club no. 101 chartered with probus canada

   Probus Club of Ottawa Alta Vista

   sponsored by the rotary club of ottawa

SPEAKER PROGRAM

October 22nd, David Allston
The Early History of Ottawa's West-end

Dave Allston is the Heritage Asset Manager for the Department of National Defence, where he has worked since 2008.

He is a member of the NCC's Advisory Committee on Toponymy, which is responsible for reviewing place naming and renaming.

Dave contributes to local media (Citizen, CBC) as a local historian, and has been writing a monthly local history column in the west end newspaper "Kitchissippi Times" since 2015.

His presentation will be on the early history of Ottawa's west-end neighbourhoods and the challenges associated with starting from scratch in researching and storytelling local history.

Our "tradition" is to have a Military/Remenbrance speaker for the meeting before Remembrance Day but our original October speaker asked to delay for a month. Our thanks to Dave who kindly kindly agreed to swap places.

toponymy: taxonomic study of place-names, based on etymological, historical, and geographical information. A place-name is a word or words used to indicate, denote, or identify a geographic locality such as a town, river, or mountain. (Britannica)

November 26th, Mark Phillips
Invictus Games Foundation and
Impact Marathon

A native of Pointe Claire QC, Mark joined the military in 1975. As an Army Engineer officer with an initial tour as a Construction Engineer and a 5-year stint in Combat Engineering, he ended up specializing in Geospatial Engineering. Before retiring at the end of 2020, he spent five years as Canada's geospatial intelligence representative in the Five Eyes community.

As a high-end athlete, Mark was inducted into the Canadian Forces sports honour roll for his accomplishments at the national level in multiple sports. He recently completed a Spartan obstacle race and two CN Tower stair climbs.

Volunteering tens of thousands of hours in his community over the years, Mark's volunteer efforts now focus on his Legion branch and officiating track and field at the national level. Mark has given over 370 blood donations, and is a regular plasma donor.

Mark and his wife Sherry are the extremely proud parents of Colin (physical therapist in California) and Clara (PhD candidate in lower limb prosthetics at U of T).

The Invictus Games were founded by Prince Harry in 2014 when he was inspired to celebrate the unconquered human spirit, and shine a spotlight on men and women who were wounded or injured while serving their countries. The Invictus Games Foundation, in addition to organizing the international Games, establishes Invictus endeavours to inspire recovery, support rehabilitation, and generate understanding and respect for those who have served.

An Impact Marathon is a one-week immersion that takes you far from everything you know, opens your eyes to the world in new ways, and surrounds you with some of the most inspiring people you'll ever meet. You live within the community, dive deep into local culture, and witness grassroots impact firsthand. And after tackling real-world challenges, you run a 10km, half, or full marathon through breathtaking landscapes to celebrate the difference you've made.

This presentation highlights both of these organizations, and then describes the partnership formed between the two. Also provided is the presenter's firsthand experience participating in an Impact Marathon in Nepal through the Invictus Games Foundation.

Stay Safe

Johnson Insurance

We have added a link to the Johnson Insurance web site (see "Links" page).
Johnson provides competitive rates for Probus members for all kinds of insurance, particularly travel insurance.
They are in the process of joining with Belair Direct, but this link will still give you access.

Guests and Visitors from other Clubs are welcome.

Meetings are at:

Gloucester Presbyterian Church
91 Pike Street
Ottawa K1T 3J6

Pike Street runs north from Hunt Club just west of Conroy. The church is at the corner of Lorry Greenberg and Pike. The parking lot entrance is off Pike.

... to stimulate thought, interest and participation in activities at a time in life when it is easy to become complacent and self-centred.