Newsletter. U pcoming. Probus Club of Burlington. Special Olympics Burlington & Ontario. March

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1 Probus Club of Burlington Newsletter he next meeting of T the Probus Club of Burlington will be held on Thursday March16th, at 10:00AM at the Art Gallery of Burlington. U pcoming Speakers Additional Speakers for 2017 Are Being Finalized. xtending the hand E of welcome What better way to begin our morning than with a firm handshake and a friendly smile from our four greeters, Malcolm Byrne; Warren McCrea; Bill Caldwell; Edward Eves, guarantee this and will set the tone for the morning in true Probuscian style. Thanks Gentlemen. Special Olympics Burlington & Ontario Amy vanimpe, a Special Olympics Athlete and Ambassador for Special Olympics Ontario will be joining Cate Hawkins, Community Coordinator for Special Olympics Burlington and one of Amy's coaches. Amy will be speaking about her experiences as a competitive athlete who competes in Swimming, Floor Hockey, Softball, Basketball and Soccer. Amy has also been recognized as a Special Olympics Burlington Athlete of the Year. Her insight into how Special Olympics affects the lives of the athletes and their families is truly inspiring. Both Amy and Cate are looking forward to speaking to you about the legacy of Special Olympics and answering questions about the 13 team programs that are happening in Burlington right now. March 2017 Cate Hawkins will be speaking about the growth of Special Olympics in our community and the goals for the future. Cate, as well as being the Community Coordinator for the past eight years, is also the Head Coach of both the Burlington Skylarks Special Olympics Rhythmic Gymnastics team and Burlington Barracudas Special Olympics Swim team.

2 Page 2 The Probus Club of Burlington Newsletter Meeting Review When we entered our Probus meeting room on Feb 16th to hear our speaker, former Air Canada pilot Ed Jokinen, we all expected to find him interesting and enlightening, but not a humorist. But, before I go too far I think I'd better relate how Ed got into this flying stuff. His father, an Air Canada pilot (oops Trans Canada Airlines back then) took him as a lad to Paris... but it wasn't till later when Ed, commuting along the drab "De Carie Ditch" in Montreal, and saw the aircraft taking off from Dorval Airport, that he got bit by the flying bug. Jeez Ed, that Paris trip mighta' done it for me. But back to his Probus appearance... Ed s humour came out before he started his talk. Through no one s fault, our projector refused to talk with his laptop, a situation that would have many of us tearing our hair out. Not Ed, whose first words lamented that he didn't have his IT expert with him that morning... as his grandson had to take a Grade Nine Geography test. He kept on keeping us chuckling, by telling us about how a uniform (like a pilot wears) makes a man desirable to women. So, with us expecting some ribald tales of post-flight activity, he then showed slides of Idi Amin & Muammar Gaddafi, ending with one of Donald Trump's head photoshopped on Napoleon's uniform... all images that do NOT turn women on. But he was serious about flying... as in how a modern jet's engines function, how complex the flight path into New York's LaGuardia is, and how much it costs to de-ice each aircraft. Afterward, eager for more detail about piloting I asked him seven Members Pages questions, which he later answered by . My questions and his answers follow. Sorry guys, an aero-nut like me wanted to know this stuff. 1. HOW MANY MILES FLOWN? We measure our flying not in miles but in hours flown, and despite the fact that during some of my years at Air Canada I was often "flying a desk" in management, I have still flown some millions of miles. 2. FAVOURITE AIRPORT? I'll give you three. London's Heathrow, it's very well organized and serves my favourite city. Then Santiago, Chile for the spectacular scenery. Finally, St John's, NFLD for having the wildest and most unpredictable weather (yes, most pilots like that). 3. FAVOURITE AIRCRAFT? I retired off the Boeing B777, which is a magnificent flying machine. The McDonnell Douglas DC-9 was my first command as a Captain so it is my all time favourite. It was also tremendous fun to fly. 4. FAVOURITE ROUTE? For pure scenery, the route over the Andes from Santiago to Buenos Aires, as well as the grandeur of Greenland (also hard to beat are our Canadian Rockies) and inbound to New Delhi over the "Stans" as we called them (Pakistan Afghanistan, etc.) a stark contrast to flying in Europe & North America! 