Speaker Chairperson Sheila Leonard

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   JANUARY SPEAKER:  Nicholas Boothman
​Topic: “How to Make People Like You in 90 Seconds or Less” ​
Nicholas Boothman has spent more than 25 years studying the ways different people connect and communicate. 
His first two books “How to Make People Like You in 90 seconds or less” and “Convince them in 90 seconds or less” have been translated into 30 languages. 
Nicholas is a former fashion and advertising photographer who dealt with hundreds of new faces a week for clients like Revlon and Coca Cola. 
The New York Times said “Boothman is the Dale Carnegie for a rushed era.” 
Please come out and celebrate the first PROBUS meeting of the New Year with this interesting and dynamic speaker.

FEBRUARY SPEAKER: Steve Burrows
Topic:” From Birder to Birder Murder: The Mystery Continues” 
Steve Burrows is a Canadian mystery writer, journalist and former teacher.
Steve has written 7 birder murder mystery books. His first novel, a Siege of Bitterns won the 2015 Arthur Ellis award for best first novel. Steve’s latest book, A Foreboding of Petrels has just been recently published.
As is evident from the titles of Steve’s books he is an avid bird watcher and his recent trip to the Antarctica means he has now visited 8 continents in pursuit of his interest.  
Also of note, a production deal between Shaftesbury (Murdoch Mysteries) and a UK company means that Steve’s books have been optioned for TV.
Although born in the UK (Steve immigrated to Canada after grammar school) and a world traveller, he and his wife, Resa live in Oshawa.

Steve was very well received by a captive audience!  See below.

Steve with Marilyn Marven and Jim Craigen

 
MARCH SPEAKER:
Dr. Dogra is Chair of the Committee for an Age-Friendly University at Ontario Tech University, and a researcher with expertise in active age, age-friendly living environments, active transportation, and sedentary time. She is currently teaching a course on active aging, and is pairing seniors with 3rd and 4th year Kinesiology students to facilitate intergenerational learning. She hopes to open up the doors of the University to seniors in the community through on campus program.
 
Ontario Tech University is one of a handful of Canadian universities to receive the Age-Friendly University (AFU) designation from the AFU Global Network. The AFU network includes higher-education institutions around the world endorsing the 10 AFU principles and committing themselves to becoming more age-friendly in their programs and policies. AFU-designated universities like Ontario Tech enrich the student experience and improve the quality of life of older adults in the community. 

     Genesis Club – Leadership in Mental Health Recovery

APRIL SPEAKER:
In April our presenter will be Deidrey Francois. She will give a musical talk on What’s in a Name?  You can expect: “an inspiring music filled flame
To ignite the thrill and the fame
That is hidden inside a name”
Deidrey is a singer-songwriter, speaker and performer. Her music has been featured on CBC radio and she has performed concerts internationally.
Deidrey’s musical versatility is performed with infectious enthusiasm. Her intent is to bring joy to wiggle, giggle and touch a listener’s heart.
 

MAY SPEAKER:
The speaker for the May Probus meeting is Dr. Rakesh Bhargava, MD, FRCPC, FACC.
In his presentation Dr. Bhargava will discuss and review common questions he receives from the public about cardiac education.
Dr. Bhargava is a cardiologist and the director of the Heart Care Cardiac Prevention and Rehabilitation Program of the Cardiac Wellness Centre in Oshawa. The Cardiac Wellness Centre has affiliations with the divisions of cardiovascular surgery for St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto General Hospital and the Schulic Heart Centre of Sunnybrook Hospital.
Dr. Bhargava has extensive medical training, first at Bhopal University, India where he was awarded 8 gold medals. He then trained at Toronto General Hospital and McMaster University. 
Dr. Bhargava joined Oshawa General Hospital as staff cardiologist in 1982. He was the Physician Leader, Critical Care and Cardio Pulmonary Program at Lakeridge Health, Oshawa from1997-2000.
In 2015, Dr Bhargava received the most outstanding physician award from Lakeridge Health for exemplary service.
Dr. Bhargava is very active doing clinical research and since 1993 he has been an Assessor in the Cardiology Peer Assessment Program of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario.
Over the past 40 years, Dr Bhargava has organized and addressed public education forums in Durham Region to promote awareness and prevention of heart disease. Considering his busy schedule, we are very honoured that Dr. Bhargava has carved out some time to speak with our club about these issues.
Dr. Bhargava’s non-medical interests include traveling, photography, antique coins, swimming, gardening and car detailing.

