Probus Club of Vancouver is a men’s club for retired and semi-retired professional and business persons, former executives and others.
MEETINGS
The monthly meetings take place at the HR MacMillan Space Centre, Vanier Park, on the second Tuesday of each month, except for October.
Coffee and conversation starts at 9:00 am, and then we convene in the auditorium by 9:45 am. A short business meeting precedes the guest speaker, and we try to wrap up by 11:00 am.
Based on recent numbers, we have 100 members and guests at each meeting.
The Presidents’ Luncheon Meeting to honour Past Presidents is held in October at an appropriate location and cost.
ABOUT THE CLUB
We are affiliated with Probus Canada, The Women’s Probus Club of Vancouver and Probus Vancouver West.
1. The purposes of the club are:
(a) to provide opportunities for retired and semi-retired professional and business persons, and others with like backgrounds who appreciate and value increased opportunities for social contacts, as well as to discuss, and organize addresses on, topical subjects while not conducting itself in a manner which is political or sectarian,
(b) to arrange visits by members to places and organizations of interest, and
(c) to arrange activities which are of interest to members, are not competitive with any other organization and are directed solely towards acquaintance and fellowship, as distinguished from fund raising or providing services.
Some History
Probus clubs spring from two main roots in England: The “Campus Club” founded by the Rotary Club of Welwyn Garden City and the “Probus Club” founded by the Rotary Club Caterham in 1965 and 1966 respectively. Since then they have spread worldwide and continue to be established at a rapidly increasing rate as former professional and business persons and executives, invited to join, recognize the value of participation and observe the enthusiasm of existing members and the way in which Probus enriches their lives. Probus moved to New Zealand in 1974 and to Australia in 1976. Probus has since spread throughout the world with approximately 4000 clubs and over 300,000 members.
The first Probus club in North America was established in Cambridge, Ontario, in 1987, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Galt. There are over 210 active Clubs registered with over 28,000 members Canada-wide. In British Columbia we have 40 active clubs, some of which, such as ours, are restricted to men, some are restricted to women, and some are mixed. For more information on Probus in Canada, visit Probus Canada.
The Probus Club of Vancouver was established early in 1997 with the charter meeting held on May 20, 1997. There were 50 charter members. Today the membership has risen to 375 members, the second largest in Canada.
The word Probus is an abbreviation of the words PROfessional and BUSiness, but membership is not restricted to these two groups. It embraces also former executives of government and other organizations and, in fact, anyone who has had some measure of responsibility in any field of endeavour.