1

NORTH BURLINGTON WOMEN’S PROBUS CLUB

NOV/DEC 2017-18 NEWSLETTER

VOLUME 11, ISSUE 2

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

How does one write a message for a November - December

newsletter? The themes of these months cover the gamut of

emotions… from the sombre gravity of Remembrance Day to the

celebrations of the Holiday Season. And so, my message is this: Take

time to experience all of those feelings. Take time away from the

distractions that vie for our attention … the electronic devices, the long

list of errands, the crowded calendar. Take a few moments each day

to quietly notice and affirm your emotions.

I was born in November and I believe it’s a month that is unfairly

labelled as dull and drab and drizzly. Pay attention, and you may

notice the special quality of November’s sunlight at our latitude. With

most of the leaves gone, shafts of radiant light reveal our familiar landscape stripped of pretense. And

while we may miss the birdsong and the buzzing of bees, there is beauty in the peace of November.

When the first snowflakes fly, build a fire, enjoy a mug of hot chocolate, cuddle up under a favourite

afghan, put down the smartphone, turn off the TV and take just ten minutes to think about the people

you love and who love you.

Gifts are often exchanged in December, and the greatest gifts come to us wrapped up, not in pretty

paper and ribbons, but in cherished memories and unexpected joys: family traditions, holy nights, the

promise of sun at the winter solstice, the laughter of children, and the warm comfort of friends. In

PROBUS we are especially blessed with an abundance of friendship and shared experience… comfort

and joy.

As you make your plans and schedules and appointments in the coming months, take a moment from

time to time – not only on November 11th – to remember and quietly thank those men and women who

served and are now serving our country so that we can live our lives in peace, every month of the year.

“I heard a bird sing in the dark of December

A beautiful thing and sweet to remember

We’re nearer to Spring than we were in September

I heard a bird sing in the dark of December”

2

SPEAKERS

Speaker for November – Linda Ploen

A Walk on Vimy Ridge and Juno Beach - Past and Present Drawing near is November 11, Canada’s Remembrance Day which pays homage annually to all our veterans of war. Linda Ploen will present on two important landmarks, Vimy Ridge and Juno Beach, both located in northern France. Vimy is the site of a significant World War 1 memorial and Juno Beach is synonymous with the “beginning of the end of Nazi Germany and World War 2” with allied troops landing on the shores of Normandy coast.

Along with a pictorial of these landmarks, Linda will include facts and trivia about specific soldiers and veterans. “We Will Remember Them”.

MEMBERSHIP

Our membership is closed, though we continue to have inquiries from people interested in joining our

club. Our wait list already has 4 interested ladies.

Coming Soon - An email will be going out with the attached North Burlington Women's Probus

Master Membership List for 2017 – 2018

Please check that all your contact information is accurate!

If there are any changes to the information on this membership list - please forward changes to

Edie Bodnar ediebodnar@icloud.com or Sue Pridham at suepridham@cogeco.ca

and we will up-date in the next newsletter. Thank you!

Edie Bodnar and Sue Pridham - Membership co-chairs

3

SPECIAL EVENTS

We had a very successful visit to Aga Khan on October 12, where we were well looked after by the

volunteers, and the food was delicious! The sweet onion appetizer won the prize!

We will be selling tickets on Nov 2

for our Christmas Luncheon on Dec 7, and for

our Spring Event coming up in 2018 – the musical “Come From Away”

Royal Alexandra Theatre in Toronto on April 25th.

This is an afternoon performance at 1:30 pm so we will be leaving at 11:15 am.

A box lunch will be supplied as we don’t have time to go to a restaurant in Toronto.

Tickets for this event will be $100.00 each, on sale Nov 2. Cheque Please.

“COME FROM AWAY”

Royal Alexandra Theatre RRpua; on April 25 1:30 pm performanc

Thursday, Dec 7/17 at the Convention Centre, 1120 Burloak Drive

Bar open 11:00 am – Lunch at 12:00 pm

Entertainment by Just Jump! – an award winning barbershop harmony a cappella quartet

Tickets on sale Nov 2 for $38.00 - Cheque please

4

2018 PROBUS PARKING PASS

On Sale at our November Meeting for $24.00 (For Meetings Jan-Dec 2018)

Make cheque payable to: “North Burlington Women’s PROBUS Club”

After November 2nd passes may be purchased directly from the AGB Reception Desk

CORRECTION AND NOTICE OF MOTION

Correction:

We WILL NOT be asking the general membership for a vote to approve the 2016-17 Financial Statement

as reported in the September-October newsletter. You were provided with a copy of the statement

with that newsletter, and your executive, having knowledge of the Club’s business and the accuracy of

the Statement, has approved it on your behalf.

