The president for Kin Canada wants Kinsmen and Kinettes Clubs across the country to strive to be what she refers to as “possibility thinkers.”
And she believes the local clubs are doing just that.
Erin Thomson, who is from Timmins, Ont., was in Estevan on Thursday as part of a tour of Kin Canada’s District 3, which includes the Energy City. District 3 is on her touring cycle for this year.
“Every year the national president of Kin Canada changes, and we do our best to come out and visit every district across the country, and District 3 happens to be on the rotation this year,” said Thomson.
Joining her while in Estevan was Michelle Jindle, a Kinette from Lloydminster.
A stop to the Mercury for an interview was among Thomson’s first tasks in Estevan. She then visited St. Joseph’s Hospital, which Kin members have supported in the past. Thomson toured the community to see the contributions of local Kin clubs, and helped set up for the Kinettes’ Craft Sale, which was held Saturday in the Wylie-Mitchell building.
And she spoke at an evening social with the Estevan Kin club members, where she shared some national updates.
“The message that we really are looking at this year, and something that we’re trying to inspire people to be, is possibility thinkers. So we’re really trying to chat a little bit about what possibility thinking is, and to celebrate the possibility thinkers that have been here in Estevan.”
Leaders in the Kinsmen and Kinettes clubs are possibility thinkers, she said, and Thomson hopes they will continue to think about the potential that exists.
“We really believe that Kin, and the spirit that Kin has – which is meeting their community’s greatest need – is what makes us truly unstoppable,” said Thomson. “So my slogan was #beunstoppable when I was campaigning, and it has carried through to this year.”
Kin club members carry on despite adversity, she said, and that makes them unstoppable.
“When others in the community see hurdles, Kin Canada sees possibilities,” she said. “We always find that way to think about things in a new way, to encourage each other, to speak with positivity, and to meet that need the community might have.”
She was particularly looking forward to seeing the Hillside Play Park and the work the local Kin clubs have undertaken there, particularly the outdoor, year-round spots facility that is used as an outdoor arena during the winter months.
“I love it when clubs can go around town and show off some of the wonderful things that they have helped to accomplish,” said Thomson. “And what I also typically tend to say to clubs is just imagine what your community would look like if the Kinsmen club or the Kinettes club had never been here.
“There are so many communities that wouldn’t have parks, that wouldn’t have arenas, that wouldn’t have sports teams, that wouldn’t have food on their shelves in food banks.”
Kin clubs truly are a part of the fabric of so many communities in Saskatchewan.
Two years ago, when she was campaigning for the national president’s job, Thomson saw the contributions of Saskatchewan’s Kin members when she attended Telemiracle – the annual fundraiser organized by Saskatchewan’s Kinsmen and Kinettes.
“I got to meet a wonderful bunch of Kinsmen and Kinettes, and the family of Kin, and they really embraced me, and I wanted to just come back and shed a little bit of love on D-3 and shed the light on them from across the country,” said Thomson.
Thomson joined the Kinettes Club in Timmins in 2002, but her roots in the organization trace back much further than that. She is a “Kin kid, which means her father was a Kinsmen and her mother was a Kinette. Thomson’s aunt and uncle are life members of their respective clubs as well.
She was born while her mother was serving as the president of the Kinette club in Timmins.
“I was truly born to do this job,” said Thomson with a laugh.
She became the national president in August, and will serve a one-year term.
“It has been absolutely wonderful,” she said. “I have had the opportunity to travel quite a bit already.”
The president of Kin Canada has two roles. Not only does she serve as a national ambassador for the service organization, but her other purpose is to be the chairperson of the 11-member board, which is responsible for fiduciary responsibilities, strategic planning and governance.
There’s also an operations side of Kin Canada, which includes paid staff and volunteers.
“We all have things in us that we feel we can give. To me, leadership is about service, so I truly wanted to be a servant leader. I found that all of the levels that I had learned in Kin just helped to prepare me for the next level.”
Within Kin Canada, they believe in leaders building leaders, so that there is always somebody ready to step into leadership positions.
“I truly felt that Kin Canada gave me so much that I wanted to serve in the highest possible office that I could, in order to give back as much as I could.”
It’s also been a lot of fun serving as president.
The visit to Estevan was part of a whirlwind tour of Saskatchewan for Thomson. The following day, she travelled to Assiniboia, and then she went to Saskatoon, Yorkton and Regina. Other stops during her time in Saskatchewan included Swift Current, Moose Jaw, Rosetown and Tisdale.
