October has come to a spectacular end- Thanksgiving, Halloween, winterizing the garden and getting the Christmas lights up (not on) in unseasonably warm and sunny weather. Makes me wonder what to expect for the winter.

We’ve also come the end of PROBUS month which we gave a nod to at our Annual General Meeting. At the AGM you were introduced to the Management Team for 2024-2025. As your new president, I look forward to working with the members who are continuing in their roles – Mike LaLonde (Treasurer), John Roberts (Website Coordinator), Kathy Borisko (Activities Coordinator), Iris Forsey (Membership Coordinator ), Shirlie van Putten (Social and Trips Coordinator ), Joe DeSimone (Assistant Treasurer), Marilyn Crumpton (Technical Advisor), Shirley Humphries (Technical Advisor), Nancy Cooper (Speaker Coordinator), Pat Sornberger (House Coordinator) and Judy Ouellette (Secretary).

Rod Lawrence changes his role to Past President and will continue to have input on our website (and give me advice). We are say goodbye to Marilyn Werry, the previous Past President, but we will continue to hear from her as she will remain our liaison with our twin club in Rumadi, New Zealand. We are also saying goodbye to Sandy Smiles as she retires from being our newsletter  coordinator, after nine years of exemplary editing of our newsletter.

We are delighted to welcome Roland Paquette as the new Vice President. Roland has been a member of PROBUS Pickering for several years and many folks will know him from his enthusiastic participation in many activities and his sense of humour. We are also delighted to welcome Eileen Clarke as the new Newsletter Coordinator. Eileen is a relatively new member to the club. We’re so glad you’re diving right in, saying ‘Yes’ to getting involved with the club. I look forward to working with both you!

By the time this reaches your inboxes, the annual Halloween Dance will be another fun memory and another successful event organized by Shirlie van Putten and the Social Committee. Great job!! Thank you to Kathy Roberts for the delicious desserts! Thank you to David Caruana and his band for fabulous music helping to make the evening a really fun evening!

By now you should have renewed your annual  membership. If you have not, but want to, please contact Iris Forsey for your next steps. At last count, we were very close to our maximum number of 499.

As we begin November, please watch your email and the newsletter for upcoming activities and important deadlines. The Christmas lunch, to held at the Ajax Convention Centre on Friday December 13^th, is selling out fast.

When I listen to the news and all the reports of conflict around the world, I am grateful to have lived my whole life in a country that has not known the level of domestic conflict present in many countries around the world. While we may not like the presence of war and violence in our world, thousands of years of recorded history seems to indicate that it will continue to be with us. Please take a moment on Remembrance Day, to honour and acknowledge those who served in our military forces and didn’t come back, those who served and came back but were/are forever changed and those who went to areas, foreign and domestic, to help during times of disaster. When many would run from danger, they have run toward it.

At the monthly meeting in November we will celebrate our club’s eleventh anniversary! Our membership, activities, fellowship, friendship and fun have grown exponentially! The format of the meeting will be a little different with a shorter business meeting so we have more time with Knowledge Quiz Master Derek Devitt and a wine and cheese social time (coffee and tea will also be available).

I look forward to seeing you at the various activities and events throughout the month.

Stay connected and stay involved with your PROBUS club!

Nancy Turner Grant

President