Pro-bites.....

Our speaker for the meeting on November 5th will be Canadian Forces Major-General (Retired) Lewis McKenzie.
Born in Truro, Nova Scotia, Major-General Lewis McKenzie is notable for his role as chief of staff of the United Nations Protection Force in Yugoslavia, beginning in 1990. McKenzie, who embodies the Canadian tradition of world peacekeeper, received his commission as a soldier in 1960 in the Queen's Own Rifles regiment. He performed his first peacekeeping duty in 1963 in the Gaza Strip, and subsequently served in many other worldwide areas of conflict.
General McKenzie's career as a peacekeeper has won him fame both in Canada and internationally. He now serves as a senior research fellow at the Canadian Institute of Strategic Studies.

Our October Speaker “The Tale of Six Grandfathers” or “How a bunch of Vets started up a place called Ontario” was the subject of an absorbing talk by Harry Needham at our October meeting. A United Empire Loyalist, and direct descendant of one of the six settlers, Mr. Needham was able to remind us of our 19th Century history and give fascinating insights into the events surrounding the origins of Perth and Lanark County as well as other Loyalist areas of Eastern Canada.
Notwithstanding a quotation from 1587 saying that, to get soldiers for the army, it was necessary to “rob the alehouses and taverns of tosspots, and scour both town and country of rogues and ruffians” he showed us that the early settlers were ordinary folks, brought to Canada with great discomfort, and suffering great hardships to establish themselves on the inhospitable land. Many had fought in the Napoleonic wars and so provided Canada with the nucleus of a defence force against what was then our biggest fear – invasion from the south.
Incidental to the main story, it turns out that the biggest rogue was not a soldier, but the Lanark land clerk who was responsible for allocating parcels of land to the settlers!

Treasurer’s Report We are still solvent - according to the latest figures from Don Sherwin, our Treasurer, we have $3984 in the bank as of the end of September.

Self-Introduction As part of our ongoing series of learning more about our fellow members, John Kittle related the story of his career, mirroring the ups and downs of a computer software specialist during the roller-coaster years of the 80’s and 90’s.

• November ~ Major-General Lewis McKenzie(Retired) will talk about his experiences in various theatres of peacekeeping activities.
• December ~ The Men of the Tay will entertain us with their choral talents.
• January ~ Heather Perkins-McVey will speak on the legal issues associated with health care.
• February ~ John McKenty will talk about the life and times of the James Brothers
• March, April and May ~ still to be arranged. If you have suggestions for either topics or speakers, , please pass them to Ian Doig (264-2707) or Glen Pettinger (264-9747)
• June ~ Marking the 65th anniversary of D-Day, the Allied Invasion of Europe, Peter Craske will talk about his experiences related to the operation.

• Friday, October 24: Annual Octoberfest Party at the Golf Club. Cocktails at 6pm and dinner at 7pm.
• Friday, December 12 ~ Annual Christmas Dinner.This will be held at the Perth Links O’Tay Golf Club. A great way to kick off your Christmas season. Tickets $80 per couple; sign up with Denise at the November meeting.
• April 2009. Trip to Trenton RCAF Museum. Arrangements are not yet finalized.
• May 2009. Trip to Gananoque Playhouse. This will take place the third week of May. If you are a snowbird heading south for the winter, let Denise know of your interest before you leave so that she can estimate the size of bus needed for the trip.
• June 2009. Annual Golf Tournament. Organized by Glen Pettinger and promising the usual fun and games, together with a delicious meal, dancing and lots of door prizes.

• Keith Brown was appointed to fill the vacancy on the Nominating Committee.
• Ernie Trischuk and Bruce Gourley will attend a meeting of area branches called by Brockville to discuss and interact on branch operations, programming and speakers.
• Considerable discussion was held on publicity related to the opportunities offered by high profile speakers such as Major-General Lewis McKenzie who is scheduled to speak at our November meeting. If the speaker and the club agrees, local press coverage will be encouraged. For our November meeting, and in comparable situations, Probus members are invited to bring guests to take advantage of the special occasion.
• “The Probian” has now become a co-operative venture, the work being spread around through a team of members, each of whom will edit one month’s version. So far, we have four volunteers. As there are ten months to cover, we are hoping that others will come forward to take on one edition each. A standard format has been developed, so it is only a matter of writing the prose to fill the white spaces. Which month would you like to take? Let Colin Stephenson know at info@probusperth.ca or 613-264-2609.
• Call for curlers ~ join Ernie Trischuk at the Probus Curling Bonspiel in Brockville on Thursday 13 Nov 08 time and place to be advised. Contact Ernie at 613-283-8112 or retirernie@yahoo.com.

New members Dorothy Fournier, Audrey Cole,
Irene Peterkin. welcomed by Ernie Trischuk