Shirking the tradition of new members delaying their classification talk for months, if not years, our newest member, Dr Adrian Musters gave us a glimpse into what makes him tick. (ed note: and why he will be an asset to our club)
Adrian described himself as semi retired as he still works part time for colleagues and also works with the Regulatory College to review pratices around the Province that may need support.
Born in the Netherlands he came to Canada at the age of 5. He grew up in Hamilton and went to religious school. As he was getting near graduation he needed to choose 3 potential professions. He told us a funny story about the 3 choices (which included 1. Priest 2. Teacher) until a guy who was repairing his TV made some comment about dentistry.
Next thing you know he was completing 8 years of Dental School at U of T where he met his wife Suzanne.
On graduation he moved to Huntsville and purchased the practice of Dr Hal Leitch, which he ran for 36 years.
They had 3 very busy boys and did all the normal stuff, hockey, cubs/scouts, baseball and he and his wife got involved in local organizations.
Having the skill of Dentistry, Adrian was a valued member of humanitarian outreach trips to needy areas of the world.
Starting with his first trip to Guatemala with Dr Greg Stewart and his wife Charlene, led to future trips to El Salvador and Peru, among others
Adrian relayed a few experiences about some of the people he met and some of the dental experiences he had.
These experiences have only made him more interested in pursuing future trips to areas of need.
In fact he is currently working with local Dr Hector Roldan on an International project in Guatemala that he will be sharing with our club in the New Year.
Adrian reflected on the stage of his life he is at and accepts there are more miles in the rear view mirror than looking out the windshield. He is looking forward to the challenges ahead and the opportunity that joining the Rotary organization will give him to engage in new challenges.
Following the talk Rob got up and filled those in attendance on some other aspects of Adrians life, not relayed in Adrian's sanitized classification;
He is an avid motorcyclist, to the extreme. He has in the past cycled to Halifax for dinner and returned over a weekend. He circled each of the great lakes, a day at a time and threw Erie and Ontario in as a package due to their relative small size. 18 hours on the bike in a day would not be excessive and a 20 minute break is considered a luxury. Some would say he is crazy ... and they would be correct
He is an avid hockey goalie. 6-7 games a week is an average and he plays with all levels. He didn't start playing hockey until the age of 45. He learned with a group of older men who also had not played much and the goalie gear would be rotated amongst them. This went on for a while until their regular goalie was hurt to the extent he quit the game. Adrian became a regular and then, because he doesn't do things half way, he enrolled in a number of goalie camps including the Montreal Canadien's camp. Each month and year he became better and better and at the proud age of 65 (on Dec 21) he is one of the best around our area!