November 2024 e-Newsletter

Next General Meeting

Thursday, November 14, 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

It’s hard to believe we are into November and that my term as your president will come to a close next month. 

November is the month we respectfully 

remember our veterans on Remembrance Day.  As Ada eloquently stated in last year’s newsletter, it’s the time “we honour those who served in the wars and those who made the ultimate sacrifice. We thank them for all that they have done to win our freedom.”

If you didn’t get to read Ada’s link last year, we have included the full text in its own dedicated section below.

I also hope that you had an enjoyable Thanksgiving and got to spend time with family and friends.

Last month we were treated to an informative presentation by Constable Darryl Rice, from Durham Regional Police, on the topic of Frauds, Scams and Identity Theft.  It certainly was an eye opener to many when he was able to identify everyone’s cell phone that had their Bluetooth on.  With all the other examples he provided, especially with e-mail scams, I am so glad that we took the step earlier this year to remove personal e-mails from our public facing communications.

If you attended last month’s meeting, you were also entertained by our Vice President Alan Lemay who made his debut running our General Meeting. He did a great job and I very much look forward to his leadership next year. Thank you, Alan.

November is the time for those dreaded words, snow tires. It’s the best way to stay safe through the winter and you can get the added benefit of reduced car insurance rates. Of course, a great way to get the most out of the coming winter, is to join our Activity Groups, which have so much to offer.  I’m sure there is something for everyone.

I hope to see you at our General Meeting on November 14th.


Walter Matias
President

Remembrance Day

The following summary is provided courtesy of the source indicated below.

On Remembrance Day, Canadians pause to honour the men and women who have served and continue to 

serve Canada during times of war, conflict, and peace. More than 2,300,000 Canadians have served and more than 118,000 made the ultimate sacrifice.

The poppy is the symbol of Remembrance Day. In the run-up to Remembrance Day, replica poppies are sold by the Royal Canadian Legion to provide assistance to veterans.

The reason that the poppy is worn for Remembrance Day is due to a Canadian physician and poet who noticed how quickly poppies had grown over the graves of soldiers who had died during the Battle of Ypres. This symbolism of the blood-red flowers was beautifully captured by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae in his 1915 poem “In Flanders Fields.” The poem was apparently discarded by McCrae but was found by soldiers who sent it to a London-based magazine named Punch.

In 1921, people began wearing the poppy three years after the war ended. For the centennial observance of Remembrance Day in 2021, the Royal Canadian Legion released a commemorative replica of the original fabric pin from 1921.

November 11th marks the signing of the armistice (peace agreement) between the Allies and Germany at Compiègne, France.

The armistice took effect at eleven o'clock in the morning - the "eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month."

From 1921 to 1930, Armistice Day was held on the Monday of the week in which November 11th fell and Thanksgiving was held on the same day. In 1931, Alan Neill, Member of Parliament for Comox–Alberni, introduced a bill to observe Armistice Day only on November 11th. Passed by the House of Commons, the bill also changed the name to “Remembrance Day”. The first Remembrance Day was observed on November 11th 1931.

Source: https://www.officeholidays.com/holidays/canada/canada-remembrance-day

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. A new link has been added, on how to clear your browser.

Buddy System

If you need additional 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.

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

We will also need a new Secretary in April.

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

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

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

NOVEMBER SPEAKER

JULIEN LEBOURDAIS

Retired Photojournalist

A 50 YEAR PHOTOGRAPHIC ODYSSEY 

Retired Photojournalist Julien LeBourdais will share his presentation:  “Stanley Cups to Prime Ministers to John Lennon – a 50-yr Photographic Odyssey”. 

He photographed the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Stanley Cup victory in 1967, seven Canadian prime ministers over a 20-year period, as well as John Lennon and Yoko Ono in the King Edward Hotel, Toronto.  

The slideshow of his photos of many famous people and events, with tidbits of insight and humour, promises to be informative and entertaining.

 For more information on Julien Click Here

MEMBERSHIP

Our current membership stands at 272.

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.

Membership Renewals

Notifications and invoices for 2025 Membership Renewals will be sent out on November 17, 2024 approximately.

These can be paid online through our secure Wild Apricot program, using your credit card.

No credit card information is stored by Wild Apricot or Probus Club of Durham West, but your own computer system may have an Auto-fill option (without your CVC number) that can be utilized to make the process faster. 

Memberships that are not renewed and paid by January 31, 2025 will be archived and will require a new application with a $25 fee in order to be reinstated.

