CEO Message

CEO Message

Our Community embraces Probus Day!

Welcome to the November/December edition of Active Retirees.

In this issue, we showcase the success of our inaugural Probus Day on 1 October 2020. This day was selected to coincide with the International Day of Older Persons which is a United Nations initiative that encourages the celebration of seniors in our community.

During the pandemic, we have all become acutely aware that social contact is essential in today’s world. It is widely accepted that older persons that become members of social groups are less likely to develop mental health issues. Probus provides essential friendship based social connections for the older members in our communities which is the key to a happy retirement.

Director and Vice Chairman Judith Maestracci AM, developed the concept of Probus Day and it was inspired, however what is even more inspiring is the way in which Probus Day has been embraced across both Australia and New Zealand.

The success of Probus Day was evident, not only from the support we received from numerous government representatives and media outlets, but more importantly from Probus members themselves. From the flying of Probus flags and lighting of numerous landmarks in Probus blue and gold in Queensland to the Probus balloons tied to letterboxes in Victoria, to a flight across Geraldton and a Probus flag across Gungahlin – these were all celebrations co-ordinated by Clubs or Associations in the celebration of Probus Day. This is what celebrating Probus Day looks like in 2020 and are just some of the highlights. Further Probus Day celebrations can be found in this issue, on our website and on our Facebook page. If these celebrations are anything to go by, Probus Day 2021 will be spectacular.

Yes 2021 is not that far away and while 2020 may well be a year that many of us may wish to forget, for Probus it will be about recognising the resilience of our community, particularly for volunteers in Management Committees. Club and Association leaders have worked tirelessly over the last few months to ensure their members have stayed engaged and connected. While there are still challenges ahead, our community is ready to welcome even more members to our Probus family.

As restrictions continue to ease, it is pleasing to hear that many Clubs have resumed meetings and activities under the new normal and are even planning their Christmas celebrations. Although Christmas celebrations may be different for many of us this year, the Probus concept of fun, fellowship and friendship will remain.

Our thoughts of course are with all our members at this time but especially with our Victorian community.

On behalf of the PSPL Team, we wish everyone in our community and their families all the very best for the festive season.

SILVANA MARTIGNAGO

Chief Executive Officer | Probus South Pacific Ltd

NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2020 ACTIVE RETIREES | 3 | WWW.PROBUSSOUTHPACIFIC.ORG