Month: May 2016

2016-17 Kinsmen Executive Elections

The club recently held its elections for the 2016-17 kin year. The new executive is looking to hit the ground running when meetings resume in September from our summer break. Past-President Mark Thibedeau joined current President Drew Douglas to held conduct the proceedings. Nomination were taken at a pair of our meetings, including from the members at our last regular monthly meeting.

  • Life-member Peter Taylor was elected as President for a third time
  • Fernando Afonso was elected as Vice President
  • Henry Vissers was acclaimed as Secretary
  • James Faulkner was acclaimed as Bulletin Editor for a second consecutive year
  • Glen MacKenzie was acclaimed as Treasurer
  • Tyler Granter was elected as Registrar
  • Andrew St. Coeur was acclaimed as Risk Manager
  • Brian Babineau was acclaimed as Membership and Awards Director
  • Geoff Hamlin was elected as Communications Director
  • Drew Douglas will move to the position of Past-President

Congratulations to all the members of our new executive. They’ll be sworn into their new positions in early July.

Kinsmen Report: May

Hello everyone, from the Bible Hill Kinsmen!

We recently held our annual pork chop dinner at the Bible Hill Village Hall. Not only is it a big fundraiser for us, but the food was delicious! The pork chops themselves were from Ebbett’s Meadow Brook Farm Market in Tatamagouche.

A highlight for the club, at any time of year, is watching our members be recognized for their hard work. Brad McCallum and Dave Gillis, both part of this year’s executive, have received the Maple Leaf Award of Distinction from Kin Canada. To earn this award, a member has to complete a number of tasks within their first two years with the group. That can range from chairing a project, to being elected to the executive for a year, to attending district and national conventions.

We’ve been focusing our efforts on the 1st Annual Colchester Book Fair from 6 to 9 p.m. on June 3rd and from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. on June 4th . The Kinsmen are partnering with NovelTea Bookstore Café to continue a decade’s long community tradition, which was previously run by the Canadian Federation of University Women. It has relocated to the Eagles Landing Building at 510 Prince Street (the former MacQuarries Pharmasave location). Proceeds from the event will support the Colchester East Hants Library Foundation and other Kinsmen community projects.

Drop-off locations are Enterprise Rent-A-Car, NovelTea Bookstore Café, Shur Gain Feeds n Needs, and Sobeys on Robie Street in Truro, as well as Century Hyundai and Fundy Appliance in Bible Hill.

The Bible Hill Kinsmen hold meetings on the first and third Thursday of the month, from September to June, at 7:30 p.m. We’d love to see you there. If you’re interested in joining us for a meeting, or would like more information, email president@biblehillkinsmen.ca.

James Faulkner is a member of the Bible Hill Kinsmen

Kindness Meters Collecting for the Community

For Immediate Release

May 11, 2016 – Colchester’s kindness just keeps rolling in. In the short time that old parking metres were placed in Downtown Truro to collect donations for local charities and non-profits, cheques have been written to four organizations totalling close to $850. The four groups on the receiving end so far are The Colchester Food Bank, The Truro Homeless Outreach Society, Third Place Transition House and the Christmas Index Program.

“This partnership between the Bible Hill Kinsmen, the Town of Truro and the Downtown Truro Partnership has made excellent use of people’s spare change,” said Quinn McCarthy, project chair with the Bible Hill Kinsmen. “This is money that these four groups would not have otherwise had and every bit counts when trying to serve the community’s greatest need.”

“These are very worthy organizations and we are very proud to continue to support this project,” said Debbie Elliot, Executive Director of the Downtown Truro Partnership. “Keep that spare change coming in!”

“This is a very unique partnership between a municipality, local service organization and business community that has gained regional and national attention,” added Truro Mayor Bill Mills. “It’s a great example of what can happen when groups work together towards a common goal.”

From the months of May to September, three new groups will be receiving proceeds from the Kindness Metres. These are the Boys and Girls Club of Truro and Colchester, Children’s Wish Foundation – Nova Scotia Chapter and the CEC Safe Grad Program.

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For media inquiries:
Quinn McCarthy
Bible Hill Kinsmen
(902) 890-6330
kindnessmeters@biblehillkinsmen.ca

Disaster Response for Fort McMurray

From Grant Ferron, Executive Director of Kin Canada:

We all have watched the horrific events that are continuing to unfold in Fort McMurray and for most of us, we can hardly fathom the depth of devastation that has befallen on this community, its people and our members. Everyone remains in our hearts and prayers.

In the truest Kin fashion, members across the Country have expressed their concern as well as hope through pledging support in any way possible.

District 4 has been very quick to establish a District Response Team to help coordinate, liaise and manage Kin Canada’s response to this devastating event. Both National President Kin Peters and I commend the swift action of District 4 in the mobilization of their resources and the leadership provided by Governors Corie Brand and Dan Gosse as well as Sean Libin, LeAnne Christiansen and Angela Jenkins.

Last night, members of the District Response Team joined a call with the Governors, National President Kim and I. The call helped to synchronize our immediate response while also discussing what might be required of us in the months ahead. We all agreed that it is important that Kin Canada members have a way to express their support in a timely way.

We will be providing details on how Clubs can contribute either through the National Disaster Relief Fund or through the Kin Canada Foundation. We want to make sure that funding is set up in such a way that it allows for both the immediate and longer term needs of this community. This will take a few days to ensure we provide the right guidance to Clubs.

The Kin Canada Foundation has provided a donation access point for individuals wishing to contribute right away. In this manner, individuals can obtain tax receipts (the Foundation is a registered charity and is enabled to donate funds on your behalf to other charitable entities). More information on this can be found on the Kin Canada Foundation website at www.kincanadafoundation.ca and follow the “Donate Now” link.

The Red Cross also has a page where you can donate as well: http://www.redcross.ca (Organizations can also contribute through this page as well)

We are told that our Kin family in Fort McMurray are all safe and some are already rolling up their sleeves to help. A fitting tribute to the spirit of this Association and its members. We will continue to keep them all in our thoughts.