June 2024 e-Newsletter

Next General Meeting

Thursday, June 13, 2024, at 10:00 a.m.
in the HMS Ajax Room - South Entrance, Ajax Community Centre, 75 Centennial Road, Ajax, ON L1S 4S4

President's Message

Here we are in June – halfway through the year already. Crazy isn’t it?  This month’s highlight is of course our annual picnic held at Cullen Central Park in Whitby where we will again partake in some delicious Portuguese cuisine and an assortment of outdoor games.

June is also the month when, at our General Meeting, we will have the pleasure of being entertained by the talented and funny, Deidrey Francois. I hope to see you at both events.

Last month, if you were one of the lucky few who was up early and registered for the Metrolinx tour, you were treated to a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the maintenance operation of our Go Trains.  It's an impressive expansive facility.  Our event convenors will be talking with Metrolinx to see if we can book another tour this fall.

In the next article below you will see the introduction of our new "Need Help" link. Members needing technical help should find this quite handy.  I would like to personally thank Ena for spending countless hours putting this together. 

We've also introduced a new In Memoriam section near the end of the newsletter.  This is in response to recognizing our members who have recently passed away. Val Randall was one of our previous newsletter editors. She will be missed by those who knew her.

Elsewhere in this newsletter, we are featuring the role of Membership Chair. We will need to fill this position as Bev and Dave Bicknell will have finished their 3-year term – the maximum allowed by our by-laws.

And finally, in June, we celebrate Father's Day. The best Father's Day card I received from my kids when they were little went something like this: What makes a great Dad?  Kids of course – Without kids, you would just be a wise dude.

Happy Father's Day to all the Dads in our club.


Walter Matias
President

New Need Help Link

On our website's Home Page you will see the following new "Need Help?" wording, icon and link

Clicking on this icon will give new members access to helpful information to get them started using our Wild Apricot platform. This will also be useful to those members who may have forgotten how to use some of our features, such as logging in, updating privacy settings, resetting your password and registering and paying for events. We may add to the available links from time to time based on feedback.

Privacy Policy

Recently implemented data privacy laws in parts of the United States as well as Canada and Europe require that organizations which collect personal information or process credit card payments from their members, customers, or website visitors must have both a privacy policy and cookie policy for their website. We are not currently using cookies on our website so we don’t include that here.

We have updated the checkout process for all transactions made through our WildApricot website. As a part of the update, you will be prompted to review and accept our Privacy Policy as per the following screen:

You can also read our Privacy Policy by Clicking Here.

Coffee

Coffee and tea are available at our General Meetings, during the break.

To satisfy everyone’s taste two types of coffee will be available, regular and dark roast.

Help Wanted!

Membership Chair

Next year we will need to fill the role of Membership Chair.  In this role, you will be responsible for registering our guests at our monthly General Meetings.

With Wild Apricot, this role too has changed and also been made less time-consuming.  New members now register and pay on our website. It will take a couple of hours to learn the platform and like the Treasurer role, the rest comes with practice.  In total, it's probably an 8-hour commitment per month.  A basic knowledge of computers and Excel is needed.

Part of the role is coordinating the printing of new member badges and recognizing them at our general meetings.  You would also e-mail them their new member information documents.

You would work with the Executive at our monthly management meetings, updating our new member totals and work closely with our Treasurer.

If you like meeting new people and want to help the club, contact Bev and Dave at dwprobus.membership@gmail.com

JUNE SPEAKER

DEIDREY FRANCOIS
Singer, Songwriter, Entertainer 

What's in a Name?

Deidrey Francois is a Singer-songwriter, Speaker, Performer and JoyBringer. She delivers keynotes at Spiritual Centres and Seniors groups as well as concert venues internationally. Deidrey has performed with powerhouses like Jackie Richardson and Patti Austin. Her music has been featured on CBC radio and her musical versatility is performed with infectious enthusiasm. Her intent is to bring Joy in Melody to wiggle, giggle and to touch a listener's heart.