Notice of Motion:

We WILL be asking the general membership for a vote to approve the nomination and election of

Executive Members who took office after the June 2017 installation, namely Co-Vice Presidents Kathy

Ramsay-Ninos and Heather Mattocks, and Secretary Linda Brillinger, based on the Motion of Aita

Moore Past-President, seconded by Janet Hayes, President.

ACTIVITY GROUPS

I am happy to report that we have two new Activity Groups –

A fifth Book Group, convened by Joanne Sleeman (416-543-6126 – sleemanjo@gmail.com) and a

Breakfast Club, convened by Margaret Ashfield (905-639-3088 – ashfield70@hotmail.com).

The golf tournament will be organized by a committee this year and Anne Knapp (905-635-7682 –

dannymom@hotmail.com) will be the contact person.

Sign-up sheets for these groups will be available at the next meeting.

We still need conveners for the Day Trippers and the Travel Groups.

Activity Group Convener – Joan Shewchun – 905-633-8290 – jshewchun@gmail.com

5

Your Executive Committee wants to hear from you…

..Tell us what you would like to get from your PROBUS Club experience, so we can use your input to plan

our club’s activities.

Talk to us. There is so much to talk about:

What about our Monthly Meetings? What kind of speakers/programming do you like?

Special Events? Any feedback? Any suggestions for events you would like to attend?

Activity Groups? Any feedback or ideas you would like to share?

Some of you said you are interested in Travel, Day trips? What are your expectations of such

activities? Do you expect to meet with a group to talk about travel, view each other’s travel slideshows.

Are you thinking of short bus trips with overnight stays somewhere? Or are you interested in Grand

Tours overseas…to Paris and Rome, Tibet, Antarctica…?

And there are so many ways to communicate:

• Suggestion box. Prepare written suggestions, questions, comments ahead

of attending the meeting and place in the Suggestion Box at the meeting.

OR…just use the pen and paper provided beside the box to write down

your input on the spot.

• Email or phone the president – or other executive member using the contact information

included in the newsletter and/or the membership list…or just take a moment to provide verbal

feedback, questions or suggestions to executive members in person.

• Raise a hand and speak up at a monthly meeting.

50/50 DRAW

A 50/50 draw is held at each PROBUS meeting.

Sept winners were: Sue Bain and Cathy-Murray Wuetherick with $29.00 each Oct winners were: Ann Brown and Sue Bain with $33.75 each Congratulations to both!

6

FRIENDSHIP If you know of a member in our club who needs

encouragement, get well wishes, or has suffered a

bereavement, please let me know so that I can

send out a card on behalf of our PROBUS club

with our thoughts and best wishes.

Linda Kennedy 905-632-1357

back up – Klaske Vandergugten 905-634-9129 kvandergugten@cogeco.ca

QUOTE OF THE MONTH

Do You Know Your Books? “Men tell stories. Women get on with it. For us it was a shadow war. There were

no parades for us when it was over, no medals or mentions in history books. We

did what we had to during the war, and when it was over, we

picked up the pieces and started our lives over.”

If you know the book this quote is from and its author, write them down on a piece of

paper and put it into the little gingerbread house.

The winner from the September draw was Judy Christie who named the book “All My Puny Sorrows” by Miriam Toews. Congratulations!

Good luck to all of you this month.

LUNCH BUNCH

In November, after our PROBUS meeting, we will have lunch at The Ruby – 10th Floor in

the Village of Tansley Woods at 4100 Upper Middle Road, Burlington. Join us for lunch

and meet PROBUS members. The Sign-up sheet for Lunch is at the back table . Parking is Free

7

PICTURE GALLERY

Important business to start the year……Membership, Lunch Bunch, and 50/50 tickets!

October ……

Swinging

into

fashion

with

Chico’s

8

the

models keep coming….

9

more fashion and fun …..

10

THANKS to Chico’s and our models

AGA Khan Museum trip

11

enjoying a delicious lunch

12

at the AGA Khan restaurant Walking group at Grindstone Creek

for the salmon run

The inaugural meeting of the PROBUS Breakfast Club

at Sunset Grill, Longo’s Plaza

PROBUS NEWSLETTER

The PROBUS newsletter is available online. To access it simply go to PROBUS Clubs Canada at

http://www.probus.org/canada.htm, click on the link PROBUS Clubs in Canada, then click Ontario, and

then click North Burlington Women’s. Your final click is the newsletter icon, but you will need to have

Adobe on your computer to open it. Adobe is free and is easily downloaded.

EXPLORE the PROBUS website ……… for information on PROBUS world-wide – the benefits of PROBUS

membership - and view other PROBUS club newsletters.