As has been announced in the recent email to all our members, your Management Committee (MC) has decided to organize a Christmas Party for our members. The Party will be held at the Bayside Inn in Parksville as a luncheon on Thursday, Dec 2, 2021.  In recognition of the significance of this decision for our Probus club members, I felt it would be beneficial for you to learn how we had come to our decision.

The MC approached this decision very carefully and thoroughly, including holding a special meeting to clearly answer the specific question, “should we hold a Christmas Party or not, and if so, where and under what conditions?”  Considerations included suitable venues and their Covid practices (including vaccinations for staff), the current Covid situation in our region, and Provincial Covid rules that would likely be in effect at the time of a Party. 

At our special meeting (held via Zoom), we had 9 out of the 13 members of the MC present and 2 other members had sent in their views before the meeting. Hence, we had input from 11 of the 13 Members of the MC.   Each person spoke as to whether they supported the idea of a Party, or not, and their reasons why. We then had a good roundtable discussion on all the views that were expressed. At the end of that discussion, there was consensus that we should proceed with a Christmas Party under appropriately strict Covid rules.

Joanie had looked at many venues for the party and had narrowed her recommendations down to 3. After discussion, the Bayside Inn in Parksville was selected and the MC then agreed on the following Covid rules that would apply for the event:

• the minimum number of attendees set at 40 to ensure there was enough interest to proceed – based upon payment up front which would be refunded if the minimum number of attendees was not reached.
• the maximum number of attendees set at 60 to ensure adequate distancing in the room that was rented that has a rated capacity of 100 people.
• double vaccination card to be shown upon entry, masks on until seated, use of hand sanitizers, etc.
• full compliance with the Provincial rules in place on the day of our Christmas Party.

Once there was agreement on the process and Covid rules, we discussed whether our Probus club should continue the tradition of subsidizing the Christmas Party to help defray some of the costs. In view of the healthy bank balance in both our Savings and Operating accounts, there was agreement for our Probus club to pay some of the costs including the rent on the room, the GST and PST on the meal and a small allowance for prizes. The subsidy would amount to $840.00 if 40 people attended the Party.

Al MacDonald

President