5. WORST FLIGHT? I probably shouldn't go into details on what I considered my worst experience. It had nothing really to do with flying or flight safety, but about trying to manage our way through a nasty cultural/political/bureaucratic boondoggle in a distant land. Sorry to be so cryptic. Let's just say I'm grateful to be Canadian. 6. BEST FLIGHT? I did several test flights on different aircraft types during which we would push the aircraft to its outer limits (just the flight crew on board) These rate as my most memorable flying experiences. Also my first polar flight to Asia, on a B777 up on "top of the world" over Canada's high Arctic, the Arctic Ocean and across central Siberia, is an experience that I never tired of. 7. MOST INTERESTING EXPERI- ENCE? 40+ years provided many. Some years ago, bound from Toronto to Bermuda we were several hundred miles out over the ocean when ATC asked us if we could descend and try to locate a small sailboat in distress which they had lost contact with. Having plenty of fuel and wanting to aid this vessel, we did several orbits at 1,500 feet over its last known location, with our crew and all 150 passengers glued to the windows. We didn't locate the boat but heard later the US Coast Guard had found it safe. Today's world is probably too rigid to allow such an effort. That proved interesting. My questions totaled 17 words and Ed used 403 words to respond and the readers get to hear exactly what he wants them to hear. Plus, it's easier for me. I should wrap this up by telling you what I thought was one of Ed's best moments, and there were many. Here's Ed... "Operating an aircraft is very expensive. When a large airliner takes off it is carrying about $100,000 worth of fuel. If de -icing was required that's another $20,000, AND don't forget the seven bucks for the pretzels". Jim Csordas had a clever thank you for our speaker that was tailored especially for the moment. He praised Ed for not letting a lousy takeoff (the projector/ laptop spat) mess up things. Another item on the bright side. The tooney bucket took in an EX- CESS of bucks on the 16th... we were $19.15 on the plus side of the ledger. Keep this up and we'll be able to pay off the debt owed by many previous audiences, and buy a new projector... in maybe only 30 years or so. (Editor s Note. It is a New Projector.)

3 Condolences The Probus Club of Burlington Newsletter Members Pages Squire Grummett Results Page 3 HENDERY, Gordon Wilson, Lt. Commander RCN RN In his 96th year, has passed away peacefully with family at his side, at Sunrise Senior Living in Burlington, on February 4, Gord was a special member being our club's first Honorary Member. Gord was very much involved in the start up of our club in 1987 and for many years kept in touch with members in poor health or hospitalized and of course reported this to the membership at monthly meetings. He was in command of several landing craft on D Day making several trips from ship to shore and return. Pam Calvert, through the Halton Board of Education assisted in making a video of Gord's service in WW II for use in Halton Schools particularly close November 11. I believe Gord sponsored a record number of new members to our club. He lived at Harbour Lights for years. With an electric scooter he toured the waterfront with a bag of dog treats. Dogs and their walkers would gravitate to Gord not only for the treats but for the always upbeat conversations. (contributed by Warren Elliot). Cameron (Cam) David McBain passed away on February 25th, 2017 in his 81st Year. Cam was an Auditor for our club. Letters of Condolence have been sent to the families and a period of silence will be offered at our March Meeting in their honor and remembrance. Meet members at the Squire for lunch after our monthly meeting. Continue the fellowship of the meeting over a 13 $ lunch which includes a glass of beer or wine.. A good selection is available to tickle your palette. On the Membership Desk Joining Jim Allan on the Membership desk at this months meeting is Ron Watson. A New PROBUS Club in Burlington - for Women and Men Update More than 170 people attended the January 25 information meeting with most submitting applications for Charter Membership in the new club for women and men. More than 30 people offered to take positions on the Executive and Committees. On February 23 the new club Executive and Committee participants met one another for the first time and took many steps to prepare for the Foundation Meeting set for March 22 at the Art Gallery of Burlington. A large turnout is expected at the Foundation Meeting where motions will be put forward to establish the new club. The first general meeting of The Mixed PROBUS Club of Burlington will be held on April 22 at the Art Gallery. Have questions? Warren Elliott is our club representative wkelliott@cogeco.ca Burlington Probus