President's Message

Welcome to our October Newsletter.

It’s one of the prettiest months that Mother Nature has to offer. With all the beautiful colours, it’s worth the multiple trips to get yet another bundle of yard 

bags.

I would like to again thank Ada for leading last month's General Meeting.  Both Alan and I were away and unavailable.

Hopefully you were one of the dozens that attended this year’s Jay’s game last month.  Maybe next year will be better for our team. Our hopes now turn to the start of another hockey season.

October is also when we get together with family and friends for Thanksgiving, whether they live locally, in another city, in another province or even in another country.  It’s a time to celebrate and be thankful for the so many things with which we are blessed.

Chocolate buying returns with yet another Halloween. It’s the highlight of the year on our street.  Our next-door neighbour decorates with hundreds if not thousands of Halloween decorations.  They even create a scary maze in their garage. Hundreds of kids show up for the annual extravaganza.  Our street is a sea of parents with their kids dressed up for the occasion. It’s the jackpot for accumulating candy. The street looks and sounds like the midway, with all the laughter and screams of excitement.  It’s something they will remember through life.

For the older kids like us, maybe you’ve signed up for Ajax Probus’ Halloween Party.

This month, we will be treated to an informative presentation by Constable Darryl Rice on Frauds and Scams and all the spooky things out there.

I just want to end by wishing you and your family a very Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Halloween.

Donations Reminder

Many thanks to those of you who so kindly contribute toiletries to be included as gifts in Christmas hampers for the less fortunate.

If anyone has any additional donations, please bring them to our next PROBUS meeting on October 10.

If you have any questions please contact Sandra Clarke by using the directory (members only).

Need Help Link

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

Click on the icon for help on logging in, updating privacy settings, resetting your password, registering and paying for events and using the directory.

Special Notice - Reminder

Remember the days when we had a white pages phone book with the name, address and phone number of everyone in the area? Every household used to have one and every phone booth.  Remember those too? That’s been replaced with the online version with the website Canada411. That works well when we know the address of the person we are trying to reach.

We’ve had members contact us trying to reach other members but don’t have much more than a first and last name. Our Membership Directory doesn’t help either because many members have not modified their Privacy Settings to allow this. We understand that some members are uncomfortable doing this themselves or just haven’t gotten around to it.

To make it easier and to make our Membership Directory more functional, beginning in November when members begin to renew, we will do this for you. Your email address will be visible to other members. Understanding that some members have unlisted numbers, we will only publish their email.

Information in the Directory can ONLY be seen by logged-in members.  It is NOT available to the general public. Of course you can keep your email private by either changing it back after renewal or contacting us at dwprobus.membership@gmail.com.

Coffee

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

To satisfy everyone’s taste three types of coffee will be available, regular, dark roast and instant decaffeinated (available at the "tea" counter).

2025 Management Positions

We now have an excellent candidate who has volunteered for the Treasurer role for next year.  You will be hearing more about him in our December Newsletter.

We are still in need of volunteers to take over the roles of Vice President and Membership Chair.

If you would like more information on these positions please contact:

• Alan Lemay (Vice President)
• Bev Bicknell (Membership Co-Chair)

Contact information is available in our Directory (Members Only).

OCTOBER SPEAKER

SR. CONSTABLE DARRYL RICE
Frauds/Scams and Identity Theft 

Constable Rice, is the host of the local Rogers Cable 10 program, “Seniors Talk with DRPS”. He has been the coordinator of the annual DRPS Food and Toy drive for the past 8 years and also serves on the Board of the Durham Regional Police Association, a position he has held for the past 18 years.

His presentation will be a very in-depth 60 minutes on various frauds/scams and identity theft and how to protect yourself.

 For more information on Constable Rice Click Here

MEMBERSHIP

Our current membership stands at 270.

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.

Membership Contest

Your full membership
 renewal costs for 2025

$$$

Sponsor a new member between July 1, 2024, and January 7, 2025, and earn a ballot for a draw to be held at the January 9, 2025, Annual General Meeting.

The new member must indicate you as their sponsor when they submit their application online.

The renewal fee will be refunded to you if your membership has already been paid.

Name Badges

Seven new members received their badges at the General Meeting on September 12.

Front row from left :

Joan Gall, Gerrie Bateman, Olga McQuay, Maria Lyn, Stephen Marshall

Back Row from left:

Ada Larock (Past President), Ian Garlick , Yashmin Mamdani.

Once you receive your badge please remember to wear it 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.

If you do not have your name badge at our monthly meeting, 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.

If you need help with additional 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, a response will be posted in the following month's Newsletter.

September Suggestion

No suggestions were made at the September General Meeting.

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

Share the Wealth

Our monthly Share the Wealth draw at our September General Meeting was won by Barbara Stevens who received $68.00. Barbra is pictured here with Tom Herstad our September speaker.

