Page 14 - Friendships Through the Years

It is fair to say that the majority of men who have joined the club over the past 17
years, as a result of their membership, now have a new ‘slant’ on retirement. They have
made many new, and in many cases, very close and lasting friendships, which may
otherwise not have happened had they not joined. As you read through this history, the
theme of fellowship and friendship will be very evident, particularly from the comments
of the Presidents.
However, it is equally fair to say that not every man who joined the club remained
as a member. Of the 23 foundation members, 4 had resigned within nine months of
inauguration. There have also been some other resignations over the years, but they have
been a minority. One hundred and forty-three men have been inducted into the club; there
st
have been 67 resignations and 21 deaths. At the 31 . of March 2000 the Club’s
membership was 57.
Stan Moser had the most difficult task of all of the Club’s presidents. Few people
had heard of Probus and we had little idea of a format for the meetings and outings.
Fortunately, Stan was a good chairman and he had a good team. This made his job
somewhat easier. You will read in Chapter 9 that Stan was the convenor for the Lilydale
Rotary Club that formed the Ladies Probus Club of Lilydale in 1991. So besides helping
Derek Reeve-Cox to form the men’s Club, he formed a club in his own right, too.
The Lilydale Club has an almost unique arrangement compared to many other
Probus Clubs, in that the lady partners of members, and in numerous cases the widows of
previous members are always welcome at the meetings, functions and outings.
Friendships made apply equally to the ladies.
To date there have been 17 presidents. With their executives and committees they
have guided the Club to what today is considered to be a very successful organisation that
has given many people a lot of pleasure. What follows is a history of those Presidents
and their terms of office.