From District 8 Kin
Please take a minute and enjoy the following Quills - 2008-2009
“Dragons to the rescue”
The Kinsmen Club of Bolton (Ontario, District 8) celebrates its 45th anniversary this year as a strong, thriving club. The Club membership was stable with long term members but last year, the club approved a motion to actively recruit women into the club. The vote for the inclusion of women was seen as the way forward into the future if the Club was to stay strong, vibrant and in tune with the times.
In a way, this all started in 1999 when the club voted to start a dragonboat racing team in part as a fund raiser (team members were to raise money with pledges to pay back the $3,000 investment) and in part as a means of meeting possible new members to recruit. The Kindred Spirits Dragonboat Racing Team resulted with the 1st team composed of several Club members and retired Kinettes (the Bolton Kinette club at that point had shut down several years earlier), but mainly outside men and women recruited from the community.
By the end of last year, the club had recruited seven new (male) members from the Kindred Spirits team, almost half the club and all of whom have served on the Club Executive including 3 past presidents. Obviously without these new members, the club would have been in severe difficulties with membership.
Meantime, Kindred Spirits evolved into a social club in its own right with a core of about 20 permanent members, including 4 Kinsmen and 10 women. Most of these dragonboaters began meeting weekly for "practice" sessions at a local pub and partying for events like major birthdays, Halloween, July 1st and other excuses to party. Kindred Spirits (including the women) have been actively involved in all Bolton Kinsmen major projects as volunteers so a strong bond and common identity developed between the two groups.
After 9 years of inviting male Kindred Spirits dragonboaters to join the Bolton Kinsmen Club, one of the women piped up and asked "Why the heck can't we be members?" Hence the initiative for the motion to recruit women into the Club. The motion passed with a large majority on a ballot vote but there were a couple of members very upset with the change.
The club had an open house in the summer and welcomed six women interested in membership for the 1st meeting in September. Further, a male dragonboater who had joined Kinsmen but had dropped out in the same year last year, rejoined as a direct result of this change. Happily, those Club members who were upset with the motion all returned and gave the new club configuration a shot.
At the 1st meeting, the prospective new Kin mixed in with the Kinsmen members. The Kin song was introduced (although some stuck loudly to the Kinsmen song!) and the meeting went on. By the end of the meeting, any tension there may have been had subsided and the world did not end. The 2nd meeting was a 100% night. For the 3rd meeting the women all indicated they did still wanted to join. The 4th meeting was another 100% night and a vote was held to accept each prospect as a new member. The result - 100% approval for 100% of the new members on a 100% night! 7th meeting, another 100% night. So far this 08-09 year, Bolton Kinsmen have had three 100% nights, otherwise 91% has been the lowest meeting attendance.
The club ended last year with 15 members so the addition of the six women and the reinstated member means the club has grown to 22 members, a 47% increase over last year. 12 of the current membership of 22 came to the Club through the Kindred Spirits club. 10 of the Club members are still active dragonboaters.
Changing the Club to be integrated with women, adding six new members and celebrating its 45th year was something to be celebrated! National President Doug was invited to perform the Initiation ceremony and he was able to accommodate that. Caledon Mayor Marolyn Morrison was invited to participate and she spoke to congratulate the women and the club. Spouses and friends attended to make it a really special night.
Has the introduction of women changed the club? Club President George denHaan reports indeed it has. "Meetings are harder to conduct with all the laughter and noise going on. I think its great! We lost no members from this change and we have had 100% nights three times since the women joined. The night of the motion had a full turnout so that makes four 100% night nights in 2008 which is as many as the club has had in all the years since I joined in 1992. I think that speaks for the success of this change.
Adding the women to our roster has been a great refresher to our club and I don't think this is a case of just adding more members but the fact that the women brought new thinking, energy and change from the same old, same old.
As an example of new thinking, one of these new members, rookie Kin Kathy, introduced a motion last November to buy Christmas gifts for area seniors who have no surviving family members. The club approved a $1,000 budget for modest gifts and one of the guys dressed as Santa to present them on Christmas Day at two of our local nursing homes. These old folks reacted to Santa and presents like little kids so it was truly and literally a heart-warming experience. This is not the type of project a guy would propose yet here we now have something I think will be a signature project for us along with our Christmas Parade - Bolton Kinsmen own Christmas!"
Submitted by George DeeHaan
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