Wins in a Squeaker The 20th. Grummett Bonspiel was held at the Burlington Curling Club on February 08 and was hosted by Burlington Lakeshore. The overall trophy winner was Burlington Probus, 3 games to 2. As a result, with an aggregate score of 90 to 77 the Crying Towel Award was presented to runnerup, Lakeshore Probus. Two of Burlington s games came down to last rock victories. Overall Lakeshore leads 11 events to 9 with Burlington closing the gap winning 7 of the last 8 events. Prizes were presented to all of the participating rinks after lunch. Placing 1St. was the Burlington Probus rink lead by skip Bill Osepchook, third Ian Taylor, second Bill McSurren and lead Tony Johnson. In recognition of being the overall high winning rink they were also awarded Probus sweaters. Committee members for the day were Lakeshore Chairman John Chandler assisted by Stan Orr and Rod McGrath. Burlington coordinators were Jack Saegart, Milbur Giles and photographer; Tom Bochsler.

4 Page 4 The Probus Club of Burlington Newsletter New Honorary Members At the February Probus meeting Bill Herridge and Ken Gibson were formally inducted as Honorary members of the Burlington Probus Club. Burlington Proclaims March Probus Month Proclamation by the mayor as well as me with the Mayor and our District Director, Bob Boone, and 4 of the other Burlington Probus Members accepting the proclamation. Members Pages Proclamation Bob English Comments President's Remarks Feb 16, 2017 It was just over five years ago that a man named Warren Elliot called me one evening and asked if I would take on the role of second VP. He was up front and made it clear it was a four year commitment. After some thought, okay. The gist of this is that he asked. Many people never get involved if they are not asked. Going forward, we should all be reminded that asking other men to join our club or help out on a committee would more likely be responded positively. I can summarize the past year as President by saying that "Even if you know it's coming you are never prepared for how it feels". I'll get to that later. Veing your president takes two years of preparation and one year of working for the members. This past year has been a great feeling. Sure, we had some turnover in roles and responsibilities. The biggest change was Gerry Howe, Secretary leaving the Management Committee. Gerry stayed in contact and we were very happy to bring on Graham Schaefer as our new Secretary until year end. The change had no impact on our group. Success in a period of change is the sign of a healthy organization. And this success is not determined by the ability of your President, but rather by the work of your committees and the support that you give them. Included were First Vice Brian Pattrick that never missed an opportunity to jump in and help out wherever needed and Second Vice Ken Ahrens with his contribution, especially arranging for greeters. Thank you to Graham Schaefer, our secretary. Kudos to Glen Huffman our treasurer who keeps us solvent. And, a special thanks to Past President Ken McCutcheon who was a real pillar of information and guidance. And here are our operating committees that could not accomplish without the time and talent that many of you provide. Austen Knowlton our facilities person that brought you Tim's this year - to Bob Lalonde our reliable newsletter publisher - Bob Dickison who handles the tough membership file - Jim Csardas our leader in getting us fine speakers - Milbur Giles, coordinator for our sporting events and Graham Schaefer that provided many social activities. We cannot forget others like Jim Boyd our health reporter, Eric Mayo our new historian, and John Chandler our auditor. Thank you to all. I would like to note that the Executive and operating committees were quite active well beyond the regular monthly meetings. We met throughout the year to address special issues, from budget preparation, to reviewing special events to increasing membership. Continued from page 6

5 The Probus Club of Burlington Newsletter Special Events Page 5 Tickets to the Sophisticated Swing Sinatra Celebration concert April 29th at the Burlington East Presbyterian Church, will be available at our March Meeting. Please consider joining us for our Spring Outing on May 31st 2017 Location: Niagara on the Lake Show: Me and My Girl at the Festival Theatre 2:00 PM Buffet Lunch : Pillar and Post AM Cost - $85.00 per person. Ticket Sales Close April 1st 2017 Payments required by April No cost transportation is available if you do not wish to drive. This event is open to members and friends Registration begins on-line on our website February 6th to April 1st., and at our regular February and March Meetings. This is a U-Drive Event..

