PROBUS Club of the Gateway

President's Message
April 2025

Our predictable Canadian weather has once again validated the saying - the first day of spring is not necessarily the first spring like day.  While I sit here in the comfort of my home, gazing at my soon to be blooming garden beds, I think of others who suffered severe damage in last weekend’s ice storm.  We have friends who have been without power for 4 days, their landscaping is destroyed with trees down and branches everywhere, and they are afraid to leave their house in case their sump pump overflows.  I am so grateful that for the most part, our community was spared from this latest weather catastrophe. 

I have three key messages for you this month:

1.    Our Club is thriving. 

We looked at data for the past 12 months and it showed that we had over 1800 event registrations in that time period.  That number just boggles my mind and makes me grateful for our website.  Imagine if our social committee had to manually process 1800 registrations and payments, in addition to juggling waitlists and cancellations.  It simply would not have been possible.

The data also shows that in the past twelve months, 92% of our members participated in at least one event.  And on average, members participated in 8 events.  Woo hoo!  We are active.

While registration for events is the only measure we actually track, we’ve also had good attendance at our Monthly Membership Meetings and for the most part, a sufficient stream of members willing to pitch in and help out where required. 

Active members = a healthy club  - so a big thanks to our members for being active.  And a special thanks to those who have stepped up and taken on one of the many volunteer opportunities our club affords. 

2.    We have room for about 20 new members.    

We are currently advertising for new members on a few bulletin boards around town such as the Collingwood YMCA, the Library, and Centennial pool.  If you have a suggestion for another great place to advertise, let me know and I will give you a poster (8.5” X 11”) to put up or I will try and get one there myself. 

If you have one or more friends who would like to join, invite them to do so right away. Instructions for joining can be found on our website. 

3.    We are still in need of someone to fill the Second Vice-President position for our Club.  

Please see myself or any other member of the management team if you are interested in playing a more active role in the future of our Club. 

I look forward to seeing you at the April 15 Monthly Membership meeting or an upcoming event.

Stay safe! Stay dry! Stay active!

Joan

Gratitude turns what we have into enough.