District 8 Past Officers
Contents |
Past District 8 Governors
Past CF / Service Directors and District 8 Contributions
Past CF / Service Directors and District 8 Contributions
Past Zone C Deputy Governors
Zone I Durham Past DG's
Past Zone E Metro Toronto East Deputy Governors
Past Zone E Metro Toronto East Deputy Governors
Ron Niddrie Outstanding Deputy Governor Award
Outstanding Deputy Governor Award
The Chain of Office Story
July 2010
IF anyone has ever wondered how we came to have the existing chain of office, the following was forwarded by Bob Carswell, Past District 8 Governor 1984-85:
The story behind the chian of office is somewhat unique. The Executive Director asked me to design a chain of office while I was employed with the Association back in the 70s. I also edited KIN magazine for 3 years. I did a rough copy of a chain of office and gave him a mockup of it in a photocopy. The next thing I knew is that he had used the rough copy to make the final chain of office that is why when you look closely it appears a bit shallow and rough in design. Oh well, it does the job.
The story of the old Zone E is nothing different from similar stories of other clubs in the big cities. Clubs like Kin work best in smaller communities. In large communities they get gobbled up by other activities and the many events that go on. Few clubs last in big cities. Exceptions would be the Kwanis Club that runs the Casa Loma in Toronto, a great source of income for them, and rotary clubs who cross job lines rather than social lines to reach their memberships.
As the City of Toronto expanded into suburbia, the local village image was lost unless there was something unique about it to keep it going. The same had happened in neighbourhoods with Kin clubs in Toronto in the 30s, 40s and 50s. Zone E when I was deputy goveror consisted of ten clubs, Markham, Thornhill, Richmond Hill, North York, Don Valley, Scarborough, Pickering, Ajax, Stouffville, Bay Ridges. I had previously been the Charter Chairman for Thornhill. Even back then, certain clubs were having membership issues and with a 20-member requirement, it was difficult for some to maintain. Another factor was the fact that when clubs stopped recruiting members, the membership got old, dwindled and eventually a hardcore group were all that held the club together. When I joined Markham, I made it my own goal to build the club from 20 to 40 members. We became the strongest in the zone. When I left in 1986 as my job moved west of Toronto, I could see the writing on the wall. It was already becoming smaller and group gatherings showed the predominence of the core group. I think the club kept together for some ten or fifteen years after that but only with 5 or 6 core members, most of whom no longer lived in the village of Markham. I do not know exactly when it died as I had moved on to other interests like hockey and downhill skiing and lost contact with the original group having burned out after my year of governor. District Eight had consisted of 72 clubs back then. I had been in Kin in the Stampede City Club in Calgary, the Saskatoon main club and the Markham club over a period of 20 years. I guess I was really burnt out after all that. My marriage had ended and my kids moved west so other things took over in my life. Now at 65 I live in west Toronto with a backyard on Lake Ontario and I spend my time writing and painting. At one point a few years back I returned to university and completed 3 more university degrees. Life has been an interesting journey. I am currently in the process of trying to get a number of books published which will likely happen over the next few years. In the meantime, life is a day to day existance, a cane, rehab and short walks.
Kindest regards,
Bob Carswell
Governor, District Eight, 1984-85
