Welcome

Welcome to the Hanover Area Probus Club!

We invite you to explore our new website!

We are a vibrant community of retired people who come together to enjoy enriching activities, engaging social events, and lifelong learning opportunities. Our club is dedicated to fostering fellowship, fun, and personal growth among our members.

Join Our Club
Are you interested in participating in group activities and events, hearing interesting guest speakers, or simply making new friends? There’s something for everyone at the Hanover Area Probus Club.

We encourage you to consider becoming a member. Click BECOME A MEMBER now to find out how and start enjoying what our club has to offer.

We look forward to welcoming you in person!

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Mark Your Calendar

Our January Speaker is Graham Ghent from BigDoor

“Caring for people where they’re at, in a space where they can move forward.”

The team at BigDoor hopes this building can be a source of care, hope, support and community for anyone who enters our “big door”. Graham Ghent will be talking about some of the many services they offer, including "Comfort Meals" (which happen on Tuesday for those in need of a warm lunch) and the "326cafe" (which is an after school drop in for high school students).

Another Great Probus Christmas Luncheon!

President's Message

By the time you read this article, the days will be getting longer. Winter will be with us for quite some time yet, but we will be to the midway point in our Probus year. This inevitably raises the question of filling the volunteer positions on the Management Committee (MC) that are critical to keeping our club working. The MC consists of a diverse group of people from various backgrounds who work together, ensuring that meetings, events, and activities of the club continue to be delivered with the high standards to which we are accustomed.

The starting point for filling these roles comes from the Nominating Committee which will be starting its work early in the New Year. Our Immediate Past President, Janice Koehler will be heading the committee with the support of Tina Shier our Vice President and two other members of the club. We are still looking for one club member for this committee, so please let Janice or Tina know if you would like to help with this. This committee is tasked with filling the various positions mandated in our bylaws and necessary for operating our club. Some of those roles will be filled by members already on the MC, for example our President for next year will be our Vice President from this year and I will move into the role of Immediate Past President next year. In other cases, members who are already fulfilling roles on the committee may decide that they wish to stay for another year and, inevitably, some will decide to step away and let someone new take this role. Filling these positions is critical to us being able to keep our club functioning.

Having served on two nominating committees, I know that it is never an easy task to find members willing to put their names forward to be on the MC. From my perspective here are some things that hopefully will make it less daunting to volunteer. The time commitment for this is not huge. About two hours a week for most positions. Even as President, I spend less than three hours a week on Probus activities. Also, there is no reason that new members cannot come forward and join the Management Committee. Janice and I were only members of the Club for less than a year before we started serving. There are lots of experienced hands on the MC more than willing to help. And the committee is open to changing the way we do things to make best use of the skills we have between us. Also, we are open to having guests come to check out our meetings, which take place from 1:30 to 3:30 pm on the first Tuesday of the month, so you can see how things are done and hopefully get comfortable in putting your name forward!

Over the coming months we will be advertising the open positions in the Newsletter, and I hope you will give it consideration and reach out to a member of the Nominating Committee, so they know your interest.

News

Ways to Stay Up to Date with Probus Canada

Podcast - Go to the Probus Canada website, scroll down to the footer, and click on the green Spotify icon.

Facebook - News from Probus clubs in Canada.

YouTube - two new videos that were developed this year.

Newsletter - latest issues of the PROBUS Canada Connections.

Probus Global is a network of Probians from all over the world who meet quarterly on ZOOM. If interested, you can visit the Probus Global website and follow the route to become a member at NO cost as long as you are a Probus member.

Activities

Eat for Health

Members gathered and enjoyed a casual relaxing Christmas lunch together on December 16 at a local restaurant. It was nice to let someone else do the cooking for this festive session.

The next EFYH meeting is scheduled for Tuesday January 20th at 9:00 am at Hope Church in Hanover for a healthy breakfast potluck.

Click here to see all the pictures from their events.

Coordinators: Kathy Greensides and Robin Hill

Hiking

The hiking group finished its season mid-November. There were a total of 25 hikes completed with an average of 5-6 participants each hike. The hikes typically were 4-5 km long and took around 2 hrs on average to complete. The hikes were scheduled for Thursdays and began at 10 am and will hopefully resume by mid-April.

Hikes took place on 19 trails within Grey and Bruce Counties including:

Carrick Tract Brant Tract Sulphur Spring C. A.

Kinghurst Nature Reserve Durham C. A. Allen Park C. A.

Schmidt Lake Stoney Island C. A. MacGregor P. P.

Inverhuron P. P. Inglis Falls Jones Falls

Kolapore Uplands Camp Oliver (Managed Forest) Bognor Marsh C. A.

Hoggs Falls Glen Trail West Rocks C. A.

Kinghurst C. A.

Here is the link to view all of the pictures from all hikes.

Coordinator: Vern Freer

Theatre

An e-mail was sent to members on November 30^th with a listing of live theatre performances for members to review and select the shows they would like to see in 2026. Theatres include Hanover Community Players, County Towne Players, Roxy Theatre, Orangeville Theatre and Drayton Entertainment. Additional information about the Drayton Entertainment productions at their 7 theatres was also provided. At the joint travel/theatre meeting on January 21^st a short list of shows will be provided and members will vote on which shows to include for the 2026 program.

Coordinators: Peter Dalton, Jill Dalton and Tracey Neuman

Travel

A group of 17 members are participating in a small group travel adventure with Collette departing on February 13^th for 13 days to Costa Rica: A World Of Nature.

Scotland: Land of Lore & Legend trip September 20-30, 2026 (11 days)

This is a small group trip with Collette and all Probus members are welcome.

If you are interested the deadline to book this trip is Wednesday January 21, 2026.

To Book contact Carol Brownell, Direct Travel Hanover at 519-364-3270.

The link for full trip details is https://groups.gocollette.com/en-US/link/1358798

The next joint travel/theatre meeting will be on Wednesday January 21, 2026 at Cravings Restaurant in Hanover.

Here is the link to view all of the pictures from the Travel group.

Travel Committee: Joan Roseborough, Margaret Elliot-Niesen, Peter Dalton and Dianne Mather

Local and Area Events

Visit their website for full details and schedules.

Visit their website for full details or contact your local branch.

Visit their website for all upcoming Library programs and events.

Town of Hanover Parks, Recreation & Culture Community Guide (Fall 2025/Winter 2026):

Of special note, see page 22 and 23 for the Senior Active Living Centre (SALC) Programs, funded by the Ontario Government through a Senior Active Living Centre Grant.

Hanover Recreation and Culture events and programs webpage