Submitted to the PROBUS Global Newsletter, Spring 2022.

Life During/After Covid

Life during Covid for the Goderich Probus Club in Goderich Ontario has been very challenging, what with the on-again, off-again ability to meet face to face; masking and disinfecting hands etc., becoming the norm.

Our Probus Club Management felt that providing an alternative to “face-to-face” meetings by offering to host on-line Zoom meetings to our membership was a much-needed new avenue and the way to move forward.  The problem we encountered however, was that some members were either not interested in picking up the challenge or if interested, could not figure out how to make it happen for themselves.  Our club’s technology guru spent countless hours mentoring members who wanted to be included on how to get access to the monthly Zoom meetings.

As restrictions lessened, we found we were able to offer a hybrid style meeting, marrying technology with in-person meetings.  This allowed members who wanted to attend meetings in person to meet at our designated meeting space and incorporated our Zoom members who still had a hesitancy to personally join in the meeting. Again, some challenges, but as each meeting ends, we learn new ways to smooth out those bumps.

Other interesting by-products of our Zoom journey has been the establishment of two monthly social Zoom groups, a Probus Coffee Café and Happy Hour gathering.  These gatherings are geared toward getting to know each other a little more intimately, sharing fun time, jokes, etc., etc.

Although most of the federal/provincial restrictions have been lifted, we are still required (in Ontario) to wear masks when we are in a store, meeting room, or space where we are socially gathered.

My personal belief is that going forward, we will continue to keep some form of dual in-person/zoom connection with our Probus club membership.  Having spent two years either being completely isolated from others, with all the restrictions we’ve had to acclimatize ourselves with and/or having some but not all restrictions lifted, things will not go back to “normal” (whatever “normal” is for you), any time soon.

But one big outcome for us is that our club has been able to maintain itself and is currently going through a bit of a growth spurt.

Irene Gordon