Fellow Kin,

We were founded in 1920 and have been providing fellowship to our members for 96 years and we have been very good at it. Sometimes we grow tired and we slip a little but then something happens which motivates us and we feel once again that Kin is the greatest thing ever. This differs from one club to another, one zone to another and so on. Fellowship is the glue that keeps us together. This starts with the members of our smallest clubs and runs right up to the Leadership of the Association. Clubs that don’t share in fellowship will begin grow weak and find themselves struggling.

I understand that we have far more competition and a lot of challenges recruiting members. This to me means we have to offer something that other organizations don’t have. I don’t believe reinventing the wheel is what we need to do here. We were a young man’s club which evolved into an association of hard working passionate men and women with the common goal of “Serving the Community’s Greatest NEED.” I believe that we must look to our strongest clubs for inspiration and use them as a benchmark. I think if you look inside these clubs you will see eager members looking forward to pulling together to serve their community’s greatest need. Fellowship is the key. You will have happy members enjoying themselves and working together to complete a service project. When it is completed they gather again to celebrate a job well done.

What is this greatest need? It is anything that a club member feels is a need in his or her community. It is a plea from a community outreach asking for our help. It is your neighbour that is struggling and is afraid to ask. It could be a Community Park looking for picnic tables and no money to buy them or perhaps that park has the money for the tables but not the means to build them. The list goes on and it is long. It doesn’t matter what the need (project) is as long as it is something you believe in and want to be a part of. Your club will recognise the need and you will join forces to help. Fellowship !

If you haven’t picked up on it yet my focus is on Fellowship. I honestly believe that clubs with healthy fellowship are strong are stronger. It doesn’t matter how many club members you have, it doesn’t matter which type of club you are …Kinsmen, Kinette or Kin… if you have great fellowship you have something to offer to new members. From the outside looking in an individual that is seeking to be a part of your club is measuring how the people inside get along together. If he or she likes the functionality of this club, they are likely to join.

Fellow Kin, I believe that the incoming District Team all want the same thing for this District. I am proud to work with them to make District 7 the best it can be. We do not want to make many changes… only those that will help our clubs become stronger and with this strength they will begin to grow. I have talked to a lot of great Kin members over my years in Kin and I know that I am not alone in my passion for Kin. Share your passion and promote it everywhere you go. Make us stronger in membership and become even a greater Association than we are today. Let us provide service to our communities through fellowship so we can all feel proud when we put our heads on our pillows at night.

The District Vice Team looks forward to serving you for the 2016-2017 Kin year.

Terry Janes

Vice Governor District 7

Kin Canada Atlantic