Pre-Term MinutesJune 13-15, 2014

Camp URSA

Call to Order: 8:40 a.m.O CanadaKin SongMoment of Silence for Departed Kin

In attendance: Allen, Cathleen, Corie, Dan, Adrian, Cameron, Susan, Margo, Kelli, John, Angela, Tera, Kirk, Hillary, Glenn, Amber, Tom, Kim, Susan

With Regrets: Jacquie, Pat, Don, Denea (attended by Skype for portions of the meetings), LeAnne

Address to the Chair: Govs Cathleen & Allen, & All you Young Gunz !

Welcome

Introductions / The Full Games Went around the table and completed introductions of attendees Susan outlined the Full Games

AppointmentsSgt. At Arms – Have been chosen secretlyRules of Order – Cameron Kemp cause he’s smart and lawyeryParking lot to be established – Edmonton Kinsmen have asked about purchasing a

couch from the Sergeant.

Additions to the Agenda - FLC

Approval of the Agenda – Motion by Cameron that agenda be accepted as presented; second by Kim Bedry

Deputy Governor’s Reports & Goals: Zone A

o As reported Zone B – Angela Jenkins

o A lot of projects scheduled. Beaumont should be chartering a Kin Club soon Zone B - John Tse Zone C

o As reported Zone D – Tera Blake

o Innisfail will be keeping previous executive as they are struggling with membership

Zone D - Kirk Blakeo Completed Red Deer Installationso Zone has strong clubs but they do not have a lot of contact with the districto Ponoka is slowly getting more involvedo Dues are questioned by some of the older members but they are limited to

what they see dues give them because they do not participate “0” Zone – Hilary Thorne

o Calgary doing a joint installation which adds to the social contact within the zone

“0” Zone – Glenn Heado Some clubs did not get back to Glenn so that will be a potential worry

Zone F - Amber Standeno Milk River is launching a Kin club which will meet 30 minutes prior to the Kin

meeting (PARKING LOT ITEM: check with National around regulations with respect to Kin Kid Associate clubs)

Zone F – Tom Simpsono New to the team and has not been able to connect yet. Adrian spoke to what

has been happening in the zone Zone G – Kimberly Bedry

o Spruce Grove increased from 4 to 9o St. Albert is working on house rules and bylaws

Zone G – Dan Dunajtschik – As reported

Speaking skills for DG’s – Sean Libin Thanked each member of the team for taking their Kin career a step higher and

entering the political world of Kin Canada; this step can be tremendously rewarding District Council can be rewarding and can also be trying as you expose yourself to

some criticism Don’t be afraid to stir up debate and open up dialogue; but do this carefully; don’t

sugar coat but don’t burst bubbles either Communication is a fundamental piece of the job of being on District Council Sean will answer any questions around communication Sean spoke to changing views of clubs, challenged DG’s to identify what is truly

important about club participation outside of a community level (i.e.: is it truly important to get clubs to attend District Convention or is it important to get them to meet minimum requirements and support them to meet their community’s greatest needs?), shared personal experience of club interclub visit to Drumheller with DG Bob Lang

Subtle way of opening dialogue is to ask the club what their challenges are Use club visits as a fact finding mission, information gathering opportunity Be careful in how you ask questions and what you ask Sean asked DG’s what worries/thoughts they have:

o How do you engage a club that doesn’t really care about process – recommended that you might have to skirt around the club and find the one person that cares or buys in and work through them; some clubs have

presidents who spend more time making sure that their clubs have a good time and do projects instead of focusing on protocols and forms

o Do you see this group as ……. – recruitment efforts within Kin at a district and national level have never been known to pay dividends; you gain members by going out and asking guys to come to a meeting; if we could clone Cameron Kemp and Doug Anthony we’d have no membership issues; District makes big dividends by ensuring there is a solid culture of fun, freshness and solidness that trickles down; do I think that District will recruit a member? Probably not. Do I think that District has the power to retain members? Absolutely. D4 is arguably the proudest district in the Association.

