The PROBUS Club of Central Edmonton offers the opportunity for retired and semi-retired men and women to socialize, compare experiences, and learn about today’s world at monthly meetings. Tours are also held monthly, at which spouses are most welcome.”
WHO WE ARE
Our Club provides the opportunity to meet other retired men and women through a monthly program of speakers and tours.
Speakers and their topics are chosen based on the interests of our members. Our speakers' program is held at the Victoria Golf Club on the third Tuesday of the month.
Tours often provide access to facilities not generally available to the public and, for greater interest, they are accompanied by an expert guide. Tours usually take place on the fourth Tuesday of the month.
A Christmas lunch is held at the Victoria Golf Club in December.
There are no activities in July and August.
The name 'PROBUS' indicates the Club's orientation to “professional and business” members. It operates throughout Canada and the world.
PROBUS was originally established by Rotary for retired and semi-retired men and women. Individual clubs are mixed, or men-only, or women-only. Clubs do not engage in fund-raising, nor do they require minimum attendance. For-profit activities are not permitted.
Membership of our Club is open to men and women.
If our Club is of interest to you, we would be very glad for you to come as a guest to our next meeting. Please contact us.
PROBUS HISTORY
'Probus' is a Latin word for 'good', which was also used as a last name by some ancient Romans. The word also forms the root for the English word, 'probity', denoting honesty and ethics.
PROBUS Clubs as we know them today had their beginnings in England in 1965. A retired Rotarian found it difficult continue the necessary attendance at Rotary meetings. He gathered other retired men with professional or business backgrounds for coffee. The conversation was always brisk and entertaining which gave him an idea. Why not form a club which catered to their interests, which met every month and which had minimal obligations? So, in 1965, a club was formed in Welwyn Garden City, outside London, followed by a similar club in Caterham, also outside London. The two clubs amalgamated as Probus in 1966.
While most PROBUS clubs are initiated by Rotarians, PROBUS is autonomous and is without the obligations of most service-orientated clubs. The initial success of these first two clubs soon resulted in rapid expansion throughout the British Isles.
The first club in New Zealand was established in 1974 and the first club Australian club was founded in 1976. The PROBUS clubs of the South Pacific now represent, in over twenty-three hundred clubs, almost half the membership total of the entire world. The obvious success of PROBUS clubs in fulfilling this need for retired and semi-retired persons to remain connected has led to the expansion to 22 countries.
The first Canadian club was formed in Ontario in 1987, and today there are 250 PROBUS clubs across the country.
Probus clubs are now active in 20 other countries.
Our club (Central Edmonton) was the first club in the city when it was formed in 1992 as the 25th club in Canada and with about 30 founding members. Rotary and its members were instrumental in founding the club, hence the form of the PROBUS logo.
Within PROBUS, we value the friendships we have made and we recognize the contributions made by the members who have gone before us. We are very glad that several of our founding members remain.
NOTE: To avoid possible confusion, please be aware that very few clubs are also called Probus which operate outside international PROBUS policies and its network of clubs like ours. These business clubs only pursue business interests and they were originally modeled on boards of trade when formed in the 1920s.
With grateful acknowledgment to Russ McKeever.