1 THE PROBE NEWSLETTER OF PROBUS CLUB OF VANCOUVER WEST 2665 West 42nd Avenue, Vancouver, BC V6N 3G4 http://probusvancouverwest.com June 29, 2015 #15 UPCOMING DATES & DEADLINES Next Meeting: Thursday, July 9 at 9.30 am, Marine Drive Golf Club. Western Canada Rendezvous, Shuswap, September 15,16, 17. Details below. Special event: Monday, September 21. Day trip to Britannia Mine Museum and the Sea- to- Sky Gondola. Details below. SPEAKER FOR THURSDAY, JULY 9, 2015 Dr. Paul Budra Professor and Chair, department of English, Simon Fraser University Topic: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare Dr. Paul Budra teaches Shakespeare and early modern literature and has published articles on Renaissance literature and contemporary popular culture. He is the author of A Mirror for Magistrates and the de casibus Tradition and co- editor of the essay collections Part Two: Reflections on the Sequel, Soldier Talk: Oral Narratives of the Vietnam War, and From Text to Txting: New Media in the Classroom. He is a past president of the Pacific Northwest Renaissance Society, former Associate Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, and winner of the SFU Excellence in Teaching Award for 2004.
2 PRESIDENT S MESSAGE JUNE 2015 IaIn Drummond gave an enlightening talk on facial recognition, explaining the many ways it can be used. He feels the technology is beneficial, but to me cameras everywhere are intrusive and could be used by organizations in place of a loyalty cards or a data base of shoppers and you don t know it s happening! The Arbutus Club is in the process of installing a facial recognition system so that members don t have to carry access cards. We ll have to wait and see how well it works. I wonder what it will do with the faces of non- members? We had another pleasant lunch. The food and service were excellent. I encourage more members to make arrangements to have lunch after the meeting. It s a great way to get to know other members. I will be away for the next two meetings, on a cruise to Alaska and then to San Francisco for a 70 th birthday party, but I will be back for September. Rosemary Wakefield will be chairing the July and August meetings. Our speaker for July is Dr. Paul Budra. His topic is How Shakespeare became Shakespeare. Look forward to seeing you in September, Mark WELCOME TO NEW MEMBERS Owen Frauke Teacher Bobbie Merilees Information management consultant Diana Mitchell Service management TOUR OF THE GREAT NORTHERN WAY CAMPUS On a sunny Monday morning on June 8, 25 of our PROBUS Club members set off on a tour of the Great Northern Way Campus. As we walked the periphery of one of the last major developable sites in the central core of the City of Vancouver, we were fortunate to have the president of the GNWC Trust, Matthew Carter, provide us with an eloquent description of the history as well as the future plans for the district. GNWC Trust is jointly owned by UBC, SFU, BCIT and Emily Carr University. The Trust has two principal activities: the operation of The Centre for Digital Media (CDM) which offers a Master s of Digital Media, jointly operated and accredited by all four partners and the revitalization of its land parcel to bring together businesses, academia and the general community into an emerging district for the digital and creative sectors. This district is also the future home of the soon- to- be- relocated Emily Carr University, as well
3 as the location of a potential Sky Train station on the future UBC line. Set up in 2001, following a gift from Finning of an 18- acre site on the False Creek flats, the GNWC Trust was then endowed by the provincial government in 2006 with $40 million dollars to create the Centre for Digital Media that would be a centre of convergence for arts and culture, digital media and the environment. A number of projects, which include both new construction and renovations of existing buildings, are underway and several businesses in the digital media sector currently rent space on the campus. Dr. Richard Smith, director of the Centre for Digital Media, welcomed us to the centre, which houses both classrooms and upper level living accommodation for students. The revenue stream from the accommodation supports the educational programs. The centre attracts both local and a sizable group of international students about 50 per year combined. The newly re- located Equinox Gallery also opened its doors briefly for us to see how you can transform a large old industrial building into an art gallery that is inspiring for both artists and the viewing public. Capped off by refreshments in the Momento Café, it was an informative tour to remember and to satisfy our curiosity about exactly what is going on down at the old Finning site. The website for more information is www.gnwc.ca Joan McIntyre REMINDER WESTERN CANADA RENDEZVOUS Registration deadline June 30 Contact: msberger@shaw.ac PROBUS Clubs of Shuswap, Salmon Arm and Copper Island, B.C. have invited us to attend a Western Canada Rendezvous September 15, 16, and 17, 2015. There ll be many events and great food, wine and fellowship. Activities include cruises on a houseboat, winery and brewery tours, hiking, cycling and golf and, of course, the Adams River sockeye run. The registration fee for the Rendezvous is $75 per person, which includes a no host meet and greet at the Comfort Inn on Tuesday evening and a banquet on Wednesday at the SASCU Community Centre.
