Our June speaker is Andre Gerolymatos whose topic is: "New Spheres of Influence: The Crisis in the Ukraine and the West"

Dr. André Gerolymatos is a Professor of History, Director of the Stavros Niarchos

Foundation Centre for Hellenic Studies (2011), and holds the Hellenic Canadian

Congress of BC Chair of Hellenic Studies (1996-) at Simon Fraser University. He is also

concurrent Professor at the History College of Nankai University, China and in 2014

Dr. Gerolymatos was honoured with being named the 2014 Eleftherios Venizelos

Chair of Modern Greek Studies at the American College in Greece.

Dr. Gerolymatos graduated from Loyola College and Concordia University in Montréal

with a B.A. Honours in Classics and received his M.A. in Classics and PhD in History at

McGill University (Montréal).

A specialist in military, diplomatic, and espionage history, Dr. Gerolymatos served on the Canadian Advisory Council on National Security from 2010 to 2013. He is a current member of the board of the Alexander S. Onassis Foundation (USA), and was a member of the International Advisory Board for the Journal of the Hellenic Diaspora from 1990 to 2013.

President Mark H White

mhw@intelligentsecurity.ca

Vice President Nancy Deshaw

nmdeshaw@telus.net

Secretary Patricia Connor

pconnor@shaw.ca

Treasurer Martin Linsley

annaandmartinlinsley@gmail.com

Communications Rooky Driver rd@helix.net

Member Services

Bill Randall warjr@telus.net

Membership Maja Burston

burston@telus.net

Speakers Sheila Lahiffe

slahiffe@shaw.ca

Activities Joan Hebb

pjhebb@gmail.com

Acting Facilities Co-ordinator Mark White

mhw@intelligentsecurity.ca

PROBUS Canada Advisor Bill Sexsmith

bpsexsmith@shaw.ca

Honours and Awards

Dr. Gerolymatos has also been acknowledged with numerous awards and fellowships including:

The Hellenic Republic’s Order of the Phoenix, Officer Gold Cross 'Χρυσούς Σταυρός' in recognition of his contributions to Greek culture (2011)

HRH Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee Medal acknowledging his important contribution to Canadian national security (2012)

Simon Fraser University President’s Award for Service to the University through Public Affairs and Media Relations (2012)

SFU’s BC Sugar Achievement Award for activities that have brought international recognition to Simon Fraser University (2012)

Olympic Torch Bearer for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics

AHEPA Achievement Award in Education presented at the 88th Annual AHEPA Convention, Montréal (2010)

American Hellenic Professional Society and CSUS Hellenic Studies Program Certificate of Appreciation (2010)

Dr. Gerolymatos was awarded funding support for his research and publications from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) from 2007 to 2010 and from SFU’s Vice President’s Research Office in 2012 and 2013.

Publications

Dr. Gerolymatos has published a number of books, most recently:

Castles Made of Sand: A Century of Anglo-American Espionage, Black Ops, and Intervention in the Middle East, New York: Martins Press, 2010, which was translated into Arabic with three additional chapters, as Qusur min al-raml: Qarn min al-tajassus wa al-tadakhul al-anjlu-amriki fi al-sharq al-awsat Sharikat al-matbuaat lil-tawzia wa al-nashr, Beirut: All Prints Publishers, 2012.

Red Acropolis, Black Terror: The Greek Civil War and the Origins of Soviet-American Rivalry, New York: Basic Books, 2004, translated into Greek, as Κόκκινη Ακρόπολη, Μαύρος Τρόμος: Από την Αντίσταση στον Εμφύλιο 1943-1949, translated by Ανδρέας Παππάς, Athens: Κοχλίας, 2005.

The Balkan Wars: Conquest, Revolution and Retribution from the Ottoman Era to the Twentieth Century and Beyond, New York: Basic Books, 2002, translated into Greek with additional material as Κατάκτηση, Επανάσταση και Αναδιανοµή από την Οθωµανική Εποχή έως τον 21ο Αιώνα, translated by Σοφία Σκουλικάρη, Athens: Σαββάλας, 2008.

