The Dawn of Probus in
the UK
In 1966, the retiring Chairman of the Rotary Club of Caterham in Surrey
found that he was `getting under his wife's feet' at home and through
him and the sponsorship of his Rotary Club, the first Probus Club in the
UK was formed in Caterham on 22nd February and its inaugural lunch took
place on the 2nd March of that year.
Members were asked to
suggest a name for the club and the name PROBUS (Professional and
Business) was chosen from a number of suggestions .
PROBUS is also a
Latin word from which comes the word `probity'; there is a village in
Cornwall called Probus and there was also a Roman Emperor of that name
who was famous for his cultivation of the vine!
PROBUS INTERNATIONAL
FACT SHEET
(extracts from the
ProBus International Web pages with thanks)
Retirement can come
too early for many people who want and are able to remain active. Probus
clubs are organizations for men and women who have retired from their
profession or business and want to maintain a social network with others
who have similar interests. Each Probus club is sponsored by a Rotary
club and meets at least once a month for fellowship and to hear guest
speakers. Today, there are over 300,000 members in approximately 4,000
Probus clubs worldwide.
The involvement of a
Rotary sponsoring club with a Probus club varies. Rotary clubs typically
approach retired or semi-retired candidates in their community and
organize the formation of a club. Once established, the club becomes an
autonomous organization and its members take over leadership. Potential
Probus members are not required to be past members of Rotary. Fewer than
10% of Probus members are former Rotarians.
Since 1985, the
Rotary International Board has encouraged Rotary clubs to initiate
projects that address the needs of a growing senior (over age 60)
population. At its March, 1994 meeting, the Board reaffirmed its
commitment by urging Rotarians to organize and support Probus clubs as a
commended community service activity.
HISTORY
Probus clubs were
first formed, as an acronym for Pro(fessional) and Bus(iness), in the
early 1920's in Saskatchewan, CANADA, and in New Haven, Connecticut,
U.S.A., the latter devoted to helping people with mental retardation,
physical disabilities, and autism. Because they were not restricted to
retired Professional and Business leaders, and had a different
objective, they are (were) not associated with our present mainstream of
Probus clubs worldwide.
The name was fused
into a different type of club in England, and the first non-sectarian
Probus club specifically for active retirees was formed in 1966 by the
Rotary Club of Caterham, England to allow retired professionals to
continue to meet together for fellowship. The previous year, the Rotary
Club of Welwyn Garden City, England, formed the "Campus Club" that had
the same purpose. The two soon merged and flourished under the
sponsorship of the Rotary Club of Bromsgrove, Birmingham, England.
In 1974, Probus
expanded into New Zealand and by 1976 the idea had spread to Australia.
The first Probus club for seniors in North America was sponsored by the
Rotary Club of Galt in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada in 1987. Although
Probus membership has its greatest concentrations in Great Britain,
Australia and New Zealand, clubs today exist in all parts of the world,
including the U.S., Belgium, India, South Africa and several other
countries in Africa and Asia.
PROBUS ACTIVITIES
Except for the Probus
service clubs mainly in Connecticut, U.S.A., Probus Clubs worldwide are
not service organizations and are non-sectarian and non-political,
although members are largely active volunteers in many community
organizations. Clubs are formed to provide social events and schedule
speakers to keep members up to date with community issues and
happenings. Many members have formed smaller interest groups for hobbies
such as sports, entertainment, bridge playing, fishing, travel,
computers, etc.
While numerous
individual members regularly offer assistance with area community
service projects, (if one should check the individual service activities
of members in any given club, the average member would probably carry
out far more volunteer service than those in most service clubs),...
Probus Clubs pride themselves on their independence and freedom from the
responsibilities of a service club. The structure of the clubs is
simple, and members are not required to attend a minimum number of
meetings.
Probus clubs have no
central governing body but Probus Centers have been established
internationally by country to disseminate information and assist clubs.
Offices are staffed largely by volunteers and operating costs are met by
member contributions.
A worldwide web page
(www.probus.org),
containing essential information on Probus, includes worldwide chat
groups, a new bed and breakfast program for travel, and information
about forming a Probus Club.
ORIGINS
"PUT ME DOWN, FRED."
Following the Probus
Clubs formed in the early 1920's in Canada (Melville, Saskatchewan see
old record) and around Connecticut, USA..... about the latter part of
1965..... an active and notable Rotarian of Welwyn Garden City in
ENGLAND assembled some retired Professional and Business men (some
Rotarians and some not), to form a club. In a Probus newsletter, we find
a report "A Simple Idea" by the Founder, Fred Carnhill
"I used to meet a few
retired men for morning coffee - mostly ex-commuters (to London) with
professional or business backgrounds and with a wealth of experience
behind them. Conversation was always brisk and entertaining. One was an
architect, responsible for many public buildings over the country,
another an ex-borough treasurer, an ex-railway official, an headmaster,
an ex-journalist, an ex-newspaper editor and an ex-secretary to a Prime
Minister. This gave me an idea: really a very simple one..."I telephoned
33 friends that night and they said, "Put me down, Fred." Thus the
Campus Club, (because it faced the centre of town, called The Campus),
was formed."
"PROBITY" -
UPRIGHTNESS, HONESTY.
Coincidentally at the
same time, Rotarian Harold Blanchard of Caterham Rotary Club formed and
sponsored the Caterham PROBUS club. In his writings of "The Birth of
Probus" he states:
"..One of our more
erudite members came up with the idea of PROBUS, - PROfessional and
BUSiness, (probably from knowledge of a name used in Saskatchewan,
Canada (old record)) and in Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.A., with similar
attributes but not with the same purpose - editor). He assured us that
Probus was a Latin word from which "probity" was derived, and the name
was adopted with enthusiasm. Incidentally we found there was a village
in Cornwall called Probus and also there was a Roman Emperor of the same
name who in his day was famous for his cultivation of the vine."
Due to the success of
these two clubs. Probus Clubs were promoted through Rotary in adjacent
towns. As a result Rotary International British Isles were informed and
a promotional pamphlet was established urging other Rotary Clubs to form
Probus. There are now approximately 1,700 clubs in Great Britain.
THE MUSHROOM
The first Probus Club
in the South Pacific was originated by Gordon Roatz at Kapiti
Coast,-Paraparaumu north of Wellington in New Zealand in November, 1974.
In the mid 1970's Rotarian Cliff Johnstone from Australia discovered
Probus on a visit and began Probus at Hunter's Hill in Australia. These
origins were so successful there are now 1900 clubs in Australia and New
Zealand under the umbrella of the Probus Centre - South Pacific.
Most other countries
have followed the Australian example. The Netherlands has 300 clubs,
Ireland 75, Belgium 60, South Africa 75 (including 7 Women's clubs). In
India there are at least 20 clubs, in the U.S.A. there are approximately
12, Bermuda has 1, and others have started in Germany (1991, now 5
clubs), Chile, Cyprus, Portugal, Spain (1996), Trinidad, and Zimbabwe (3
clubs).
Growth in Canada
(since 1987) is under the leadership of John Morris , and has
successfully developed over 90 clubs across Canada from Saint John, New
Brunswick to Victoria, British Columbia, with an average membership of
over 100.
