September 11, 2025: “Welcome Back!”
CFUW St Thomas kicked off the 2025-2026 year with a pot-luck supper in Rodney Hall, Knox Presbyterian Church in St Thomas. Tables were filled with delicious offerings from the members, with appetizers, main dishes, salads and desserts on display. We also got better acquainted with other members by pairing people through matching scraps of fabric and having them introduce each other to the rest of the group. There were also thought-provoking questions on each table for group discussion and sharing of experiences. It was a lively crowd with lots of chatter and laughter throughout the evening. A great way to begin our year!
October 9, 2025: “Impacts & Benefits of A.I.”
Our guest speaker for our first formal meeting of the year was Dr. Magdalene Ravichandran, Co-ordinator of Machine Learning at Fanshawe College. Her presentation gave us a crash course on Artificial Intelligence or A.I., outlining its purpose and usefulness in such diverse fields as music and medicine. She told us of her academic interests and background, and how she came to understand and work in this complex and rapidly changing field. We found out how A.I. can be used for lightning quick calculations and broad information searches. Dr. Ravichandran gave us information about the relationship between A.I. and A.I. tools such as ChatGPT, Gemini, CoPilot, etc. She answered our many questions, including about risks where tools may be used improperly or for purposes it may not have been designed for. It certainly made us all think about our own relationships with our computers and smartphones! Here are a few photos from the evening (click on photo to enlarge).
November 13, 2025 – “Tour of Barrie Family Hospice”
Larissa Caruana, the communications representative for the new Barrie Family Hospice in St Thomas, introduced us all to the wonderful new Hospice located beside the entrance to Waterworks Park. The Hospice has already had over 30 patients spend their last days there with their families able to be close and interact in the best ways possible. She indicated that community financial contributions were vital to the construction of the building and would continue to be important as it is estimated that it will cost $1.5 million annually to keep the facility going. She took the group on a tour of the lovely facility, which includes a great room complete with fireplace, soaring ceilings and many windows overlooking the ravine. (taken from the minutes).
December 11, 2025 – “Annual Christmas Social”
The annual Christmas Social gives our members a time to visit with one another and enjoy the many treats that are provided for this pot-luck event. This year’s event was graciously hosted by Barb Green.
January 8, 2026 – “Sit & Shine – Ageless Grace Brain Health”
Our guest speaker, Barb Kunz introduced us to the concept of “Sit & Shine”, a seated exercise experience to energize your body, boost your brain and lift your spirit. She is a trainer and educator for Ageless Grace Brain Health. Her mission is to make chair fitness joyful, safe and accessible. She led the group through several fun chair exercises where participants had to shake various parts of the body to music…not as easy as it sounds (according to those who were there). (taken from the minutes and brainhealthwithbarb.com)
February 12, 2026 – “Black History Month”
Our original guest speaker, Sarah Coleman from the St. Thomas Food Bank was unable to make our meeting at the last minute. President Nora Sanders created an alternative program to celebrate Black History Month. She had the membership do a quiz on Canadian Black History, and interviewed our member Chantal Felix about her immigration experience and life experience as a black person living in the Toronto area and now in Port Stanley. (taken from the minutes)
March 12, 2026 – ” Historical Architectural Styles in St. Thomas and Central Elgin”
Our club secretary, Barb Green is involved with the Architectural Conservancy group in St. Thomas who work on heritage preservation of significant buildings in the area. She began her presentation with an overview of the terms used to describe various features and styles of local architecture with illustrations outlining the main features of each style. She then took us on a historical journey of about 24 styles of architecture, starting with Georgian, through various European influences, the Ontario Cottage and finishing with simpler styles influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright, such as the Split Level. It was interesting to find out what world cultures influenced each style. Her presentation featured many photos of houses and buildings in St. Thomas and the local area. Many of the buildings were familiar to CFUW members, and a few were even former or present residences. We finished with a discussion on the difficulties in restoring or maintaining heritage properties such as availability of not only authentic materials but skilled craftspeople.
April 9, 2026 – “Elizabeth Kusinski, Port Stanley artist”
Our guest speaker, Elizabeth Kusinski, talked about what it was like to be not only an artist, but an artist in business…which she pointed out that many consider an oxymoron. She started painting in 1997, after moving to the Port Perry area. Her film background had her seeking out an artistic outlet. She tried watercolour painting classes, but did not like the medium, so taught herself to paint using oil paints which are all that she uses to this day. Her favourite subjects have historical ties to families, friends and familiar locations. She often uses historical black and white photos as inspiration, adding period-appropriate colours and details. She moved to Port Stanley after reconnecting with a childhood friend/sweetheart and started over at age 50. She believes in being involved in the community, and has created shows such as the “Red Show” and juried exhibitions at the Windjammer. For Elizabeth, success is being part of a community, creating and growing relationships and friendships so she feels her life in Port Stanley is extremely successful. She showed us a number of her lovely paintings. On the business side, she does not sell prints of her paintings. Each is an original, with different details, depending on the inspiration. She has had a solo exhibition at the St Thomas art centre called “It Takes A Village”, featuring Port Stanley people and places. Her work is posted on Instagram for her followers to see.