In The Beginning 1990
Rotary Clubs
The first Probus club for seniors in North America was sponsored by the Rotary Club of Galt in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada Mar 17th in 1987
The Birth of Probus
Each Probus Club is autonomous. The club endeavours to be simple in structure, be free of the constraints and obligations of service clubs and involve members in a minimal cost.
The club is directed primarily to providing fellowship between members who are compatible with each other, and the opportunity for development of acquaintance.
25 th Anniversary January 2016
Executives
From Right to Left
Dave King President, Robert Ball, Larry Asp, Rob Bryant, Peter Harrison, Bill Weir 2nd VP, John Richardson
Ian Clark
Richard Orton, Bill Meek, Jerry Klages 1st VP, Bob Axon, Ken Shrubsall, Phil Thorne, David Tabor
Meetings are the first Tuesday of every month (except January) at the Woodstock Curling Club.
January Guest Speaker
William E. (Bill) Mackesy
The FULL version is available on the Probus Website
“I was born in 1949, the first child of seven, to James and Leota Mackesy in Sarnia General Hospital. My dad’s family were of Irish decent.” Bill’s younger years were spent on their family farm at RR# 3 Oil Springs Ontario where his dad farmed from dawn to dusk. Summers were spent working long hours at their harvest. The elementary years were rustic attending a one room school with 27 to 30 students every year. In 1962 he started high school at Lambton Central Collegiate and Vocational Institute in Petrolia. High School was a huge change for him from a school of 30 kids to a school of 1,300. There were 10 grade 9 classes and Bill’s class had 40 kids. After Grade 13 Bill went off to Western University, and had “the best, most educational years of his life”. Unfortunately, when final marks came out, he was not invited to come back for another year. So he began working at 3M in London. Bill started in the mailroom but the money was not very good. So, he applied to Dow Chemical in Sarnia and soon money started rolling in due to lots of overtime. Bill really wanted to be a school teacher, and decided to apply at Western again. In the next 2 years he worked a lot harder and achieved 11 credits out of the 15 needed for a degree. One of his roommates was applying to London Teachers College, so he did too. A year later he was an elementary school teacher. His sweetheart Mary, got a teaching job in Guelph, and he got one here in Woodstock with the separate board. They decided to get married, and finalized it on Dec 30, 1972. . For the next year and a half they lived in Guelph and commuted to Woodstock. In 1974 Mary applied for a job with the Oxford County Board of Ed, got interviewed, and accepted a position in Princeton. Bill soon decided that a teaching career was not for him. After a few months, along came Gene Lawrence, a supervisor with Northern Life Insurance. He convinced Bill to try selling insurance and that led to being financial advisors.and a few years later they became equal partners in Oxford Annuity Services. After 40 years, they have both retired from Oxford Annuity Services which still lives on as Investment Planning Counsel on Light Street. Mary left teaching in 1981 when their son was born, but ramped up her private piano teaching at that time. Their daughter came along in 1985. . Bill’s retirement years have been filled with Grandchildren, travel, computes and reading. As well as travelling with Mary, he enjoys spending time at their cottage near Port Franks. Over the years he served on the United Way Board, the VON Board, the Woodstock East Oxford Optimists, The Woodstock General Hospital Board of Trust, the Woodstock Hospital Foundation, and now Probus. His latest involvement is with the Oxford Community Foundation, where he is soon to be the chair, and a passionate job for this future.