newsSep24 | PROBUS Blue Mountain

Next Meeting: September 19th

Collingwood Legion
Member's Guests are Welcome

September Speaker: Richard MacLeod - AVRO Arrow Profiler:

Membership 208

September 2024 Newsletter

President’s Message

It is often said that the older you get, the faster time goes by. It has been one year since I assumed the role of President of Blue Mountain PROBUS, and I can certainly confirm this statement – I wonder where the time has gone. I have thoroughly enjoyed this experience, mostly due to the superb group of volunteers around me that make all facets of this job so much easier.

Volunteers are the life blood of this Club. From those who sit on the Management Committee to those who take on roles organizing and running all the activities and events, we all benefit from the work so many put into their respective tasks.

One of the reasons this Club is so successful is the myriad of activities and events that are available to all members. There is truly something here for everyone, regardless of your interests or abilities. For those who live to eat, there are the breakfast and lunch groups, and the Christmas dinner. For those more athletically minded, there is the hiking group, paddling group, cycling group, golf, and Ski Legends. There is the bridge group for those who enjoy the challenges of the card table. There is the investment group catering to those members who enjoy the challenges of keeping current with the world of business and economics. The Club offers hockey outings with the Collingwood Blues, theatre outings at Kings Wharf. There is the Travel group which along with other PROBUS clubs provides exciting adventures suited to our lifestyle. There are the so-called one-offs, the visits to different venues and events that are intended to occur only once – these are too numerous to list here. And of course, our monthly meetings are proving to be enjoyable and interesting due to the excellent speakers – it is never too late to learn something new.

In short, if you can’t find something interesting to do, you ain’t lookin’ very hard!

Michael Coward will be taking over as President following the next meeting – many of you will know Michael but for those who do not, rest assured that he will provide excellent leadership for this Club for the next year. Thank you to all for your support and encouragement for the past year, it is and has been very much appreciated.

Stephen Hyndman sghyndman@gmail.com

AGM

The ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING of the Probus Club of Blue Mountain will be held at the Royal Canadian Legion in Collingwood commencing at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, the September 19th, 2024. The purpose of the meeting is:

To approve the Report of the Management Committee.
To approve the Statement of Income and Expenditure for the Fiscal Period ending August 31st, 2024,
To approve the Budget of Income and Expenses for the forthcoming Fiscal Period ending August 31st, 2025.
To elect the following members nominated by the Nominating Committee, or other nominations for membership, to fill the following positions on the Executive of the Club

President Michael Coward
Vice President
Secretary Tom James
Treasurer Gene Peycha

Minutes and Balance Sheet can be accessed in the Member area. (Login required)

Cell Phone Use

Out of respect for our members and our speaker, please ensure that your cell phone is silent during the meeting.

Guest Speaker - Richard MacLeod

I am a lifelong Newmarket resident and have been a local historian for more than 50 years. I write a weekly feature about my town's history in partnership with NewmarketToday, conduct heritage lectures and walking tours of local interest, and lead local oral history interviews.

My interest in The Arrow began with my uncle who was an aeronautical engineer and was involved in the development of the wings. A whole subdivision of Newmarket was built expressedy for those working at Avro and I grew up listening to their stories.

I wrote a paper at university on the Arrow which, it seems, was controversial and that started a life-long interest in the topic. I have been speaking on the Arrow and its murky history for about 30 years now.

Richard MacLeod
The Newmarket History Hound

Don Stockman stockmanocj@gmail.com

Activities/Outings

Base Borden

16 members of the Club attended Hangar 11 on Monday September 9th. The Hangar, one of the very few remaining at Borden, is a museum commemorating the 100th anniversary of the RCAF. Included were displays detailing the history of Canadian air power as well as many artifacts including several actual training aircraft such as a Tiger Moth.

A very informative visit followed by lunch at a new eatery on the Base.