Espionage and Treason: A Study of the Proxenia in Political and Military Intelligence Gathering in Classical Greece, Amsterdam: J.C. Gieben Publishers, 1986, translated into Greek as Κατασκοπεία στην Αρχαία Ελλάδα: Ο ρόλος της

Andre Gerolymatos

Προξενίας στη Συλλογή Πολιτικών και Στρατιωτικών Πληροφοριών στην Κλασική Ελλάδα, translated by Νάσος Κυριαζόπουλος, Athens: Κάκτος, 2001. Dr. Gerolymatos has recently completed a manuscript on an updated and expanded history of the Greek Civil War and his next research effort is a study on US Special Forces, both of which will be published in 2014. As well, he regularly contributes to The National Herald, The Globe and Mail, The Vancouver Sun, and other newspapers in both Canada and Greece on topics of national security, Greek, Balkan, and Middle Eastern politics and military affairs. Lectures, Speaking Engagements, and Interviews

Dr. Gerolymatos regularly speaks to local, national, and international audiences in community, academic, and media settings. In the past six months, he has given several presentations on topics concerning the Middle Eastern and East-West relations to the Probus Club of Vancouver, The Regeneration Group of Vancouver, the SFU Retirees Association, and other local community groups. In addition to his local presentations, Dr. Gerolymatos has given many academic lectures.

Andre Gerolymatos

My message for this month will be brief as my ghostwriter is out of town at the moment. Our May meeting was very successful. Colin Hansen gave an excellent talk on the B C economy. The parking situation was much improved and all in all it was a positive experience. Our speaker for June is Andre Gerolymatos - New Spheres of Influence: The Crisis in the Ukraine and the west. In July we have Ray Spaxman - "Planning in the City of Vancouver today". In August Dr. Marianne Sadar will be speaking. We do not have a topic yet but she is a leading researcher at the B C Cancer Agency. She undoubtedly will provide some fascinating insights. I will have just returned from a week in New York and will have a brief report, including what it was like to be at the Tony Awards. I will be coming home on the red-eye, arriving on the 12th in time for the meeting. I may be a little late or groggy but I’ll show up. See you then, Mark

PROBUS CENTRE-CANADA, INC.

Bill Sexsmith, Director, B.C. District 2 Tel: 604-261-8293

E-mail: bpsexsmith@shaw.ca

In an effort to enhance the communications among the PROBUS Clubs within our district and also to keep abreast of what is happening on the national front I will summarize some PROBUS highlights over the last several months. Our national president is elected on an annual basis at our AGM which was recently held in Toronto. Maureen Irving, former Vice President of PROBUS Canada and a past President of the Kitchener Club is our new President. You will be hearing from Maureen shortly. After many months of planning and recruiting we launched a new club within District 2, the PROBUS Club of Vancouver West. It is the first combined club in Metro Vancouver which now has six Clubs, five of which are single gender. Vancouver West is off to a very fast start with 132 charter members and now after three months with a membership of 148. Congratulations to President Mark White and his energetic management team. On a recent visit to the Women’s PROBUS Club of White Rock and South Surrey I learned that their club has no less than 20 active clubs within their organization. The activities range from books to poker with 18 other activities in between. This has to be a Canadian PROBUS Club record! Visit their website and newsletter for ideas. Best wishes to Marina McBride and her management team as they start their new year.

The combined PROBUS Club of South Delta has after an effective recruitment program under the leadership of President John Ostaf a total membership of about 100. Congratulations John and best wishes to Gord Apperley and his team in the year to come. At national we are in the process of developing a strategic plan and formulating a policy on national and regional conventions. These actions have been initiated from the recommendations made at the Rendezvous 2011 which was held here in Vancouver.