For more information on Deidrey and past speakers Click here.

MEMBERSHIP

Our current membership stands at 262.

Guests may attend up to two meetings before deciding to join the Club.

New members can be identified by a blue lanyard and guests by a yellow lanyard. Please ensure that we give them a special welcome, so they get to know us.

NOTE:  If you arrive late for a meeting (after the front desk greeters have moved into the meeting room) please stop by the Membership Desk to be checked in.

Name Badges

Pictured above are new members Paul Pedersen and Louise Campbell who received their badges at the May General Meeting.  From left to right, Walter Matias (President), Paul Pedersen and Louise Campbell. 

Welcome Paul and Louise!

Please remember to wear your name badge at ALL PROBUS meetings and events.

Your badge is important.  It identifies you as a member and makes it easier for your fellow members to greet you and get to know you. You may know your name but others don’t! It also serves as a level of security.

Note:  We have instituted a new procedure for those members attending our monthly meetings, who are not wearing their name badge. 

If you do not have your badge you will be asked to sign in using the "No Badge" sign-in sheet at the Membership desk. 

After two instances of not having your badge, you will be asked to purchase a replacement. The cost of a replacement badge is $25.00.

Replacement badges can be obtained by asking at the membership desk or contacting us at dwprobus.membership@gmail.com.


Bev & Dave Bicknell
Membership Co-Chair

Using Our Directory

We are asked from time to time by members if we have contact information for another member.

Everyone’s name is in the directory in the main menu bar on our website. (See image below).  However, many members haven’t updated their privacy settings, so that their e-mail address and phone number is available to other members.

Since we have removed any references to personal email addresses from our website and newsletter, everyone needs to update their profile to include, at the very least, their email address so that other members can contact them.

If you want to change your settings, you can update your Profile and Privacy settings by logging into Wild Apricot and clicking on your name (on the top right - see screenshot below).  If you need a refresher on how to update your privacy settings Click Here.

Remember – the directory is only visible to logged-in members.  The general public does not see this.

For activity leaders wishing to check if someone still has an active membership, you can simply type in their name in the search field in the directory.  You must be logged in to gain access.

If you need help with technical issues related to Wild Apricot, please add your name to the Buddy System sign-up sheet located at the Membership Desk and someone will contact you to provide assistance.  

Suggestion Box

We have a Suggestion Box located at the Membership Desk. If you have any suggestions that you feel would make our club better, please write them down and put them in the suggestion box.  This might include proposed social events or activities. We are always looking for new ideas. 

The Management Team will review any suggestions received in the suggestion box that month at their monthly management meeting and post a response in the following month's Newsletter.

May Suggestions

There were no suggestions received at our May meeting.

Suggestions from prior months are saved on the Members Only page of our website.  Click here to see past suggestions..

Share the Wealth

The Share the Wealth draw at our May General Meeting was won by Evelyn Buske who received $72.00

Evelyn is pictured here with Don Cornack our May Speaker, and Walter Matias (President).

Congratulations Evelyn!

SOCIAL

Please note that there are NO REFUNDS if you sign up for an event and are unable to attend. You may have someone go in your place by getting payment from them and notifying the Convenor of the event of the change, along with the name and phone number of the person replacing you.

If registration for an event is currently at capacity, please feel free to join the waitlist. If someone has already registered but subsequently finds that they can't attend, you can purchase their ticket. In this case, the event convenor will contact the first person on the waitlist. This is done on a personal basis.  Wild Apricot is not involved.

Some of our members are unable to drive but would like to participate in social events.  If you are planning on driving to an event and are willing to share your ride with someone unable to drive, please contact the event convenor and let them know.  Likewise, if you need a ride, contact the event convenor so they can match you up with a driver.

PLEASE NOTE:  Many of our members suffer from allergies. In consideration of those who suffer from an allergy to scents, we ask that you please refrain from wearing perfume or aftershave when attending PROBUS gatherings or events. 

UPCOMING EVENTS

2024 ANNUAL PICNIC

Wednesday, June 19, 2024

Let's kick off summer with a picnic!

