UPCOMING SPEAKERS

Upcoming Meetings

Upcoming Activities

SPEAKER AT OUR NEXT MEETING

Here's some notes from Debbie Bulten, our guest speaker on November 27 . . .

My name is Debbie Bulten, I’m a mother of 3, a joint business owner with my husband, and a multi-sport endurance athlete.

I’ve been very fortunate to enjoy a long athletic career spanning 4 decades. My running journey started at the age of 15 with the regional track and field team, and progressed through Provincial and National levels.

I took a break during my university years to concentrate on studies, then resumed when I was 25, after the birth of my first child. I completed my first marathon in Toronto that year, and found my love of running again. I competed in my first triathlon several years later, which kick started my journey into Ironman triathlon.

During my years of competing in Ironman races, I began training for ultramarathons. I’d found a passion for endurance sports. My first ultra distance race was in 2011. Since then I’ve run more than 80 ultras ranging in distance from 50km to 400km (240 miles).

I was the first female to complete a 200 mile trail ultra in Canada, and in 2023 I completed a climbing project known as the Seven Summits, climbing the highest mountain peak on each of the seven continents around the world.

I summited both Mt. Everest and Mt. Lhotse (4th highest mountain in the world) back to back, within 24 hours, making me the first Canadian woman to ever accomplish the feat.

I was honoured with the 2023 Tim Turow Athlete of the Year award for mountaineering. I undertook the Seven Summits project because I thrive on challenges that engage both mind and body, and I strive to push the limits of my own potential in my endeavours.

Through endurance sport, I try to show myself and others that we are capable of more than we think, and the potential of our bodies and minds can be realized when we put ourselves out there.

PERSONAL VIGNETTE: Also in this meeting, Tom Dean will be delivering his personal vignette.

LUNCH BUNCH: After the meeting, all members are invited to have lunch (at their own cost) at a local restaurant. A great way to get to know your fellow members.

ABOUT OUR LAST MEETING

Barbara Dickson spoke to us about:

Canada’s Bomb Girls: Trading Aprons for Ammo

The vast majority of people who live in Ontario are unaware that an extensive abandoned tunnel system runs under the city of Toronto.

During the Second World War, the Canadian government built a sprawling top secret munitions plant outside the city limits in the rural community of Scarborough.

The plant, called GECO — pronounced Gee-ko — comprised 346 acres, over four kilometers of tunnels, and 172 buildings (built in seven months.)

Women from Toronto and across Canada — some from as far away as the Maritimes and British Columbia — moved to Toronto to work at the plant eager to do their “bit” for King and Country.

Many women also moved to Pickering, Ontario to work at the D.I.L. shell-filling plant. With countless thousands fighting overseas, countless more men and women worked tirelessly in Canadian war plants, producing everything from planes and tanks to ammo and bandages.

GECO personnel often referred to their workers as the “Fourth Arm of the Service” or the “Girls behind the Guns” and were eager to help end the war quickly to bring their menfolk home.

Click on the WATCH LAST MEETING button above to watch the whole meeting.

WELCOME

The PROBUS Club of Cambridge provides the opportunity for retired or semi-retired men having similar interests to meet and mingle, enjoy challenging, interesting guest speakers and join into some group activities.

PROBUS Clubs are not service organizations. We do not engage in fundraising, sectarian or political activities. Rather, we function solely for the benefit and interest of our members.

If you are not a member, you are in the right place to seek information about our Club, and how you can join us.

If you have any questions, please contact  one of our Membership Co-Chairs,
David Shaw at 226-220-2498
Jim Ott at 519-241-9883
or email us at   info@probuscambridge.org 

We hope to see you soon!

Norm Steele
President 2024-25

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