o Discussion around clubs (i.e.: Drumheller) when there are signs and opportunities for District support and engagement before clubs deteriorate to the point where they are in danger of folding; challenged that the way we run FLC, Zones, Districts are the way we become a viable, credible and relevant resource to clubs

o We have a responsibility to share knowledge, resources, funding and to bridge the gap between those who have and who haven’t drank the “red and white kool-aid” without putting people off – communicate concisely, don’t overload with emails, make forms and responses easy (self-addressed stamped envelopes, email PDF signatures, go the extra mile to make responding easy)

o It is important to get out the clubs and let them know what is out there without making them feel offended about their chosen level of participation

o Lack of engagement at a club level does not always mean that the club does not give a shit, it just might mean that they are comfortable letting other people govern and lead the Association (compared to the PC membership)

o Sean offered to help DG’s at any timeo Minimum standards: pay dues, submit roster, complete insurance and

reporting forms – if they don’t they can’t operate under the Kin brando How many DG’s talked to Club Presidents? – recommend contacting prior to

visit, helps pave the way for a positive receptiono How do you inspire people, motivate them, pump them up? - be prepared,

have notes, give a “state of the union” when speaking to clubs, you get to give Life Memberships, you’re going to have an awesome time, you have support of District, National and others

o The Kinettes are leading the Association right now – they outnumber at Conventions, they outnumber Kinsmen in many ways, they are outnumbering in leadership, Kinsmen can learn much from the Kinettes right now as they are kicking ass in the Association

o Adrian recommended saving information and email once in a while (i.e.: mail out folder), don’t forward everything, give points of action, give deadlines, label urgent emails that require immediate responses

o Sometimes you’ll have to spoon feed clubs

Kin Kollege- Dean Faithfull Not designed for Kin who are brand new or for Kin who are very experienced

Designed for Kin who have some knowledge and experience and want to learn more about the Association

Council won’t be attending in order to allow for space for club members Some concern raised about exclusivity in Kin Kollege organizing committee and

facilitators; suggestion to open involvement in committee to ensure that people who do not already have relationships with members of executive have an opportunity to be engaged

Need to be thoughtful of space given facility Cathleen clarified that facilitators are from the National board Registrations already include Lethbridge, Stampede City, Coaldale, Wetaskiwin,

Spruce Grove and more Want registration from all over the district Last year had a registrant from Fort McMurray Dean announced that he and Susan will be running for Vice Governor’s next year

Executive Reports & Goals: Coordinator – Susan Dickson

o Reminded everyone to please remember pink National t-shirtso Reminded everyone that this weekend is about having fun and learning so it

is hoped that everyone enjoys the games planned Vice Governors – Corie Brand and Dan Gosse

o As Printed Treasurer – Shawn Morton

o Budget as presentedo Shawn will be looking for online bank transfers as opposed to checkso Requested that expenses are submitted in a timely manner

The Full Games Challenge

FLC Budget Reports:

Kinette FLC – October 24-25, High Rivero Robin Platz presenting on behalf of High River Kinetteso Motion by Susan to approve 2014 Kinette FLC budget, second by

Hilary, all in favour, carried; contract signed and accepted Kinsmen FLC – October 24-25, Brooks

o Keith Bidyk and Shaun Veroba presenting on behalf of Brooks Kinsmen

o Motion by Dan to accept 2014 Kinsmen FLC budget, all in favour, carried; contract signed and accepted

Council in attendance Education ideas – Kinsmen Education ideas - Kinettes Conduct review of past FLCs- pros and cons

o The format of both FLC’s was positiveo New ideas for education did not come forwardo People enjoyed the amazing race and the education within the meetings

o Idea of having video feed to join the conferences was discussed; positive feedback from that last year and would like to do again

DLS RecapWhat worked well?What would you do different?

District Recap - ProvostWhat worked well? And not so much ?What would you do different?

Discussion occurred around D6 Presentation and how that fit with the rest of the convention

Council discussed the pros and cons of DG’s sitting at the front as opposed to in the crowd

Motion by Dan to only roll call those clubs who are in attendance, second by Kim, all in favour, carried

Angela Jenkins Question ?

John Tse Question ?