Our annual picnic is being held on Wednesday, June 19th, 2024.

The venue includes a covered picnic pavilion, so the fun will go on rain or shine!

This event is strictly limited to the first 100 registrants.

Cost:  $20.00

For more details and to register Go to the Event.

BARNFUL OF BROADWAY

Tuesday, July 23 2024

To celebrate its 25th season, Westben is presenting the very best of its best Broadway music theatre presentations, with some favourite guest artists.

After the show, you may opt to join us for dinner at the Mill Restaurant and Pub, located at Cobourg Creek golf Club, 990 Ontario Street in Cobourg at your own cost.

Cost:  $59.00 (show only)

For more details and to register Go to the Event

LET'S GO BLUE JAYS!

September 15, 2024

Hello, Blue Jays baseball fans. 

We have secured 50 tickets for Sunday, September 15th at 1:37 p.m. against the St. Louis Cardinals.  

Cost:  $66.00

For more details Go to the Event

PAST EVENTS

Click here for information and pictures of past events

Metrolinx Tour

We recently had the privilege of being given a tour of the Metrolinx Maintenance Facility in Whitby.  The tour was a great success and we hope to have more in the fall.

In the meantime, Metrolinx has contacted our convenor Bernice Pyke to suggest that our members might be interested in taking the Historical Walking tour of the site of a new GO station in Oshawa. This would not be an official Probus activity but a follow-up to the original event.  If you are interested, please Click Here to see the flyer which has all the information.

DONATIONS

At our March General Meeting, Sandra Clarke asked for donations of mugs to fill for the Holliday Season gifts to the less fortunate.

There was a great response to this request and Sandy would like to thank everyone who contributed. 

Now we just need to fill them!

For those who travel and collect miniature toiletries, these are ideal for this purpose.

For any questions please contact Sandy Clarke using our directory (Members Only).

ACTIVITY GROUPS

The PROBUS Club provides its members with the opportunity to join a wide variety of Activity groups. If you are interested in joining a group, the activity leaders are looking forward to hearing from you. Each group has a group leader and their contact information is available on the related webpage.

Proposed New Cribbage Club

A suggestion was made at the March General Meeting to start a cribbage group. A sign-up sheet was available at the April and May General Meetings.

There was already enough interest to start the group but we needed someone to organize it. 

We are pleased to announce that Terri Sullivan and Roseann Blake have volunteered to coordinate the new cribbage group. 

A big thank you to Terri and Roseann.  Stay tuned!!

Third Book Club

We are very excited that our 3rd book club got underway in May and will be meeting on the first Monday afternoon of each month (except July and August).

For more details, contact Terri Sullivan using our directory
(Members Only)

Click on Individual Clubs below.  Clubs with updates for this month are identified with  (**)

Food & Drink

Fitness & Fun

Arts/Special Interests

IN MEMORIAM

Valerie (Val) Randall

It is with great sadness that we acknowledge the passing of Valerie (Val) Randall.

Val and her husband Eric were newsletter editors before his death with Val carrying on for a while on her own.  Val also headed up the Marathon Bridge group and was responsible for returning our money( writing a cheque to each player) when COVID hit and all activities were cancelled.

For updates on events for seniors, occurring in Ajax Go to Member's Corner

Sharing Our Recipe

Broad Beans with Jamon

If you are traveling in Spain this coming year, you may just find this recipe on the Tapas Bar, as an item on a Starter Menu or served in Spanish homes as a side dish. It is basically the Spanish twist to beans with ham.  I have made this recipe many times as a contribution to a BBQ or a movie night buffet. Add to this a brown bag full of diagonally cut baguette and you are an instant Gourmet Cook.  Fava beans are hard to find in our grocery stores so I use the frozen package of Lima beans. Also, I would choose a crisp and fragrant dry white wine like Sauvignon Blanc or Chenin Blanc to bring out the best flavours!

Courtesy of Patricia Bolger

Go to Recipes

 

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