We also had the advantage of a second draw this month. The winner received a signed copy of the speaker's book "2nd Line West".  This was also won by Barbara Stevens.

Way to go Barbara!!

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

"Boo Bash" Halloween Dinner and Dance (in collaboration with and hosted by Probus Club of Ajax)

Registration and payment for this event to be made by email and e-Transfer only. Please contact shirlievanputten@rogers.com for details.

SAVE THE DATE!

Annual Holiday Luncheon Celebration

Our 2024 Annual Holiday Luncheon will be held on 

Thursday, December 12th at the Ajax Convention Centre, 515 Beck Crescent, Ajax, Ontario. Doors will open at 11:30 a.m.

Please mark your calendars.  Final details, such as menu choices, cost per person and serving time for the Luncheon will be coming soon via email to all Durham West Probus members, at which time the registration process will be available online through our website using Wild Apricot.

We look forward to having a wonderful Holiday Luncheon with musical entertainment on December 12th.

PAST EVENTS

Click here for information and pictures of past events

55+ Wellness & Information Fair - September 14, 2024

Dave and Bev Bicknell, our Membership Co-Chairs, represented our Club at the recent 55 + Wellness Fair. We were able to speak with a large number of attendees and answer their questions as to what we offer and how to go about joining us. We also rolled out our new banner and tabletop display which can be seen in the photo. 

LET'S GO BLUE JAYS!

September 15, 2024

On the afternoon of Sunday, September 15th, twenty-two members of our Probus Club attended the Blue Jays game at Rogers Centre against the St. Louis Cardinals.  The two "bird teams" batting it out for the Win!

We had excellent seats, in the shade with a lovely breeze on a hot, sunny day, a view of the CN Tower and a no-obstruction view of the entire field of play.  We also enjoyed a great view of the Jumbotron (where some of our group appeared for a few seconds).

To say excitement was high in the entire Rogers Centre would be an understatement.  A great time was had by all!!

ACTIVITY GROUPS

Activities Showcase

At our general meeting on October 10th, we will be showcasing some of our activity groups who are looking to welcome new members.  Group leaders will be set up at tables in the main room, and this is your opportunity to learn more about our activities.  The leaders will be available before the meeting and during the break.  

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 name is available on the related webpage.  Their contact information is available via the club directory.

A room has been secured for our new Games Group. 

Starting October 9, the Demo Kitchen at Chartwell, Harwood, 240 Old Harwood Avenue, Ajax has been booked for the second Wednesday of the month for the remainder of this year.

Please bring a game you would like to play.  It need not be a board game. If you would like to join us but have not yet signed up please contact Kay Hubbard or Bernice Pyke via the club directory (members only).

There are quite a few visitors' parking spaces and some open parking.  The room is private and not far from the door on the main level.  

New Cribbage Club

The first meeting of this new activity was the last Friday in September.

If you are interested in joining but have not yet contacted anyone, please contact Terri Sullivan or Roseann Blake via the club directory (members only).

For more information Click here.

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

Food & Drink

Fitness & Fun

Arts/Special Interests

See Updates from:

Breakfast Club 

Dinner is Served  **

Let's Eat  **

Nibbles at Night  **

Table Talk  

See Updates from:

Billiards 

Bowling  **

Indoor Golf 

Nordic Pole  Walking  **

Outdoor Golf  

Wednesday
Walking   **

See Updates from:

Between the Lines  **

The Cinema Club  **

Create & Chat  **

Cribbage  **

Friendly Euchre  **

Garden Club  **

Good Time Gamers 

Mah Jongg  **

Marathon Bridge  

Novel Readers   **

Snapped Camera Club  **

Words Worth  Reading  **

For information on events occurring in Ajax for older adults Go to Member's Corner.

Sharing Our Recipe

Cheesy Cauliflower Soup

This Cheesy Cauliflower Soup is a lovely addition to the Fall soup pot as cauliflower is a reasonable price and very plentiful in the markets at this time of year. I don’t have a reference for this recipe but it doesn’t take too much imagination to just adapt it and make it your own!

I know it is time to make this soup when I see “The Big Guy” with the biggest lawn rake gleefully throwing and chasing air-born leaves in the backyard. Comedy all year long!

Do not eliminate the chili flakes or siracha sauce as it really pops up the flavour of the soup. Even a small amount will enhance the milky-cheesy-cauliflower flavours. Swap out the cauliflower and use broccoli, leek, potato or carrot. I like to use the prepared boxes of vegetable broth but chicken broth or bouillion cubes can work in a pinch. It is a quick luncheon soup or an add-on to any dinner party.  

Courtesy of Patricia Bolger

Go to Recipes

IN MEMORIAM

For bereavement notices of current or previous members, please obtain permission from the family and send information to durhamwestprobus@gmail.com.  

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