Name Badges

Two new members received their badges at the General Meeting on October 10.

Shown here (left to right) are Alan LeMay (Vice President), Kathy McCullough and Nancy Cameron-Oates.

Welcome to Kathy and Nancy!

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.

October Suggestions

No suggestions were made at the September or October General Meetings.

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 October General Meeting was won by Sharon Fenn who received $67.00. Sharon is pictured here with Walter Matias, President.

2025 PROPOSED BUDGET

We will be  posting the proposed 2025 Budget on the Budget  page (members only) for your review following the next General Meeting on November 14th.

If you have questions please contact us at durhamwestprobus@gmail.com.

To access the document Click Here.

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 Celebration of the Holidays
December 12, 2024

Our 2024 Annual Holiday Luncheon will be held on Thursday, December 12th at the Ajax Convention Centre,

For more details and to register Click Here

515 Beck Crescent, Ajax, Ontario. Doors will open at 11:30 a.m.

The celebrations will begin at 11:30 a.m.

  • 11:30 to 12:30 p.m. - Social Hour
  • 12:30 to 2:00 p.m. - Lunch

You will have a choice of two entrées for lunch.

Please indicate your choice of entrée and that of your guest(s) when you register.

Pricing:  Members and Member Guests - $60 each
Non-Member Guests - $65 each

Please note:   Due to technical limitations, a member can only register the following:

  • themselves and other members; OR
  • themselves and non-member guests.

A member cannot register a combination of other members and non-members.

When registering be sure to add the name(s) of your guest(s) as name cards will be provided to make it easier for the wait staff to serve the correct meals.

We look forward to having a wonderful Holiday Luncheon with musical entertainment provided by Corby Leigh Kemp.

Everyone will have a chance to win a door prize.

PAST EVENTS

Click here for information and pictures of past events

"Boo Bash" Halloween Dinner and Dance - October 28, 2024

Thank you to the PROBUS Club of Ajax for hosting this amazing event.

It was so much fun!

For many more pictures Click Here

Metrolinx Tour - October 22

Another lucky group of members were able to participate in a tour of the Whitby Metrolinx Rail Complex on October 22. We spent close to two hours there, walking around the complex and seeing what they do to the GO train cars to keep them running. The building was designed to cover half a million square feet and to easily hold an entire GO train complete with the maximum number of cars. Did you know that each train has to be fully inspected every 90 days?

For more information and pictures
 Click here.

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

Activities Showcase

We hope that everyone enjoyed the Activities Showcase at the October general meeting.  Thank you again to the group leaders who participated.

Painting - New Activity

A suggestion has been made to start a painting group and there are several 

people interested in joining this new activity.

If you would like your name added to the list of those interested, please email Laura Lemay, Activities Chair.  Contact information is available in our Directory (members only).

Please join Laura for a few minutes during the break at the November General Meeting to discuss the details of this proposed new group.

Snowshoeing - New Activity

Several members have shown an interest in participating in snowshoeing as a new winter activity.

If you are a resident of Ajax, snow shoes are available to borrow at the McLean Centre. 

Details are still being researched so stay tuned.

If you are interested and would like to add your name to the list, please contact Gillian Martin.

For contact information use the Directory (members only).

Help Needed for the Snapped Camera Club

The Snapped Camera Club meets on the third Wednesday of the month. We are currently seeking a new leader in order to keep Snapped active.

To see some of the amazing pictures this group have captured during the year click here.

If you enjoy taking photos, like to organize outings, send out emails and reminders, then this might be a position for you. Please contact Angela McMullen using our Directory (members only),

Mah Jongg

For those who would like to learn to play Mah Jongg, lessons will be starting on January 22nd for four consecutive Wednesdays, from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. at Parkland Retirement Residence. (January 22, 29, February 5th and 12th).

Once the lessons have been completed, the new players will join our existing Tuesday group.

To register for lessons, please contact Bev Waite 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

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

Sharing Our Recipe

Pina Colada

I left the “The Big Guy” at home to rake leaves and stuff giant brown garbage bags with dead plants from the garden and I went off on a short vacation to the Dominican Republic with my daughter-in-law.

I have added a recipe here that will add a little “ray of sunshine” to your day! There is nothing like sipping on a tall frosty Pina Colada to glaze over your eyesight and put you in the mood to search on Google to find a warm tropical spot for a short get-a-way during those cold, dark winter days that are surely coming. 

I have to say, it will change your perspective and reset your internal clock to Island Time! 

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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