Executive Reports & Goals: Secretary – Denea Parker

o Please submit everything on timeo If you have ideas for FLC layouts, themes, etc… get it submitted earlyo Word format is best

Membership Director – Adrian Bruceo Reviewed membership report template and explained what information is

containedo Adrian would like to know where and why we’re losing members but that is

not always included in the datao Need to recruit and retain o 2nd overall Nationally (2nd to D3) o Are people coming from one District to another?o Reinstatements are happening, past members are being attracted back to the

Lethbridge club (is this happening elsewhere?)o Membership retention is really tied to club healtho Official club must have 4 members; to charter a club you need 15; would

lowering the charter minimum increase interesting in new charters? o Concerns voiced about minimum number enforcement (i.e.: Ft. St. John had 3

members for a long time, had we enforced a minimum we would have lost them and now they are 20 strong and contributing back to District)

o When guests visit clubs encourage the club to track that (how many come back, how many join)

o Clubs that don’t currently have a Club Membership Director are encouraged to do so; Adrian would like to connect to Club Membership Directors; wants to form a connection to the Clubs

o For clubs who are unclear about their roles DG’s can encourage presidents to share job descriptions with newly installed Club Executive members

o How do you use your service projects to bring in new members?o Does the club have in internal mentor to mentor new members as they enter

the club and get to know Kin?

Governors – Cathleen & Allen

Tera Blake : Question? Social media etiquette Communicating on social media, public image, who should set guidelines for public

media posting, how do we prevent social media becoming a barrier Discussion after Tera spoke included:

o Image: what people see and think we are is what we are to themo Sometimes social media conversations become confrontational and

argumentative DG’s are encouraged to make clubs aware of dangers without bringing down a

hammer Clubs may need to have administrators assigned to social media postings Individuals may need to have disclaimers about personal vs club opinions “I would like to go on the record”… statements of clarity What are acceptable procedures for a club to follow? Current executive can decide who has access to social media accounts and can

decide who and how those pages will be administrated; some members of the council were of a different opinion and that restricting admin access might cause issues; questions around having only one admin have access; communications position and governors will have admin access

If you see something that you feel is inappropriate on social media then administrators have the authority to pull comments or posts that are

Kirk Blake: Question ?

Executive Reports & Goals: Awards: Past Governors

o Pat and Susan will be doing awards this year as Jacquie is movingo Al and Cathleen will do awards next yearo Discussion was difficult to hear over the video link

Wellness Break

The Full Games

District Foundation Report As printed LeAnne will attend mid-term

What’s A “Zone Progress Tracker”

National Director’s Report No current report

Communication:o Conference Calls –

Third week of each month beginning July – What day is best? Line can be used by anyone, just let us know the date for availabilityCalls have long distance charges – check your phone planCall in number: 1-760-569-0111 and access code: 1067951

o Dropbox – Forms, Installations, Minutes, Budgets, etc. o Emails

o Try to avoid forwarding, forwarding, forwardingo What about posting things to the website and then allowing emails to links?o Can we count on club presidents to share information to club membership?o Feedback shared about challenges with presidents forwarding information

that has been shared; there is a link breaks; if the information is better and laid out more effectively would it increase interest in the information that has been shared?

o Would expect some backlash if Council was emailing all individual members of the club

o Have to make communication as easy as possible for people to engageo People need to see the value in what is being communicated C.C. Allen and Cathleen on emails Respond only if you are sent the email – do not use “reply all” if not

needed District email addresses – SET THEM UP AND USE THEM ??????

Kimberly Bedry: How important is history and ….. in the way we run our Association? Kim feels history is very important Traditions are important but ever changing in line with the changing diversity of our

country and Association If we get too deeply stuck in tradition we would not be moving forward (i.e.: K-40,

Kinettes would not be full members) Kim is not comfortable speaking with a paper in front of her Discussion from DLS brought up (Kin Prayer, Kinette voting rights) What does the team think about changing the Kin Grace at District Convention?

(conversation occurred that could not be clearly heard over video); we have one more meeting before District to decide how we want to approach this; how does the grace impact new members? How many people say grace before they eat meals? How many are uncomfortable saying grace at Kin functions?

Discussion around how the Kin song may impact people’s initial opinion of the Association more than the Kin Grace would

Don Dunajtschik Question ?

