ASSINIBOIA - The Kinette Club of Assiniboia held a 20th anniversary celebration at St. George’s Parish Hall on September 24. Life Membership honours were awarded to charter members, Lorraine Duxbury and Raelynn Nicholson.
The Kin Canada National President, Cameron Kemp, was in attendance, congratulating the club for their 20th anniversary, and also personally presenting both Duxbury and Nicholson with their plaques of recognition for their respective life memberships.
The past Saskatchewan District Governor, Michelle Stepp, a member of the Lloydminster Kinette Club, also participated in and attended the event. Stepp toasted to Kin Canada and touched on all the good work done by Kin clubs in the province, namely TeleMiracle.
Assiniboia Mayor, Sharon Schauenberg and her husband Kevin were invited as special guests. Mayor Schauenberg prepared a speech highlighting the impact the Kinettes have made in our community and thanked them for their service throughout the past 20 years, wishing them the best in the future.
The evening emcee and Assiniboia Kinette, Corie Ruzicka-Olson, provided a brief history of the club. In 1949, Assiniboia’s first Kinette Club was formed, as female counterparts to the existing Kinsmen Club. They remained active until the dissolution of the club in the early 90s, with their last President being Leslie Engstrom.
In May 2002, sponsored by the Mossbank Kinettes, the Kinette Club of Assiniboia was re-chartered. Five Charter Members remain active in the club to this day: Lorraine Duxbury, Raelynn Nicholson, Corie Ruzicka-Olson, Cath Sinclair and Dionne Tjeltveit.
Tjeltveit was instrumental in the re-charter of the Assiniboia Kinettes - at the time, she had been a member of the club sponsoring the re-charter, the Mossbank Kinettes. Jesse Shkuratoff was also a Mossbank Kinette at the time of Assiniboia’s re-charter, and has since transferred to the Assiniboia Kinettes. Both Tjeltveit and Shkuratoff have held several positions in the Saskatchewan District Executive, TeleMiracle Committee, and/or Kinsmen Foundation Board.
A Life Membership is presented to members of a club, at the discretion of fellow Kin, who have made a significant impact on their club and/or Kin Canada. It is considered the highest honour within the Kin Canada Association and Life Members are identified by their gold-coloured badges.
Nicholson is currently the vice-chair of the Kinsmen Foundation Board, having been elected to this position at the most recent provincial convention.
Nicholson has held numerous executive positions within the Assiniboia Kinettes. She has also been part of Telemiracle’s planning committee and the District executive.
Duxbury is currently on the Kin Canada National Board of Directors, but also recently served two back-to-back terms as President of the Assiniboia Kinettes, leading them through the COVID pandemic. She also served as the vice-chair, chair and past-chair of the Kinsmen Foundation board from 2012-2015, among others.
Several community members and Assiniboia Kinettes, both past and present, were in attendance at the event. The tables included a card that listed all the members of the re-chartered club since 2002. This list is proof that the club has a proud history of volunteerism in the community, with many of the former members still active in other volunteer roles within the community.
The Assiniboia Kinettes’ motto is “Give back, make friends, have fun”, which was on full display for the event. New connections were formed, the room was filled with laughter, $780 was raised for TeleMiracle through a 50/50 draw, and they celebrated a group of amazing women who have created a legacy of service to the community that will continue for years to come.