6 The Probus Club of Burlington Newsletter Page : 6 Interest Group Activities Probus Bridge Club The Monday Bridge Group Meets every week at the Canadian Legion. Join us for lunch and friendly games of bridge Starts at 12 Noon.. Continued from page 4 Each person has dedicated leadership to ensure your club operates effectively as possible. There are also two other groups that I would like to acknowledge - First the Charter and Honourary Members Kenneth Gibson Gordon Hendery William Herridge James Lumb Willard Price and Past Presidents 1990/91 Jim Lumb 1996/97 Max Tuck 1998/99 Mac Byrne 2001/02 Wayne Ingell 2003/04 Dr. Gerry Boswell 2004/05 Frank Clarke 2005/06 Barry Saunders 2007/08 Ward Minielly Computer Interest Group Our next meeting will be on March 9th at 10am at Appleby Place. Remember to send Robert your questions via to Robert.lalonde@me.com. This month we will be discussing online privacy and security plus answering your questions, so remember to bring or send them. 2008/09 Bill Milne 2009/10 Stan Whiteley 2010/11 Dave Truman 2011/12 John McCarthy 2012/13 Warren Elliott 2013/14 Dave Rokosh 2014/15 Jim Jones 2015/16 Ken McCutcheon It is always important to not lose the memories of those that we lost last year. Bill Rowland; Geoff Coates; Maxwell Tuck - Charter and Honorary member; Bill Wittig; Jack Montgomery; Dave Vickers; Gordon Reed Our major change in process this year was the shift of our AGM from March to February. In a survey done in 2015, March was our least attended month and we really didn't need almost three months to wrap-up year end. We also moved our Gala to the Burlington Golf and Country Club. The meal was served, the venue much more elegant, the entertainment more fitting, and the cost substantially less. Over the past two to three years, I think we all have recognized the declining membership of the club. Whether it be age related, or relocating, or just disinterest, it is something that we all need to be cognizant of. As I see it, like most good organizations, our first priority is to protect what we have - you - the membership. As I indicated a few times, this is your club. We have enjoyed the golf and curling, the lunches and the plays, and a spectacular Christmas Gala this past year. We delight in good speakers and participate in bridge or computer clubs. But these activities may not be enough for you as a member. Many of the clubs around us share their newsletters with us and invariably, activities range well beyond what we are involved in. To that it is important that you make your voice heard. The Management team is always prepared to listen and take advice, so please take the time to voice your ideas or concerns. The second priority is to not just sustain the club, but to grow it. I think we all recognize that if you don't ask, you don't get. The same holds true for potential new members. You will be surprised how many men will come out to a meeting if asked. One way to make this easy is to sell the benefits of the club including the great speakers, the events, the current activities we have, and of course the free coffee. That should be a motto of all of us - just ask. Declining membership is nothing new. In the past few years, there have been studies, assessments, and interviews. These actions provided some good ideas, but we are all guilty of not putting in that effort in areas that were weak. Well, I am very happy to tell you that incoming President Brian and his team have already met last week to have a fresh look at what we can do to not only stop the decline, but to increase our membership to where it was a few years ago. In summary, I can honestly say that being President was enjoyable and something I am glad I did. For that I thank you. Now, let's continue to make Probus relevant and active. Published monthly by The Probus Club of Burlington, Box 85098, Brant Plaza P.O., Burlington ON, L7R 4K3 President: Brian Pattrick, Editing & Distribution: Bob Lalonde,