Beaver Valley Probus Club

Grapevine February 2021

February 11, 2021 8:00 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

President's Message

Caroline Bacher

Dear Members,

Happy belated Groundhog Day! Wiarton Willie says we will have an early Spring! We have had some beautiful sunny days of late. I hope that you are able to get outside and enjoy the crisp, fresh air whether it be for a walk, cross-country skiing or snowshoeing!

This month is an important one for all of our members of the Beaver Valley Probus Club because we will hold our AGM on February 23rd. This will not be the usual AGM meeting where everyone can gather to enjoy a lunch together. The actual meeting will be run using Zoom. However, the review of last year’s minutes, the slate of nominees for officers and the financial statements will be done online. Please refer to the email sent out on January 27th for more information about the voting process. Further emails are forthcoming.

Every February AGM meeting brings change to the Management Committee. Although a few of us are willing to stay on for another term, some of our members are stepping down. I would like to take this opportunity to thank them for their important contributions to our Management team over the past few years. They are Vicki and Terry Kellar, Rick Leclair, Ann Parsons, Chris Rickard and Nancy Seppala.

That means there are still some positions open! Please consider volunteering. We are here to give you assistance. Please see the nominating committee report further down in this newsletter.

This month is special because St. Valentine’s Day is on February 14th. This is a  good time to send greetings to friends and relatives. Remember to be kind to one another. Stay safe. We hope that you will join us for our monthly virtual Meetings with interesting speakers! 

Sincerely,
Caroline Bacher

Annual General Meeting  - February 23 @ 2:00 pm

Due to the restrictions imposed in response to the current pandemic, our Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held online this year. Voting will also be done electronically and in advance of the meeting. 

Voting is open now! Almost 20% of our members have already voted!

The 3 articles to be voted on are: 

Check the Feb 10 email for the link to vote! Voting closes on February 21.

Our Speaker on February 23

Although we are not meeting in-person at the Community Center in February due to COVID-19 restrictions, we will have a meeting and guest speaker online.

We will begin with the  Annual General Meeting (AGM) agenda, and announce the results of the voting for the 2021 slate of officers. This will be immediately followed by a presentation by our guest speaker. Please check your emails closer to the meeting date, for the link to join the Zoom meeting.

Our Guest Speaker on February 23 will be Bob MacNair, Director - PROBUS Ontario District 7 and Vice-President PROBUS Canada.

Following an election in August of 2017, Bob was appointed in September, to serve for three years as the Director for the newly established PROBUS Ontario District 7. He was re-appointed in 2020 to serve as our District Director until May, 2023.

There are 13 PROBUS Canada Directors from across Canada on the Board of Directors. Five of these Directors are members of the Executive for the Board. Bob is presently the Vice-President of PROBUS Canada.

Bob was an Elementary School Teacher for 37 years with the Peel District School Board. He taught all Grades from 1-8 and also taught in schools in all three municipalities in Peel Region: Brampton, Mississauga and Caledon.

Speaker Recordings:

Don't forget to check out our past speakers on our YouTube channel.

Speaker Suggestions:

If you have any suggestions for speakers, please contact our new Speaker's Co-chairs: Brenda Rudolf or Beverly Forget. 

Beaver Valley Probus Club 20th Anniversary 

Last month we announced that our Beaver Valley Probus Club is celebrating our 20th Anniversary during the year 2021. To date, our Committee has held 2 zoom meetings to start the planning process. Our aim is to feature as many of our Founding Members from 2001 with a short bio & photo in our Grapevine newsletter throughout 2021. Last month we featured 3 members and this month we again include some more of our members that joined our Club in 2001, along with a short write-up from 2 of our Past Presidents from 2002 and 2003.

We would welcome your ideas on how we can celebrate this special milestone in 2021 and ask you to contact any of the 4 members listed below with your suggestions.

Hank Bouwman, Anniversary Committee Chair
Vicki Kellar
Martin Buscher
Stella Zahradnik

In the Beginning....

Jim O'Brien, President 2003

In 1995 when Wilma and I retired to our weekend place in Thornbury, there was just one Probus Club in the whole area. It was in Collingwood, just for men, and had a ten year waiting list. With the help of Rotary, 25 people from that waiting list formed the Blue Mountain Probus Club, also in Collingwood and also just for men. By 1999, it had a waiting list, and there were also Probus Clubs for women, and Probus Clubs for men and women - all in Collingwood.

Jim Hamilton, a Past President of the Blue Mountain Probus Club, asked the Thornbury/Clarksburg Rotary Club to sponsor a Probus Club in Thornbury. A notice was placed in the local newspaper explaining what Probus was all about and inviting people to come to a meeting at the Beaver Valley Community Centre to help us decide if a new club should just be for men or women or both.

