The Probus club of the Kowie held their 26th annual general meeting (AGM) at the River and Ski Boat Club.
Probus is a club of fun fellowship and friendship where members mix with and enjoy the company of like-minded people.
The AGM on Tuesday, April 11 started off with observing a moment of silence for the late Lawrie May who passed away recently. Past president, Cyril Gebhardt said May represented what Probus is about. “A rather sad moment [is that] we’ve lost one of our brothers. Lawrie May has passed away, he was the epitome of Probs,” said Gebhardt.
A unanimous vote was made to move Probus meetings back to the Ski Boat Club due to an increase in membership which requires a larger space. The club now has 63 members and its annual membership subscription remains R40 per member. Gebhardt was the president for the last two years.
At his last AGM as president, he gave a brief summary of last year’s talks; “We started the year listening to a local hippie! Dave Macgregor is a professional surfer and an avid environmentalist. He owns and runs the local Shaka Surf School and enlightened us on what it is like to live a dream.
Businessman Gavin Came, also a local, explained how one’s finances interact with the fourth industrial revolution (4IR).
At other meetings the members had discovered countries that they knew very little about – like Alaska and Madagascar.
Nick Laws, also a local, had given a magnificent talk about his career in the film industry. Laws started as a “mail boy” at 20th Century Fox and progressed to a Production Manager and worked on films such as Edge of Reason, The Duchess and War Horse.
Renowned academic, Mary Crewe, gave a powerful talk about Gender Based Violence.
“Many men in the audience cringed at some of her remarks,” Gebhardt said. “And there were many other relevant talks.”
He also looked back at the changes made since he joined the club. “I recall when I joined Probus some years ago that the president wore a chain around his neck and he started the meeting by hitting a wooden block with a gavel to bring order to the court. Women were not permitted! And the meeting always started with a crude joke that belittled women. I thank my fellow Manco members for changing the club and for taking Kowie Probus into the future. Long live Kowie Probus!” he said.
There was an induction of two new members; Wendy Immelman and Andrew Witte after the election of new office bearers. Witte is the youngest Probus member in the country. The top three positions saw the new office bearers nominated uncontested. New committee members: President – Eddie Wepener, Secretary – Ramsay Warren, Treasurer – Russel Warren, Additional members – Doug Sutherland, Cyril Gebhardt, Ivo Chunett, Ian Storer, and Paul Probert.
New president, Eddie Wepener thanked the members for trusting him with this position. He served as the secretary for the last two years and has been a Kowie Probus member since 2017. “Thank you for placing your faith in me as the new El Presidente. Our new ever-efficient committee will steer the ship in the right direction. A sincere thank you to Cyril Gebhardt for his professional leadership and guidance during his term as our President,” he said.
Wepenar reiterated the spirit of Probus being a family of like-minded people enjoying fun, friendship and laughter.
In the next meeting, the guest speaker will be Ed Gutsche, who’ll be talking on the qualities of managers on Tuesday, May 9.