Bill Sexsmith

District 2 BC News Release May District 2014

President Mark White opened the meeting with a welcome to all our members and Guests. He expressed his pleasure at the number of members present. However there is concern at the lack of male members now registered . Now 35 men as against 107 women. We need more men to balance out – about 70 men to get a 50/50 ratio. Joan Hebb talked about the Activities programme and suggested a programme more “field trip” based rather than social or event-based and that it be relevant to subjects our speakers bring to us, She took a quick summary of the members’ interest in this approach. We still need a Vice President and House Chair and are actively pursuing this. Shirley Hebenton was called upon to introduce our Speaker Christopher Gaze. Mr. Gaze held us enthralled with tales of his long career as a Shakespearean actor, in England and North America as well as many other parts played. Very well known in Vancouver as the originator of The Bard on the Beach which has grown in to great acclaim internationally . hIs skill in using different accents and characters in telling his stories was amazing and left us wanting much more/ Carole Jinks thanked Christopher on our behalf for coming to our meeting and giving us so much of his time. Our May 8th meeting will have Colin Hansen discussing “The BC Economy – are we out of the woods?” Our June 12th meeting will feature Dr. Andre Gerolymatos whose topic is: "New Spheres of Influence: The Crisis in the Ukraine and the West". Our July 10th meeting will feature Ray Spaxman speaking about “Planning in the City of Vancouver today” The meeting adjourned at 11:45am

Our PROBUS club dates We meet on the second Thursday of each month at the Marine Drive Golf Club in Vancouver, BC. Dress Code: Smart casual. Coffee and fellowship: 9:30 am to 10:00 am; Club business and speaker including Q & A: 10:00 am to 11:30 am

PROBUS Members are welcome to use Marine Drive Golf Club’s dining facilities on that day for lunch, which is served at noon

Upcoming speaker for July Topic: The current situation of the planning world and how that is unfolding in Vancouver

Ray Spaxman, former (1973 until 1989) Director of Planning for the City of Vancouver

Upcoming speaker for August Topic: Prostate cancer research

Dr. Marianne Sadar, PhD, Distinguished Scientist, Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre, BC Cancer Agency Professor, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia

Upcoming speaker for September Topic: TBA

Kevin McCort, President and CEO of the Vancouver Foundation

Upcoming speaker for February Topic: TBA

Dr Kam Shojania, Clinical Professor and Chief of Rheumatology at the University of British Columbia where he also holds the position of Rheumatology Postgraduate Program Director

Previous speakers February Jamie Matthews March Leila Getz April Christopher Gaze May Colin Hansen

Pickleball – one of the fastest growing sports in North America – are you playing it? Pickleball is a racket sport in which two to four players use solid paddles made of wood or composite materials to hit a polymer perforated ball over a net. The sport shares features of other racket sports, the dimensions and layout of a Badminton court, and a net and rules similar to tennis with a few modifications. One of the fastest growing sports in North America, Pickleball was invented in the mid 1960s as a children's backyard pastime but quickly became popular among adults as a game fun for players of all skill levels.

The game started during the summer of 1965 on Bainbridge Island, Washington, at the home of then State Representative Joel Pritchard who, in 1970, was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives for the State of Washington. He and two of his friends, Bill Bell and Barney McCallum, returned from golf and found their families bored one Saturday afternoon. They attempted to set up badminton, but no one could find the shuttlecock. They improvised with a Wiffle ball, lowered the badminton net, and fabricated paddles of plywood from a nearby shed.

Although some sources claim that the name "Pickleball" was derived from that of the Pritchard family dog, Pickles, other sources state that the claim is false, and that the name came from the term "pickle boat", referring to the last boat to return with its catch. Try it – it’s fun, addictive and healthy.

Many community centers in the lower mainland offer pickleball drop ins. Check out the Canadian website at http://pickleballcanada.org.

Keep your brain challenged with Lumosity

Have you tried www.Lumosity.com, the web's most popular brain training program? It is a simple online tool to allow anyone to exercise core cognitive abilities. According to Lumosity’s statistics, over 50 million people already use Lumosity.com, and they are adding more each month. These users join Lumosity to achieve big goals, make daily life easier, and just feel a little brighter. And after Lumosity training, they often report positive results—though no two experiences are the same. Lumosity's groundbreaking program is based on extensive research in the field of neuroplasticity. Several studies have been published on Lumosity's ability to improve key abilities such as working memory, visual attention, and executive function in people of different ages and from different backgrounds. Try it – like pickleball, it’s fun, addictive and healthy.

