THE PROBUS CLUB OF OAKVILLE

Established in 1988, The Fifth Probus Club in Canada

February/March 2017

The President’s Message

By now summer is half over and

soon we

will

What is Probus?

PROBUS is an association of active retirees who join together in clubs. Its basic purpose is to provideits members with regular opportunities to keep their minds active, expand their interests and toenjoy the fellowship of new friends.

If you are an active retiree, or no longer working full time, you may like to join a social club to enjoy friendship, fellowship and fun. PROBUS can offer a great avenue of interests and new horizons.

PROBUS meets the needs of retirees by providing opportunities to keep their minds active, expand their interests, stay healthy through activities, benefit from training programs, and network between like minded people and enjoy the fellowship of new friends.

PROBUS can provide members of the community with fresh ideas to enrich and fulfill their lives in retirement.

www.oakvilleprobus.com

Greetings to all and Happy New Year for 2017!

Let me begin by welcoming new member Art McCullagh who will be inducted at the February Meeting. As announced

at our regular meeting on January 19, our club lost one of our founding members in the passing of Wilbert (Wib) Erwin on January 3, 2017. Wib joined Probus in June of 1988 and was a very valuable member of the Club. A celebration of his life was held at 1 p.m. on January 27

th at Glen Oaks Funeral Home.

The Probus Ontario District 3 Conference on November 18, 2016 was attended by Robin Davison, Richard Bowie and me with more

than 100 people present in all. Breakout groups were formed relating to the various positions within Probus such as President, Vice-President, Past-President, Treasurer, Secretary, Speakers, and Activities Chairs etc. The discussions seemed to be quite lively and informative in each group. It was a very interesting day with an emphasis on How to Grow and Expand Your Probus Club by attracting new members, as well as hearing some new ideas. I will have an outline of the Group Summary Sheets Comments available at the February meeting if anyone is interested in having a look at it.

Our next meeting is Thursday February 16, 2017 at 10:00 a.m. I look forward to seeing you there.

Stewart Bryan

From A Well-Planned Retirement Outside England's Bristol Zoo there is a parking lot for 150 cars and 8 buses. For 25 years, its parking fees were managed by a very pleasant attendant collecting the fees for cars ($1.40), for buses (about $7). Then, one day, after 25 solid years of never missing a day of work, he just didn't show up; so the zoo management called the city council and asked it to send them another parking agent. The council did some research and replied that the parking lot was the zoo's own responsibility. The zoo advised the council that the attendant was a city employee. The city council responded that the lot attendant had never been on the city payroll. Meanwhile, sitting in his villa somewhere on the coast of Spain, or France, or Italy, is a man who'd apparently had a ticket booth installed completely on his own and then had simply begun to show up every day, commencing to collect and keep the parking fees, estimated at about $560 per day -- for 25 years. Assuming 7 days a week, this amounts to just over $7 million dollars......and no one even knows his name.

Submitted by Gerry Sutton

Wib

January Speakers

Profiler: Andreas Franke was born at the end of WW II in what became East Germany. His father ran a small manufacturing concern making parts for bicycles under license from Dunlop. Prior to the arrival of the Soviet army, his family left everything and fled to what became West Germany. His father re-established his business but unfortunately died soon after. Subsequently his mother remarried a very successful engineer. They moved around a lot with his career. Eventually Andreas was apprenticed in a manufacturing company after the German fashion. He learned engineering but also attended college in Cologne where he studied Business, English and Spanish. After graduation he went into the import export business and then relocated to Buenos Aires to join his family. After 2 years in the import and export business in Argentina he went to UK to learn English in Bournemouth. In 1967 he immigrated to Canada, landing in Montreal in February. He planned to stay a couple of years while learning French and then back to Europe to exploit his multi language proficiency. That is, until he met Murielle his wife of now 45 years. In Montreal, in 1971, he joined BASF the largest chemical manufacturer in the world. He worked in a variety of roles, primarily in marketing, with the company for over 30 years. At retirement he was the Business Director of the Fine Chemicals Division in Canada. This group sold among other things, animal nutrition products. He told an interesting anecdote that their product actually makes farm salmon pink and when one operator neglected to feed the salmon the product it came out grey. Naturally the market wasn’t too enthusiastic. Andreas retired from BASF after a period coordinating the company’s resolution of extensive class action lawsuits. These lawsuits were based on a price fixing case in which numerous companies including BASF were found guilty of collusion. This proved very stressful and he retired in 1972. Since then he has pursued his hobbies of photography, bird watching and yoga. He also had a stint behind and in front of the camera as an advisor and as a

film extra. John Beales

Speaker: Bryan Noble introduced Sal Guatieri, Director and Senior Economist with BMO Financial Group. Sal gave us an overview of the

potential risks and rewards to emerge for Canada and the US following Donald Trump’s inauguration. He divided his comments into good and bad. The good will be a pro-business government, an all Republican Congress for legislative cohesion, a looser tax and regulatory environment, tax cuts and the prospect of significant capital repatriation from abroad. The prospects of all these items he argued is behind the strong uptick in equities market since his electoral victory. The bad will come from protectionist policies, renegotiating trade treaties, deporting illegal immigrants. All these items are likely to create chaos in cross border supply chains, lead to labour shortages in the US. As far as tariffs are concerned, they will be very difficult to impose due to the extremely complex problem of tracking sources of manufactured inputs in North America’s interconnected industrial system. He worries that the unpredictability of 3am tweets will cause misunderstanding outside the US and lead to confusion in the investment climate as well as foreign policy. On base, the bank is quite confident that there may be opportunity for Canada to prosper going forward but at this point it is uncertain how hard the new administration will come after Canada. He also worries that creating uncertainty for adversaries may work well in negotiating stratagems, but, may cause confusion and disinvestment in the real economy. Notwithstanding, the concerns, he reported that confidence in the US is the highest in decades, the stock and housing markets are up as well as wage and economic growth. In contrast, he sees 2017 as a good year for Canada followed by a period of lower growth due to high consumer debt, high electricity and carbon tax impacts on a manufacturing base already operating well under capacity. Keystone and rising oil prices will have a beneficial impact on Alberta and Saskatchewan but beyond that the areas for economic support from other parts of the developed world are limited as China and Europe growth slows. He closed by reporting that the bank sees little likelihood of major moves in Canadian interest rates. He believes a 73 cent dollar is probable and the TSX is likely to show only flat performance. Mike Purcell thanked Sal and presented him with a book on Historic Oakville.

