President's Message

WELCOME TO SPRING 2023 ( well almost and finally ).

Your Club is experiencing a whole host of exciting new developments. Please allow me to bring you up to date on what's happening.

MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE We're pleased to welcome two new team members. First STEPHAN HYNDMAN as Vice President. In addition to his VP role Stephan will also be responsible for recruiting monthly Profilers. And DAVID THOMSON as Marketing/Comunications Lead providing input and programs for both internal Club and external outreach. These gentlemen will add to the strength of our team as we continue to ensure our Club's ongoing vitality and growth. In simple terms our Committee is focused on good Governance and Social Engagement or the Probus mantra of FELLOWSHIP, FRIENDSHIP and FUN.

SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT Under the leadership of Bruce West we have launched a series of new Activities and Outings. Go to the Club website, hit the large blue Activities button to see what might interest you in participating and join up if you wish. For the most part Activity leaders are identified. We are still looking for a few more leaders so volunteer if you can help. Volunteers are the lifeblood of the Club.

GUEST SPEAKERS Our Speakers Committee has an exciting and informative lineup for 2023. Again, the website has a listing of upcoming speakers . Please plan on attending to hear our guest presenters.

WEBSITE Our Webmaster, Bill Booth with input from a number of members, has been working feverishly to make the website more impacful and very easy to navigate. The Activities button mentioned above is an example of this work. A straw poll at our March General Meeting indicated that only about one third of the members present used the website to glean Club information. I know a number of us are technologically challenged but with ease of navigation I encourage you to use the site.

COMUNICATIONS A sub Committee of the Management team has been meeting and will undertake several new or revised initiatives to enhance communication with ALL members. Our objective is to encourage increased attendance at General meetings and participation in Club Activities and Outings. The initiatives will roll out in April with a review in six months to assess their effectiveness.

MEMBERSHIP Our Club roster stands at 219 members. Remember, we are one of the largest men's Club in Canada. But we are always looking to grow. To that end I strongly encourage you to invite guests to our General meetings - friends, neighbour's etc. Guests are our best source of recruitment for new members.

WEBSITE PHOTOS Our PPM ( Past Pandemic President ) Eddie Sokoloff is NOT available this month, but your smart phone can do a great job. Please have your photo taken if you have not already done so. It's always nice to relate a member name to a face.

Looking forward to our April 20th General meeting. I hope you can join in.

Ron Mitchell.