Beaver Valley Probus Club

Grapevine March 2021

March 09, 2021 8:55 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

President's Message

Caroline Bacher

Dear Members,

March has arrived and with it, hopes of an early Spring. On March 14th we “spring forward” by turning our clocks one hour ahead! On March 20th we celebrate the First Day of Spring! We can’t forget St. Patrick’s Day! I particularly like this special day due to my Irish ancestry. There is much to look forward to.

Usually at this time of year, the Beaver Valley Probus Club is planning a New Members Lunch! Once again, due to the pandemic, we are unable to meet in person. However, your Management Committee is planning a virtual meeting on St. Patrick’s Day instead. New members - you should have already received your invitation to this special event. Please check your emails for details.

April is our month for signing up for activities. This year we will be having another Activity e-fair. Further information will be forthcoming.

We had a successful virtual AGM in February. Thank you to those of you who participated in the voting process and gave your Management Committee a vote of confidence. We are working on a new type of General Meeting and will keep you informed of how that will work.

In the meantime, keep safe and healthy. Enjoy some of the warmer days that are surely on their way.

Sincerely,
Caroline Bacher


New Membership Co-Chairs

Vicki & Terry Kellar, past Membership Co-Chairs

Along with the advent of our new website and online membership process, we also welcome our new membership co-chairs: Pam Weaver (pictured right) and Kathy Mercer (pictured left). They currently live in Meaford. Kathy is originally from Owen Sound and is coincidentally Terry’s first cousin. Pam is a transplant from the U.S., where the two met, and has enthusiastically embraced her Canadian citizenship. 

Terry and I have greatly enjoyed our involvement with the Probus management team, most recently in the membership role, especially with getting to meet so many members. We look forward to continuing our participation with various Beaver Valley Probus activities and events.

Pam set up our first computerized membership database, so is very familiar with the transfer to the new web-based system. She has also been a volunteer on the Management Committee as co-secretary. Once we get back to in-person meetings, Pam and Kathy will be the friendly faces at the membership table. Please welcome them to their new role.



Our Speakers on March 23

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

Date: March 23, 2021 @ 2:00 PM
Online: Zoom link will be emailed two days prior to the meeting
Topic: The Events for Life Centre, Inc.

Speakers:

Barb Weeden, Executive Director
Shelley Higginson, Founder and Program Director

The Events for Life Centre Inc., is a not-for-profit charity that provides social, recreational and lifelong learning for adults with special needs in The Town of the Blue Mountains and surrounding areas. Shelley and Barb will introduce us to the new Forest School program, share how they have weathered the pandemic, volunteer opportunities and their dreams for the future.

Please take a look at their website  https://eventsfor.life/about-us/ for more information regarding their mission and our speaker's biographies!


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 one of our new Speaker's Co-chairs: Brenda Rudolf or Beverly Forget

Beaver Valley Probus Club 20th Anniversary 

As part of our 20th Anniversary celebration, we are featuring three more of our founding members, who joined our club in 2001. Our aim is to include as many of our founding members as possible, with a short biography & photo in our Grapevine newsletters throughout the year. Please forward your information to Hank Bouwman so that we can recognize you in one of our future Grapevine editions.

Your Anniversary Committee has decided to delay holding a “big bash" anniversary celebration until the Spring of 2022, due to the current pandemic restrictions. We will revisit this decision later this year, if things improve and large scale meetings are permitted.

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

Our Founding Members

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

This  month we are featuring founding members  James Couse, Margaret and David Morgan and Sylvia Ridgley. Please click here to access their photo and bio! (Members-only) you must login to view!

Photo Corner

20th Anniversary Memories

We have received from our members and unearthed from our archives, some  incredible photo collections! You can access all of the anniversary photos from our 20th Anniversary Memories webpage.

Please keep your photos coming! Email Heather Buscher.

Activity Groups Update

Snowshoeing 

Caroline Bacher

We have had two Snowshoeing events since our last newsletter. On February 17, we enjoyed lots of snow in the Enchanted Forest, above Alpine and Craigleith Ski Clubs. On March 3, we hiked along the Margaret Paul Side Trail. Since the warm temperatures have come along, the trail was more hard packed than normal. However, those of us who ventured out, enjoyed the outing and its lovely views. See the the Snowshoeing Slideshow for photos.

Winter Walkers

Nancy Dixon
Since the start of our activity in the late fall, I have come to the realization that we can be active as a Probus group outside during this strange era of Covid.  We walk along commiserating, while wearing masks, talking of everything and nothing, enjoying the scenery and making friends. 

Our last two walks have been the best. We now walk with 15 members, three groups of 5.  My attempt at using the so-called "groomed" Georgian Trail was foiled by deep, fresh snow hidden by a recent grooming, but our walkers loved the swans.  My love for alpacas gave a few walkers a laugh, but the weather was the best part of our walk in our recent trudge through Thornbury's country roads. See the Winter Walkers Slideshow for photos! Our next assault will be Meaford and I'm the only one who really knows what experience is around the corner. Keep on trying! 

Georgian PROBUS Travel Group

Gloria Thompson
The Highlands and Islands of Scotland: We had hoped for a rerun of the trip in fall 2021, but yet again everything is on hold. When the flood gates open, I suspect family visits will be the first excursions. I have heard that some of the small, luxury round-the-world cruises are sold out for 2022 already. I have been keeping in touch with the wholesaler and they will still honour our deposits. We are hoping that this trip will finally get "off the ground" in mid-May next year. Please pencil in this trip for May 2022 and hopefully there will be lots of new members interested as well.

Computer Group

Martin Buscher

The computer group met online in February for a discussion on digital photography. The group learned about Google Lens to identify objects and Photo Scan to use a phone to scan photographs and documents. There was a short demonstration of photo editing tools, storage, sharing and search options, as well as back-up ideas. The next meeting is March 24 @ 2:00 pm and will cover how to use Google Docs and Sheets.

Euchre 2 

Allan Smith
The Euchre 2 group has been ramping up the last couple of months, after being  dormant most of last year due to Covid meeting restrictions. A few members of the group recently experimented with the online Trickstercards.com platform, which allows play online with audio and video. We have come up with a method for 8 players, interchanging between 2 tables at the same time and are getting ready to increase the number of players. Trickstercards.com requires a bit of homework and practice, all done in stages, but we are getting there. If anyone is interested to learn more, please contact me. For those of you who play cards and are looking to explore a little, I recommend taking a look at trickstercards.com. They have 9 different games, one of them being bridge!

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 March!


Humour Corner

   

Community Announcements


Do you have trouble with your computer, tablet, or phone?
Maybe Cyber Seniors can help!

This non-profit organization connects high schoolers looking for volunteer hours with seniors needing help. You can call them at 844-217-3057 to book an appointment. This is a free service. Cyber Seniors also offers interesting webinars. Take a look at their website at https://cyberseniors.org/

We do not yet know how well this works, so please let us know about your experience by email to beavervalleyprobus@gmail.com.

The Last Word

Marion Stewart, Past President

"Every day may not be good but there is good in every day."
Alice Morse Earl

Grapevine Team

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


Activity Groups:    Participate - Volunteer - Have Fun!

Co-Convenors: 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.


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Beaver Valley PROBUS Club

Box 144, Thornbury, ON N0H 2P0

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