Probus clubs look forward to 50th Anniversary

Wangaratta Appin Park Combined Probus President Denny Wagstaffe called the 10 March meeting to order, welcoming members present and one guest. General business matters were attended to before special interest groups outlined their activities for the coming month. Games group had a pizza night on 11 March. Friday lunch group headed to Hotel Nicholas in Beechworth on 20 March, meeting up with 24 other members who partook in a very interesting Beechworth Gaol Tour in the morning. In all, 34 members had a great day out. The gentlemen's breakfast was enjoyed at the Gateway on 26 March. Craft group also met on Tuesday. Walking group meet at Apex Park 9am every Monday morning, while afternoon cards meet each Tuesday. There is also a vacancy within the book club. Combined breakfast group are meeting at Ineeta Café, Moyhu, 9am on 5 April. The planned trip to Melbourne on 20-22 April has 25 members eager to head off on their adventure, which includes lunch on the tram boat and several other interesting places to be visited. A trip to Sydney on 19-23 October is in the pipeline, more information to come. Congratulations to members Faye Phillips and Norman McDonald who both celebrated 80th birthdays this month. We all enjoyed birthday cake with them for morning tea. Following morning tea we conducted our AGM with Sue Abotomey taking the chair for the election of office bearers. Amelia Edwards is the incoming president, Phillip Hargreaves is vice president, Sue Thomas is secretary and Vicki Bailey is again treasurer. We wish all Office Bearers a very successful and happy Probus year. Wangaratta Central Combined Probus President Sally Haynes opened the 20 March general meeting and welcomed members and guests present. A new member also was inducted into the club. Current membership is now 76. Who Am I: today was a tribute to Jean Pearson who recently passed away. Coming Events: Breakfast Club is on Thursday, 9 April at 8.30am at the Gateway. Caravan Club is on 15-18 November at Warragul Gardens Caravan Park. The next general meeting will be held on Friday, 17 April at 10am at the Wangaratta Bowls and Sports Club on Park Lane. At the meeting, reports were given for the whole year on each of the activities. Sally then welcomed Leon Quartermain as chairperson for the elections of committee members. New committee members as nominated and seconded: President Colin Thomson, secretary Chris Norris, minutes secretary Julie Lamond, and treasurer Bob Haynes. Membership and postage expenses: Fees: Annual membership - $50 Joining Fee: $25. Postage for members receiving their minutes by post: $25. Confirmation of maximum membership numbers: 110 (111 if numbers reach 109 and a couple wish to join). Member responsibilities: (a) To attend at least 50 per cent of the year’s meetings, as per the constitution; (b) Notice of leave of absence to be handed to the secretary; (c) To be prepared to participate in the running of the club. The next AGM is to be held on Friday, 19 March 2027 at Wangaratta Bowls Club. Park Lane, Wangaratta. Wangaratta Ladies Probus President Margaret Gibb opened the March meeting welcoming members and our visitor Maryanne Quirk. We had 12 ladies head out to the Winton Café on Thursday, 5 March. It was a beautiful autumn day, with the countryside looking green and lush after the two inches of rain. The café had been closed for a short term and is now open again serving meals and coffee. Five ladies enjoyed the Ten Pin Bowling on 13 March and rewarded themselves with a coffee afterwards. As it is school holidays in April, the ladies will meet next in May. The garden group travelled to Corowa to visit Jenny Laurence’s garden and they were joined by five ladies from the Corowa garden group. After a delicious morning tea they were treated to a tour of the garden. Jenny was very generous in giving them many cuttings from her garden. As this was both a general meeting and our AGM, there was no guest speaker. The new committee is as follows: president - Margaret Gibb; vice president - Rosemary Long; secretary - Ann Jones; treasurer - Tina Norton; travel and activities - Shirley Sullivan; membership – Elaine Mahoney and Maureen Delaney; and friends in Probus – Val Bussell and Mary Kerr. Among our groups we had Rosemary Forster step up to take on the social dine out, but we are still looking for someone to take on the vintage club as from next month. Our thanks must go to Bev Greskie and Marion Gay for their tireless efforts in looking after the friends in Probus for many, many, years and we welcome Val Bussell and Mary Kerr for taking on this responsibility. We look forward to another year of fun and friendship. 50th Anniversary of Probus in Australia. An invitation is out to all Probus club members and friends to attend the 50th Anniversary of Probus in Australia. Local clubs and others from within the North East region are welcome to join together for a luncheon celebration on Wednesday, 6 May at the Wangaratta Turf Club. Cost is $40 pp. The day will start with morning tea and a banner parade. Special guest speaker for the day is 50th Anniversary ambassador, Heather Ewart from ABC TV program ‘Backroads’. Chair of Probus South Pacific Ltd. Michael Ransom will also attend. For more details and to book contact Shirley Sullivan 0408 574 556 by 22 April. Probus is a ‘not for profit’ organisation for retired or semi-retired men and women to get together to socialise for activities and events, to enjoy the company of other like-minded people and to aid health and wellbeing as they age. We encourage the community to join our clubs and become Probus members, creating new ideas, activities and events, finding new places to visit and exploring travel opportunities, Probus’ core values are Fellowship, Friendship and Fun.

Probus clubs look forward to 50th Anniversary

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