Wellness Break

The Full Games Challenge

Executive Reports & Goals: Risk Manager – Kelli Pollock

o Risk management is really everyone’s responsibilityo To keep club in good standing you need to fill out proof of incorporation, pay

dues, complete club reporting form and club insurance formo Forms are on the national websiteo Log in password and membership number (found on your roster) o Everything you need to fill out insurance forms is on the websiteo Forms are very straightforwardo Keep National informed about events so that you can make sure that you are

protected by insurance o Ensure you are adequately insured for public events and for

clubhouses/propertieso Make sure that you file your T3 forms and complete all

casino/licensing/raffle reporting requirementso After filing taxes and reporting you need to file a proof of incorporationo What were the biggest problems last year? – forms will not be mailed out, all

forms are online only; if clubs are waiting for a paper copy in the mail they will never be able to complete the reporting requirements

Service Director – Cameron Kempo As printedo Major change will be how we present the project information at District

Convention; focus at the Service Luncheon will be on club projects rather than having CF/STAR speakers; every few years we should be trying to do something different; need pictures, videos and experiences from D4 projects, will include speakers from the club level

o Cameron will be sending information to clubs to request that clubs gather that information throughout the year so it’s easier to gather around District

o Would like support from the team to attend events and volunteer across the District as Cameron will not be able to attend everything that he is invited to throughout the year (attend as Acting Service Director”; this also helps prepare Executive Members to consider taking on District Service Director in coming years

Communications Director – Margo Dicko Asked how many have been on the D4 websiteo Would like to gather ideas from the team about how the website should be

set up Feedback from Amber that could not be heard clearly over video Keep event calendar current and detailed Links to forms Want site to be user friendly and easy to navigate Most current versions of information resources

Hilary Thorne: How would we promote Kin Kollege and convince members to go?

Hilary’s personal club experience is that there was no convincing needed; 3 members wanted to attend and club had to draw out of a hat; her club discussed sending members based on seniority

Kin Kollege is a great opportunity; since DG’s have not attended then DG’s are encouraged to share their own experience from DLS as the experiences are similar

Encourage the alumni to share their experiences Stay connected with the friends you make and continue the momentum and inter-

clubbing Margo shared some personal experience from Kin Kollege (difficult to hear her over

the video)

Glenn Head: Do we feel it’s more important to donate your time to local projects or District projects?

It is important to donate locally but it’s also important to think of the big picture and the impact that cross District/cross Association donations can have

Donating outside of the club level can impact people at a broader level Helping in your own community is important as well

Installations: Template for certificates – (in Dropbox & copies out to DG’s) Toasts (be prepared) Ceremonies on Dropbox Installation Short Form

National 2014 Toronto Ontario Who is attending? Shirts Seating together (what day?) Attendance for all meetings Cheque to Shawn to be cashed if business not attended

Amber Standen: What benefit ….. Benefits of club members venturing outside of the club level are difficult to put into

words The excitement, the passion and the energy come back with you Seeing the speakers and seeing the impact at a Convention, seeing how other clubs

work, hearing about other club’s projects all mean that the club’s get nothing but better than benefit from sending members to conventions

Tom Simpson: Many life experiences are association with Kinsmen Shared personal experience in other clubs before joining Medicine Hat Being part of a club lets you meet all kind of people, take on ambitious projects, step

out of your comfort zone, feeling of camaraderie, sharing common goals Our founder – website searching helped Tom discover details about young Hal

Rogers

Questions that came to Tom: what keeps people coming back? What drives people to step up and take on more responsibilities?

Kin fellowship is like crack

Wrap-Up: Questions /Answers Parking Lot / Unfinished Business Round Table Good of Kin Sergeant At Arms The Full Games winning team announced

Announcementso First videoconference/teleconference

o July , 2014 DGs 7:00 Executive 8:00

o District Eventso Kin Kollege Sept 26-28 Camp URSAo FLC Kinettes – October 24-25 High Rivero FLC Kinsmen – October 24-25 Brookso Bowling- November 2, 2014 Stettlero Curling- January 24-25, 2014 St. Albert Kinsmeno Mid-Term Date: TBD, 2015 Camp URSAo District Campout – Ponoka – late July TBD

Adjournment