PROBUS Global Update
October 2025
The meeting scheduled for October 6 has been postponed. Richard Furlong is in hospital. We all wish him a speedy recovery and look forward to his attendance in November. Richard has been seeking a replacement to be the president of PROBUS Global as he has filled that role for more than 4 years now.
October 1 is the United Nations Day of Older Persons. In Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, all of October is PROBUS Month, an opportunity to celebrate what Probus is all about and raise awareness of PROBUS within the broader community. PROBUS Global invites PROBUS clubs everywhere to join in the celebration.
In this update you will find:
▶️ Video Introductions to PROBUS in 6 languages.
❓ The Question of the Month for September.
📸 A photo from our Photo Club.
▶️ New videos on our YouTube Channel.
🎤 A new guest speaker.
📝 Contribute an article for our December Newsletter.
If you haven’t read our September PDF newsletter yet, it is still available on the PROBUS Global website. You will also find newsletters from various clubs around the world who share their news with us.
We fed the newsletter into NotebookLM, an AI tool, and it generated an unboxing video which turned out to be a very good introduction to Probus and PROBUS Global. It also created versions in French, Japanese, Spanish, German, and Dutch. Watch them on our YouTube Channel.
Our new newsletter editor, Geoffrey Lloyd is looking for short (200 to 500 word) articles for the December newsletter. The deadline for submissions is November 15. Please send Geoffrey any news or information that might be of interest to Probians.
Question of the Month
H.G. Wells said: “Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the future of the human race”. I have to agree. Yesterday, I enjoyed a lovely autumn day cycling with the Pelham Probus Club in Canada. We stopped at a golf club for lunch and then continued on to a winery for some wine tasting.
Does your club have a cycling group? Do you have any activity groups? What activities do your members enjoy as part of the benefits of belonging to your club?
Last month we asked members how far they travelled to get to their club meetings. Most drive, and a few walk when they can. Some are lucky to live within a few minutes of their club and others have to drive as long as 45 minutes (which doesn’t get you far in Toronto traffic).
You can read comments from previous questions and add new answers at any time on the Questions pages and on Facebook.
Michael Ransom shared this colourful photo of an Eastern Spinebill in Melbourne Park.
Share your own photos on the Photo Page, or just stop by and admire the talent of our members.
Under the Connect menu on our website, “Contact a PROBUS Club” leads to our directory of 2,616 out of the estimated 4,500 clubs in the world. The directory is mostly there for potential new members to find a local club. It is also used by our members to contact clubs when they travel in order to attend meetings or just meet a few locals for a coffee on their trip.
Linda Metcalfe maintains the directory and has been doing a great job. We need your help to confirm that contact and meeting information for your club is current and useful. Please take a moment to make sure your club entry is up to date. If you know of nearby clubs that we have missed, please let us know about them. If your club has closed recently, we want to hear about that, too. Members of closed clubs are still welcome to join us at PROBUS Global.
YouTube Channel
Have you watched recordings of PROBUS Global Zoom meetings and club videos from Canada, Ireland, and Australia on the PROBUS Global YouTube Channel lately? The latest video shows Roddy MacKenzie talking about Bomber Command in WWII. Roddy, a Probian from Vancouver, is also one of our speakers who can present to your club on Zoom.
Does your club record your guest speakers? If they give their permission, we would love to add their talks to our library of meetings.
Our Speakers’ Corner directory featuring individuals willing to present to clubs in their area or anywhere by Zoom is a treasure. Invite a guest speaker to your club. Vote for the talk you would like to hear at a PROBUS Global Zoom Meeting.
Jenn is The Founder of Techie Nesters, a Virtual Retirement Community offering tech support and other helpful services for older adults. Her “Comfort & Joy” presentation is focused on creating comfort around technology rooted in awareness and education for things like scams and fraud, and joy as it relates to new and emerging technology like AI. She also explains how the Virtual Retirement Community at Techie Nesters works – designed specifically to help older adults age well in their own homes longer.
PROBUS Global exists to advance PROBUS as a vibrant community for retired and semi-retired people by sharing ideas and information, coordinating opportunities for friendship, fellowship, and social interaction, and encouraging and assisting with the formation of new clubs anywhere in the world.
Since the last update, we have welcomed new members from Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, The Netherlands, and the UK. Together, we’re building a vibrant global community of fellowship and friendship. Spread the word about PROBUS Global—invite your club members to join us today!