects of a more “normal” Probus calendar of events next year.   However, we remain vigilent for the benefit of our members and think of the cautionary note expressed by Yogi Bear in another context, but equally applicable here, “It ain’t over till it’s over!”  All the best to the new Management Committee for next year and especially our next President, Susan Wolnik.  We hope she gets as much enjoyment and satisfaction out of the position as we have.

Shirley and Bob Harris

F.Y.I.:  While researching phobias, we discovered that the fear of long words is
“Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia”.   Please don’t ask us to pronounce it!

Speaker:

Our Sept 21 speaker will be Diane Yeo, her topic is Mindfulness for Everyday Life

• Are you feeling anxious or stressed?
• Is your mind going nonstop?
• It is affecting your happiness and quality of life?
• Are you ready to relax, find peace, feel enough and live life?

Explore mindfulness. 

Join us and learn how mindfulness can quiet the chatter in your mind, calm your body and increase your overall happiness and well-being. Learn effective tools you can use from morning to night to release stress, be more present, handle your day-to-day pressures with more ease, and enjoy your life.  The good news is anyone can do this – all that is required is the desire. Enjoy a guided meditation and experience the benefits for yourself!

“You can’t stop the waves but you can learn to surf.”    
- Jon Kabitt-Zinn

September Birthdays:

Investment Club:

Meetings are held on the second Wednesday of each month. 

Anyone interested is encouraged to contact Don Jamieson.

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,  contact Connnie Mabb.

Lunch After General Meeting:

Our lunch after the September meeting will be at Taverna 13thirtyone. It's located on the East side of Hyde Park Road just north of the railway underpass. Right beside the Harley Davidson and Indian Motorcycle dealer. Lots of parking in the rear. Hope to see you there

Dine Out:

The next Dine Out is on Wednesday, September 7, 2022, at 11:30 am at Luan’s Seafood & Grill, 315 Wellington Rd South, London, 519-439-6121 (https://www.luansseafoodandgrill.com/)

Please register with Angie Jansen by Thursday, September 1st., to have your name added to the list.

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. 

Please contact Susan Wolnik or Liz Gordon .

Note from the Editor:

Convenors PLEASE take pictures at your events and submit them to me to enhance our Newsletter.

Your Management Team at Work!!!! (no really we did)

                  

Meet your new Vice-Chairs:

L: Marian Mcindough   R: Karen Banks

Membership:

IMPORTANT INFORMATION, PLEASE NOTE:

Membership renewals for 2022-2023 are due on September 1, 2022. An email notification will be generated from the club's website 21 days prior to the due date. The notification will provide information as to when fees are due and how to make the payments.

Probus Club of South London
COVID-19 Policy effective August 9, 2022

•  Members & Guests need to be fully vaccinated (3 doses, preferably 4 doses) to attend any club events, meetings, and activities.
• Proof of vaccination continues to be required and will be updated/recorded when registering at General Meetings.
• All Members and Guests are expected to use the Province’s “Self -Assessment Tool” and only participate in activities or events if the outcome of that assessment shows no need to self-isolate.
• Face masks are to be worn when entering, using the washroom, and leaving the General Meeting venue (Riverside United Church). Face masks are optional inside the meeting room.
• https://covid-19.ontario.ca/self-assessment/