Mother’s Day in Canada is on the second Sunday of May Mother's Day is a celebration honoring one's own mother, as well as motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. The celebration of Mother's Day began in the United States in the early 20th century; it is not

related to the many celebrations of mothers and motherhood that have occurred throughout the world over thousands of years, such as the Greek cult to Cybele, the Roman festival of Hilaria, or the Christian Mothering Sunday celebration (originally a celebration of the mother church, not motherhood). Despite this, in some countries Mother's Day has become synonymous with these older traditions. The modern American holiday of Mother's Day was first celebrated in 1908, when Anna Jarvis held a memorial for her mother in Grafton, West Virginia. Her campaign to make "Mother's Day" a recognized holiday in the United States began in 1905, the year her beloved mother, Ann Reeves Jarvis, died. Anna’s mission was to honor her own mother by continuing work she had started and to set aside a day to honor mothers, "the person who has done more for you than anyone in the world." Anna's mother, Ann Jarvis, was a peace activist who had cared for wounded soldiers on both sides of the Civil War and created Mother’s Day Work Clubs to address public health issues. Due to the campaign efforts of Anna Jarvis, several states officially recognized Mother's Day, the first in 1910 being West Virginia, Jarvis’ home state. In 1914 Woodrow Wilson signed the proclamation creating Mother’s Day, the second Sunday in May, as a national holiday to honor mothers. In a thank-you note to Wilson, Jarvis wrote of a “great Home Day of our country for sons and daughters to honor their mothers and fathers and homes in a way that will perpetuate family ties and gives emphasis to true home life.”

Father’s day in Canada is on the third Sunday of June

Father's Day was inaugurated in the United States in the early 20th century to complement Mother's Day in celebrating fatherhood and male parenting.

After the success obtained by Anna Jarvis with the promotion of Mother's Day in the US, there was a drive to to create similar holidays for other family members, and Father's Day was the choice most likely to succeed. There were other persons in the US who independently thought of "Father's Day",but the credit for the modern holiday is often given to Sonora Dodd, who was the driving force behind its establishment.

Father's Day was founded in Spokane, Washington at the YMCA in 1910 by Sonora Smart Dodd, who was born in Arkansas. Its first celebration was in the Spokane YMCA on June 19, 1910. Her father, the Civil War veteran William Jackson Smart, was a single parent who raised his six children there. After hearing a sermon about Jarvis' Mother's Day in 1909, she told her pastor that fathers should have a similar holiday honoring them. Although she initially suggested June 5, her father's birthday, the pastors did not have enough time to prepare their sermons, and the celebration was deferred to the third Sunday of June.

It did not have much success initially. In the 1920s, Dodd stopped promoting the celebration because she was studying in the Art Institute of Chicago, and it faded into relative obscurity, even in Spokane. In the 1930s Dodd returned to Spokane and started promoting the celebration again, raising awareness at a national level. She had the help of those trade groups that would benefit most from the holiday, for example the manufacturers of ties, tobacco pipes, and any traditional present to fathers. Since 1938 she had the help of the Father's Day Council, founded by the New York Associated Men's Wear Retailers to consolidate and systematize the commercial promotion. Americans resisted the holiday during a few decades, perceiving it as just an attempt by merchants to replicate the commercial success of Mother's Day, and newspapers frequently featured cynical and sarcastic attacks and jokes. But the trade groups did not give up: they kept promoting it and even incorporated the jokes into their adverts, and they eventually succeeded. ] By the mid-1980s the Father's Council wrote that "(...) Father's Day has become a Second Christmas for all the men's gift-oriented industries." A bill to accord national recognition of the holiday was introduced in Congress in 1913.[12] In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson went to Spokane to speak in a Father's Day celebration and wanted to make it official, but Congress resisted, fearing that it would become commercialized. US President Calvin Coolidge recommended in 1924 that the day be observed by the nation, but stopped short of issuing a national proclamation. Two earlier attempts to formally recognize the holiday had been defeated by Congress. In 1957, Maine Senator Margaret Chase Smith wrote a proposal accusing Congress of ignoring fathers for 40 years while honoring mothers, thus "[singling] out just one of our two parents". In 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson issued the first presidential proclamation honoring fathers, designating the third Sunday in June as Father's Day. Six years later, the day was made a permanent national holiday when President Richard Nixon signed it into law in 1972.

In addition to Father's Day, International Men's Day is celebrated in many countries on November 19 for men and boys who are not fathers.

What is age?

Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter. Mark Twain