We had 75 chairs set out, but 180 people showed up. Jim Hamilton, with his strong high school principal's voice, chaired the meeting. At the end, by a strong show of hands, it was decided to have a combined men and women's Probus Club. Our first president (Peter Jerred), as well as a secretary and treasurer were appointed, and a date for the first meeting of the new club was set.

The Early Years

Jim Hamilton, President 2002

Since Jim O’Brien covered how the club started, I will talk about the early years. I was the second president and one of the founding fathers. From the start, we had great executives. Like other clubs we did not have strict limits on numbers. Our area was growing fast with retired people. With the help of many individuals a large number of "interest clubs" were started,  and with a little help from the executive, ran independently. There was an annual fair to showcase and sign-up members. During my time many joined Probus to get into a club. I have many fond memories of my time at Beaver Valley Probus.

Our Founding Members

Each month we will feature some of our founding members. If you are one of original members that joined the club in 2001 - we would like to hear from you! Please contact Hank Bouwman.

This month we feature Jim O'Brien, Peter & Sue Boehm and John and Carol Hethrington. Please click here to access their photo and bio! (Members-only) you must login to view!

Photo Corner

Winter 2020-21 Slideshow


Peter Edwards was able to capture this photo of a lovely snowy owl in his neighbourhood! For more photos shared by our members, see our Winter Slideshow!

Please keep your videos, photos & ideas coming!
(Email Heather Buscher).

Activity Groups Update

Snowshoeing 

Caroline Bacher

Snowshoeing has resumed again! We had our first session out at Tomahawk Golf Course on January 27th. It was a very snowy day so the track was in good condition. We did two circuits, since it is a fairly small course. Fun was had by all! Session 2 was on February 3rd at the Clendenan Dam Conservation Area. It was a beautiful sunny day! See the the Snowshoeing Slideshow for photos.

Computer Group

Martin Buscher

The computer group resumed their online meetings in January with a discussion about Social Media - the good stuff and the pitfalls. There was a short demonstration of Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Reddit, messaging apps and more. The group tackled how to search and use hashtags, and discovered how much private data these tools actually collect about us! The next meeting is February 24 @2:00. 


The Master Gardener’s Corner

Our Master Gardener's Corner by John Hethrington, Past President, Master Gardeners of Ontario, has moved online. Look for the Gardening Tips on our web Homepage (scroll down on the right-hand side) or click here to see what you need to be doing in your garden in February!


Management Committee Openings 

We urgently need to fill two openings on our Management Committee for 2021. There is a lot of support and handover help available - how about giving it a try? 

  • Secretary (1 or 2 volunteers needed. The position can be shared.)

Please contact Marion Stewart, Martin Buscher, or Sandra Whitehead for details.

Data Privacy

Martin Buscher


You may have received phone calls or email from scammers, so you may have wondered how they found your phone number or email address. Did it come from Probus?

When we moved to the new website last year, we also made our member directory available online. To use this online directory, you have to be an active member of our Probus club and you need to login to your account first. You are in control over the type of information you want to share with other members. You can even opt out of the directory altogether, although that would make it difficult for other members to get in touch with you.

When you pay for membership or events using the online payment system, you have the choice to store your card's information for future use. It is a good practice not to do this for any online payment.

So, did they get my phone number from Probus? Very unlikely, but even government agencies and credit reporting companies can be compromised. Is an online directory as safe as the old printed version? That is as hard to know as the whereabouts of the 600 printed copies that were produced every year before we moved online.

How did we get here?

Shared by Elsbeth Wright

Click on the image to view the entire collection of all 12 generation gap illustrations!

Support Group

Do you know of a member who needs encouragement to get through a difficult period? Please do not hesitate to call on Lynn Corrigan or any of the management team. 

The Last Word

Marion Stewart, Past President

"The giving of love is an education in itself.”
Eleanor Roosevelt

Grapevine Team

Editor Chris Rickard
Photography Cheryl Besley
Distribution Nancy Dixon
Website Nancy Dixon, Heather Buscher


Activity Groups:    Participate - Volunteer - Have Fun!

Co-Convenors: Rick Leclair | Colleen Wilson-Dick | Ilene Rushefsky Charland

Please be advised that all events and activities of the Beaver Valley Probus Club are organized for the benefit and enjoyment of its Members. Individuals who participate do so at their own risk and are responsible for their own safety.


All rights reserved.

Beaver Valley PROBUS Club

Box 144, Thornbury, ON N0H 2P0

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