MEMBERS of the Broken Hill Men’s Probus Club have said they love making friends, and want to make more!
President of the Club, Cameron Carey, said organisers are looking for more members.
The club’s average age is 85 years young.
Club secretary John Moore said there is an annual fee of $30 for members.
The pair encourage visitors to come and see what Probus is all about.
“People are welcome to come a couple of times and if they like it, they can join,” Mr Moore said.
“Every meeting we have light refreshments. It’s usually a couple of bucks for that.”
Mr Carey said they have guest speakers at each meeting.
“They come from all over the district, we’ve had people from Hydrostor, mining, health, police, fire brigade.
“We had a country music singer and his partner. They had a luncheon with us and enjoyed themselves.”
Probus is a local, national and international association of retired people who come together in non-political, non-profit clubs which provide regular opportunities for members to meet others in similar circumstances with similar levels of interest, make new friends and maintain and expand their interests.
The membership of the club is at 20 where in the past it has reached over 70.
“There has been a decline in memberships,” treasurer Michael Bruggy said. “We could seriously be in a position to shut down.”
The only requirement is for members to be retired.
“There is a lot of talk about men’s clubs starting up, that is what we are.
“We talk about a lot of things; we’re an open avenue. We’re all friends.”
Broken Hill Men’s Probus Club meets at the Sturt Club, the second Monday of the month and get together for coffee on the fourth Monday of the month.
“We would like to thank the Sturt Club, they are very accommodating,” Mr Carey said.
“We have a 9.30am start and they open the doors for us at 9am.
“Then the club is closed, and we have our meeting.
“They give us a great room, they cook meals for us, they treat us so well.”
Probus clubs have been around since the 1960s and started in the United Kingdom.
The name comes from the first three letters of professional and business.
It also had the advantage that it was a Latin word from which ‘probity’ is derived.
“The idea was that it started because Rotarians had reached retirement age, and they had no place to go,” Mr Moore said.
“So, they started it to have somewhere to go.”
For more information Mr Moore can be contacted on 0492 893 889.