John Beales

Upcoming Speakers Thursday, February 16, 2017

DYING with DIGNITY – Jack Pasht, Chair in Canada, will discuss proactive planning for the end-of-life, discussions to have with your family and discussions with your doctor and other care-givers – all, so that you may die in a dignified manner that is of your choosing. Your rights to assisted dying, if that is your choice, have now been endorsed by our courts. Jack Pasht received his LL.B. from Osgoode Hall and subsequently began a broad and varied career in real estate investment and development. He is the managing partner of the Terrapark Group, which invests in urban properties across North America.

Thursday, March 16, 2017

MERCY SHIPS in Africa – Dr. Jane Ross, Surgeon. Medical and non-medical volunteers from over 45 nations have served onboard the Africa Mercy. The hospital includes five operating theatres, recovery, intensive care, and low dependency wards—totaling 80 patient beds. The ship is equipped with: CT- Scan, X-Ray, laboratory services, a Nikon Coolscope for remote diagnosis and onboard satellite communication system that transmits diagnoses and other data. This allows 7,000 interventions per year for people who had no hope of corrective surgery. Dr. Jane Ross is based in Sarnia and served on the Africa Mercy in 2014. She will tell us of the surgeries required on those whose huge tumors impeded their life, the change the surgery made in their abilities and their acceptance back into society. She will tell us how well the many volunteers are organized to support the medical staff.

Thursday, April 20, 2017

The BANK of CANADA – Jane Voll, Senior Regional Representative (Economics). We are familiar with the Governor’s monthly reviews and adjustments to interest rates. But what are the complete functions of the Bank, how does it relate to other central banks and to our federal Government, while retaining its independence from the Government? Jane Voll directs research and analysis on economic and sectoral developments in Ontario, including overseeing the Bank’s Business Outlook Survey. Ms. Voll is a graduate of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. She holds a graduate degree in Economics from the University of Toronto and was a gold medalist in Economics, Finance and Accounting at Wilfrid Laurier in Waterloo.

UPCOMING EVENTS Sunday 12th. February 2017 – Valentine’s Day Brunch Although this is not on the day, this is our Valentine’s Day Brunch. It is being held at Glen Abbey Golf Club, beginning at 11 o’clock for their buffet. For anyone who has not been to Glen Abbey before for their Sunday Brunch – the food is fantastic and the presentation is second to none. Come and enjoy it with us, if you have not already registered. The Golf Club provides a free shuttle from the parking area to the restaurant – so don’t let the weather put you off. The cost is $43.00 per person. Please call Russell Mewse 905-827-6007 if you would still like to register.

Wednesday 15th.March 2017 – Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat By Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice

The production of this smash hit is at Dunfield Theatre, Cambridge. Journey back to the ancient land of Canaan for an enchanting story of faith and forgiveness as the biblical tale of Joseph is chronicled with sparkling wit, irreverence and imagination. When Joseph’s father gives him a coat of many colours, his 11 jealous brothers hatch a vicious scheme to sell him into slavery. But Joseph rises above his bleak circumstances due to his ability to interpret dreams, and becomes one of the most powerful men in Egypt. Tickets are $78.00 INCLUDING transportation, with a lunch stop at NAPA Restaurant (order from the menu). There are only 4 tickets left for this event, and we are looking for your support to make this a sell out. If you are interested please call Russell Mewse 905-827-6007

Wednesday 19th. April 2017 – How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying This is another smash hit put on by Theatre Sheridan. This is now sold out, and there is a waiting list. We will be trying to obtain additional seats. If you would like to be put on the waiting list, please call Russell Mewse 905-827-6007 or Jim T Smith at 905-825-1826

Famous Quotes

I am thankful for all of those who said NO to me.

It’s because of them I’m doing it myself.

–Albert Einstein

There is only one way to avoid criticism:

do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing. -–

–Aristotle

The Probus Club of Oakville

Tues

Other Positions

President: Stewart Bryan 842-4478

Past President: Robin Davison 339-1702

Vice President: Ross Prince 885-1418

Secretary: Richard Bowie 257-8308

Treasurer: Wayne Gallant 681-3482

Speakers: Jack Talbot 639-8295

Activities: Russell Mewse 827-6007

Newsletter: Helmut Erxleben 901-9268

Membership: Gunther Lutz 844-0542

Liaison: Mike Purcell 845-4097

Website: Paul Nelson 469-4752

Management Committee

Equipment Andreas Franke 338-5526 Member Welfare Dick Goulding 827-5968 Auditor Alex Murphy 337-2924 50/50 Draw Ulrich Wickardt 465-0641 Roy Oldfield 847-2062 Photographer Peter Pretty 338-5583 Dave Johnson 338-6076 Greeter Jack Rugg 820-1973

Probus Club of Oakville P.O. Box 52127

Oakville ON L6J 7N5

Email:

oakvilleprobus@gmail.com

Website: www.oakvilleprobus.com

Meetings take place 10 a.m.

on the third

Thursday of each Month

At the Quality Suites

754 Bronte Road OAKVILLE