The PROBUS Club of Blue Mountain Meeting Review is published several days after each regular meeting of the month, providing members with a summary of any meetings they may have missed.
Despite the absence of our President, Vice President (Ron Mitchell filled in as Chairman), Secretary (David Thomson stepped up) and a last-minute Speaker substitution (more on that below) – we had an excellent meeting.
O Canada:
In Memoria: The passing of Andy Reid on January 24 was recognized by the Chairman.
Guests: Ian Griffin (Jack Marly), John Fox (Jake Johnson) and Norm Pryor (George Christie) were introduced to the membership.
New Member Induction: Dan Edwards presented Chris Millar with his badge and a copy of the club constitution.
Chris Meleskie reviewed a series of upcoming activities and encouraged the all members to review the website Calendar for detailed information.
Dan Edwards spoke on the upcoming trips to Newfoundland and Norway. We were directed to visit the Travel Group website for details.
Eddie Sokoloff summarized the successful December Christmas Luncheon and announced that we would be returning to the Legion on Thursday, December 5, 2024 for this year’s event.
If you would like to share a table with a group of seven friends, connect with Eddie by email at w-v@rogers.com.
Despite the poor condition (so far) the Ski Legends group are enjoying a very successful season. The Sun Peaks trip has been completed and enjoyed by those who participated. More information on their website. Ski Legends
On the cycling front, he noted the increasing interest in e-bikes and offered purchasing advice (buy local and chose the frame style carefully). If you are planning a change, you can connect with Monty at montycom@gmail.com
Jake Johnson accepted signups for the next PROBUS Hockey event on Friday, February 23. For more information or to join the group contact Jake at jakejohnston.jif@bell.net
Investment Group MEETING RESHEDULED
Due to March break activities at the Collingwood Public Library, the next meeting date has been changed to Tuesday, March 5th.
Profiler:
Nick Best graduated with a degree in history from the University of Toronto prior to entering a fifty-year law career.
In addition to playing football for the Varsity Blues, while at U of T Nick was exposed to Musical Theater and that became an ongoing interest.
Camping and canoeing soon morphed into serious rafting and white-water activity on a multitude of well-known rivers (French, Fraser, Nahanni and many others).
Using the Ski Patrol as a back door to Osler Bluff Ski Club, he eventually went on to serve as a board member in addition other volunteer positions with his tennis club and condo corporation.
Nick has two sons and moved to Collingwood with his wife Patricia in 2018.
Kultural Attache:
Doug Ellsworth continued his role as our “winter” Kultural Attache and regaled us with a curated selection of humour. The jokes can be found under the Members tab on the Website.
Guest Speaker:
At the very last minute, our scheduled speaker Dave Steeles was summoned to an in-camera Collingwood Town Council meeting to discuss The Collingwood Blues new lease on the Eddie Bush arena.
Dave will be back to speak at our March meeting and should be able to share his success then.
Former Mayor (and Blues executive member) Terry Geddes was able to fill in and provide much of the lease and team background information for us.
When the team mission statement “Work Hard – Give Back (to the community” was established the Executive hired top quality individuals to manage and coach the hockey operation then pledged not to interfere. Good decisions because, in only its second year, the team has a Number 2 national ranking!
All players must aspire to post-secondary education and maintain academic success.
The Town’s initial lease offer was 116% over the prior years’ agreement (and the team lost $42,000 last year). The current regular schedule budget is $800,000 (including $27,000 for hockey sticks).
Terry pointed out that, in addition to generating a $1.45 million positive economic impact for the Town, the Blues raised over $31,000 to support local individuals undergoing cancer treatment and the Collingwood General & Marine Hospital's diagnostic imaging department.
Bring a Guest Winner:
George Christie (he won last month too!) and David Thomson
50/50 Winners:
(left to right) Dan Edwards, Richard Toy, Eddie Sokoloff
We have 122 "Mugshots" of members on file, but missing 99!. Please send your photo in to fill the gaps. Maximum filesize is 2MB.
The PROBUS Club of Blue Mountain Meeting Review is published several days after each regular meeting. Content is provided by Newsletter Editor Dave Eaman, and Webmaster Bill Booth makes it all look presentable.