4 FALL EXCUSRSION TO SQUAMISH Britannia Mine Museum and Sea to Sky Gondola tour Monday, September 21, 2015. The escorted bus trip departs from Oakridge Mall at approximately 9:00 am. It includes a tour of the mine with free time to explore, lunch at Brackendale beside the river, and an afternoon outing up the Sea to Sky gondola with time for a walk on the trails. The price is $139 and payable to Sharon Baxter by cheque, prior to the event. Maximum capacity is 24. If you are interested, contact Sharon Baxter at hugh_baxter@telus.net or 604-732- 3684. She will be at the September PROBUS meeting to provide information and collect cheques. REPORT FROM PROBUS CENTRE- CANADA, INC Bill Sexsmith, Director, B.C. District 2 Tel: 604-261- 8293 E- mail: bpsexsmith@shaw.ca District 2 BC News Release May 2015 In addition to the excellent work of the 13 Clubs within our District who communicate with our membership through regular monthly meetings and newsletters, I would like to share with you what is happening at the national level. New President Our national president is elected on an annual basis at our AGM, which was recently held in Toronto. Muriel Dodge, retired rancher, and former Vice President of PROBUS Canada is our new President. National Strategic Plan We have now completed a National Strategic Plan, which will be communicated to all our Canadian Clubs and implemented nationally over the next several years. This is our first strategic plan since the Canadian PROBUS inception 28 years ago. International PROBUS Relationships At present there is no formal relationship with the worldwide system of PROBUS clubs, which have a total membership in excess of 300,000 members. While we are not seeking a formal centralized directional relationship we are trying to define the scope of the various international clubs. Managing National Growth
5 Our emphasis in the past has been to achieve national growth through the addition of new clubs. Our national growth over the last several years has been declining. I will chair a small committee of three directors to assess various strategies at both the national and district levels to manage national growth. A report will be submitted to the PROBUS Canada Board in August. Name and Logo Changes We will be making the following changes on our national correspondence: a)probus becomes PROBUS b) PROBUS Centre- Canada, Inc becomes PROBUS Canada c) Every Community In Canada Needs a PROBUS Club will be replaced by Get Connected Stay Connected Such changes bring us more in line with current times. Visitation Protocol Various clubs have asked me whether there is a national protocol for membership visitation to other clubs. While there is no formal protocol we strongly encourage inter club visitations by PROBUS members. As a courtesy to the club to be visited call the president or secretary of the club to be visited ahead of time. I welcome all ideas and suggestions for improvement to make a great organization even better! Yours in PROBUS, Bill Sexsmith REPORT ON JUNE MEETING Iain Drummond CEO Face Forensics Dr. David Ostrow introduced our speaker, Iain Drummond, an expert in facial recognition software and CEO of Face Forensics, the only such firm in Canada. Iain talked mostly about the technology but did touch on the question, Big Brother or Big Benefit? Such technologies have been driven by two major events the late 20th century Irish uprising in the UK and 9/11 in 2001. Iain presented some of the principles of facial recognition, which primarily focus on the middle third of the face, where eyes and nose relationships are translated into a string of numbers. He also talked about the state of the art of recognition software and some
6 of the challenges, which the industry faces including dealing with individuals with hats and sunglasses. There was a very lively question and answer discussion and Iain was gracious with his time. MINUTES FROM JUNE 11, 2015 PROBUS CLUB VANCOUVER WEST general meeting Marine Drive Golf Club Mark White in the chair Time: 9:30 11:30 AM Attendance: 69 Members, 5 Guests Announcements: Tony Weall welcomed two new members, Ann Carroll and Bobbie Merilees. Sharon Baxter announced the September 21 daytrip by coach to Britannia Mine and the Sea- to- Sky Gondola. The cost will be under $140.00. Maximum number will be 25, minimum 14. Pick- up will be at Oakridge Shopping Mall. More information will be available in September. The 2- hour walking club tour of The Great Northern Way campus on Monday, June 8th was a great success. Mark announced that the PROBUS western rendezvous in Shushwap has had a slow return from interested members. A minimum of 200 is needed to make the weekend viable. It was suggested that each club sponsor a member to attend but this idea did not receive much support from our group. Mark reminded us of the opportunity to stay at the club for a congenial lunch. Speaker: Dr. David Ostrow introduced our speaker, Iain Drummond, an expert in facial recognition software and CEO of Face Forensics, the only such firm in Canada. Iain talked mostly about the technology but did touch on the question, Big Brother or Big Benefit? Such technologies have been driven by two major events, the late 20th century Irish uprising in the UK and 9/11 in 2001. It was a fascinating talk and we would like to have heard more. John Fraser thanked the speaker. The next general meeting will be held Thursday, July 9, 2015, when the speaker will be Dr. Paul Budra on the subject, How Shakespeare became Shakespeare. Our August speaker will be Angus Reid and in September we will hear from Sandra Singh of the Vancouver Public Library.
7 PROBUS VANCOUVER WEST MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE President Mark H. White president@probusvancouverwest.com Vice President Rosemary Wakefield vicepresident@probusvancouverwest.com Secretary Joan Hebb secretary@probusvancouverwest.com Treasurer Douglas Cucheron treasurer@probusvancouverwest.com Activities Sharon Baxter & Estelle Jacobsen activities@probusvancouverwest.com Communications Rooky Driver communications@probusvancouverwest.com House John Fraser house@probusvancouverwest.com Member Services Pat Sexsmith memberservices@probusvancouverwest.com Membership Tony Weall membership@probusvancouverwest.com Speakers John Fraser acting chair speakers@probusvancouverwest.com The PROBE editor Johanne Leach communications@probusvancouverwest.com Our journey is self- development. Our strength is fellowship. Our success is participation.