Cycling

Probus bike group visit to Model Airplane club near Washago

Probus ride around Lake Couchiching Sept 10/24

Gordon Lightfoot memorial statue Orillia

Paddling Group

Hi Paddlers The paddling season is gradually coming to an end , but one of the best trips of the season is coming up. A trip down the beautiful Saugeen river from Paisley, west will be a highlight of the year. This trip led by Dave Hodgetts on Wednesday Sept 11, will be memorable..

See the trip poster attached for details and contact David Hodgetts lochambec@gmail.com by Sunday night to sign up. The poster may also be viewed on the Probus website under paddling. Please send your signed waivers to Michael Coward michael.coward@gmail.com. Guests are welcome!

Cheers

Carl

Green Island Paddle

The paddling group enjoyed a trip in good weather on Georgian Bay travelling around Green Island near Port Severn. Led by Jim Higgins we found our way thru high grassy areas around the island for a 3 hour paddle back to Waubushene. See pictures attached.

Ski Legends

Probus Ski Legends SEPTEMBER 2024 Update

The 2025 Legends Ski Trips are selling fast!

Sun Peaks BC (7 nights), February 2 - 9

• Additional rooms were added, and now only 4 spots remain, plus 1 male roommate needed.

• The final registration deadline has been extended to October 12, after which all unsold space must be released.

Banff/Lake Louise (7 nights), March 2 - 9

• Stay in the fabulous Chateau Lake Louise and Banff Springs Hotel!

• Only 10 spots left!

• The final registration deadline has been extended to December 1, after which all unsold space must be released.

For the latest information and to download the trip flyers, check the Legends website: https://probusskilegends.ca/2025

All participants must be PROBUS members and members of PROBUS Ski Legends: http://probusskilegends.ca/membership/

Membership cost is $50 per year.

Monty

Kitchen Bridge Group

The Kitchen Bridge group continues to meet the first and third Thursday of each month at 1:00 p.m. at the legion. Great relaxed camaraderie.

We welcome all who have an interest in the game of bridge -- whether a beginner or expert.  Play commences at 1:00 pm but, if you cannot come until later, come anyway. We will fit you into a game throughout the afternoon.

George Powell georgegpowell@gmail.com

Investment Group

PROPOSED TOPICS FOR 2024 MEETINGS – subject to confirmations

Oct 8: Stock buy backs: What do they achieve and who benefits? Discussion with examples.
Nov 12: ETF’s – The good, the bad and the ugly – discussion (will David Lindsay lead this discussion?)
Dec 9: The determination of the investment pick winner and the award(s). The selection of a new leader or committee to oversee 2025 IG - followed by a pot luck lunch gathering (any offers to host?) or not…

Car Tour (Note Date)

Graeme Wallace has organized a car tour on Thursday October 10th. It promises to be fun for both drivers and navigators, with some challenges built in along the way, and a prize for the winner.

Lunch will follow at the terminus of the tour, which will remain unknown at this point for obvious reasons (try out your navigating skills).

For information, contact Graeme at graemewallace@sympatico.ca

Agnora Glass Tour on October 2

Thanks to all who have signed up for this tour. All 25 spots have been spoken for and I have two others on the wait list. I will be in touch later in September to reconfirm attendees, and to provide any additional details for the tour.

John Kutcy

Ice River Tour

October 23 plant tour has 3 spots stll available. Contant Robert Dillworth.

Christmas Luncheon

This year's Christmas luncheon is at the Collingwood Legion once again and the date is Thursday, December 5th, 2024. Please add this to your calendar so you won't forget to join in the great social event of the year.

Once again, Dean Hollin will present a new Christmas show and Burger Bob is serving up another of his grand, festive menus.

As well, the Legion will offer Spirits, Beer and Wine at reasonable prices.

The price this year is $65.00, and, you'll be able to pay Gene at the meeting September and October. We'll plan on having lots of time for us to socialize with our spouses and friends before and after lunch.

Now that you're here ...

Take a look at the rest of the website. We have info on activities, calendar, speakers list and so on.

If you need to look up fellow PROBUS MEMBERS, you can login the to the Member's area. A number of members contribute to this content, so please check it out.