By Jenny Panda | Photos by Ann Kornuta

The ESCARPMENT PROBUS met on March 15th, 2017 at Milton Memorial Arena on Thompson Road in Milton to celebrate National PROBUS month in Canada.  Mayor Gordon Krantz was invited to be an honored guest at the event. After preliminary presentations about the many different clubs within the group with intriguing titles such as Zoomer Bloomers and  D’stilleurs, and after an entertaining talk, the Mayor graciously answered very varied questions from the members present eg:- “What about the CN hub?; When is a University coming to Milton?; Where will it be built?; Will there be a bus to the Velodrome?

On being asked when he was planning on retiring so he could join PROBUS, the Mayor said: “I retired 25 years ago, so what I do now keeps me out of my wife’s hair!” On a more serious note he pointed out that “Loneliness is the worst darn thing a person can experience. Interaction with one another is very important.”

The slogan for PROBUS month in March 2017 is “Be a friend – Bring a Friend”.  To view the National PROBUS website please visit http://www.probus.org/canada.htm

PROBUS President Furlong emphasized during an earlier presentation that PROBUS is not a service club but a social club. Even their national conventions are called rendezvous. Furlong stated that at the national level they are working on a plan to grow PROBUS across the country to make people more aware of their clubs.

Robyn Balfour, on behalf of ESCARPMENT PROBUS, stated that: “PROBUS is a local, national and international association of retired people who come together in non-political, non-profit, non-religious, autonomous clubs which provide regular opportunities for members to meet others in similar circumstances and similar levels of interest and make new friends.

“Escarpment PROBUS is three years old and has over 200 members, providing a vital purpose in the retired community of Milton, at a time in life when it is easy to become complacent and reclusive.  ESCARPMENT PROBUS is one of two such clubs in Milton.

“Escarpment PROBUS offers a large number of social club selections such as wine tasting, movie club, cribbage, euchre, bridge, quilting, book clubs, hiking, theatre.  Canadian and International travel.  Guest speakers.  Car Rally, theatre and so much more.  Primarily established with the objective to socialize, have fun and make new friends….…..  The goal is to reach further into the community and create awareness and extend invitation to retirees to join/start additional PROBUS Clubs in Milton.”

To view the activities of ESCARPMENT PROBUS, please see their monthly Forum at http://www.escarpmentprobus.com/forum

“PROBUS runs a monthly meeting for all PROBUS members and guests, invited or just drop in.  This monthly meeting is held on the 3rd Wednesday of each month at the Milton Memorial Arena, 77 Thompson Road, Milton Ontario and starts at 9:30 a.m.”

There are 240 PROBUS Clubs with a total of approximately 33,000 members across Canada.

On the PROBUS website, member Terry Simms says: “Belonging to PROBUS has many advantages: a low annual membership fee; no obligation to attend every meeting (as with some service clubs); you can be as active or inactive as you wish; and there is absolutely no fundraising involved. In addition to the monthly meeting, there are sub groups who meet on their own for a number of activities, including a book club, a hiking club, a dining club and a bridge club. Other Clubs have banded together to go on river cruises in Europe or safaris in Africa under their Club’s banner.”

Carol Dobson, in the Halifax Chronicle Herald sums up the event very nicely:

“One thing people often miss when they retire is the camaraderie they enjoyed with their colleagues. Fortunately, there’s a club designed to meet these needs for those about to retire or who are already retired. It’s called PROBUS.”

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