June Speaker
 
 
Susan Sheen, our June speaker, is a volunteer with the Lions Foundation of Canada Guide Dogs. She has been fostering puppies for the Foundation for the past 10 years. Susan will talk about the fun and the challenges of helping these amazing dogs grow from 7-week-old puppies to mature dogs, ready to learn the specialized skills of being a qualified dog guide. These dogs can then change the life of a person with a disability. Most of us are familiar with guide dogs for people with vision impairment, but now the dogs are used to support the independence of people with several different disabilities and medical conditions. Susan will be accompanied by some furry friends.

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July Speaker

Our July Speaker will be RYAN CULLEN.  His topic will be:  City of Greens:  Sustainable Urban Agriculture.
Ryan is an entrepreneur with a passion for regenerative agriculture, local food and small-scale self reliance. He owns and operates City of Greens, near Bomanville. This is a small-scale homestead and regenerative agriculture project that produces its own market garden vegetables, eggs and honey.
Ryan has a diploma in Horticulture, Food and Farming with a background in Psychology and Business Administration. When teaching abroad, he worked on permaculture and sustainable agriculture projects in Thailand.
Ryan spent 5 years working and managing the Urban Farm at the W. Galen Weston Centre for Food at Durham College in Whitby. The popular eating destination for Durham Residents, Bistro 67 is a well-regarded part of the W. Galen Western Centre.
Ryan’s knowledge and experience with sustainable urban agriculture is immense and his journey into this field is a very interesting and unique story.
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August Speakers

Doris Cherkas:
Born in a Displaced Persons Camp after World War Two, Doris, of Ukrainian descent, came to Canada as a toddler with her family to finally find her “forever home” in Oshawa.
Now as a retired high school teacher of English, Art, and Library, Doris draws upon her memories of growing up as an immigrant in Canada to tell her original personal stories.  As a storyteller, she especially enjoys researching and relating historical narratives, as well as traditional tales to listeners of all ages.  She believes that storytelling can and does connect us all and this is often proven to be true when audience members seek her out following a performance or presentation.
 
Her other interests include volunteer work with the Ukrainian community in Oshawa and beyond, reading (of course), and travelling in Canada from BC to PEI and Nunavut, the Caribbean, and especially Europe.
 

Irene currently resides in Oshawa where her parents settled after coming to Canada after the Second World War.  She has been an active member of the Ukrainian community.  For her dedication to volunteerism in the community, she received the inaugural Ontario Trillium Award from the Ukrainian Canadian Congress - Ontario Provincial Council in September 2022.
 
Irene enjoys many creative pursuits, from drawing and painting, to writing and storytelling.  But her true passion is Pysanky, the tradition of creating Ukrainian Easter Eggs, which she learned from her mother who learned from her own mother.  Irene's daughter and granddaughter also have learned the art form.  In fact, Irene has teamed up with her daughter, Melanie, to go to Ukrainian festivals across Ontario, and as artisans, to one of North America's largest handmade markets - the One of a Kind craft show in Toronto.
 
As a retired Social Services worker, she divides her time between volunteering in the community, making Pysanky, spending time with family and her dog and four cats, and helping her sister, Doris, with this presentation.

SEPTEMBER SPEAKER - Doug Byers

Doug will be speaking on Probus in general and explain the role of a Director.
 
He will also speak on Probus Marketing and celebrating Probus Month (October).
 
There may be an activity to follow. 😊😄