The Martensville & District Kinsmen Club (MKC) is celebrating their 30th anniversary which also coincides with their milestone of reaching $1 million raised within their district. The group first started when four local residents came together for the betterment of the community. Initially, the foursome met in the basement of the Adobe Inn, became chartered and began raising money for the community. Shortly after, the Martensville Sports Centre was constructed and the Kinsmen contributed some of the funds they raised to the project and the Kin Room was created.
The 30th anniversary celebration will consist of a meal and dance for approximately 60 people, including the Martensville & District Kinsmen Club, other Kin members and former Kin members. Steve Smith, the only remaining original member of the local organization will be doing the cooking for the event. For anyone that knows Steve, they will not be surprised at his involvement in the milestone celebration. “Steve has been a dedicated member of the Kinsmen Club since its beginning so we want to celebrate him, along with other members that have been involved for the past 20 years,” MKC Secretary, James Dietrich explained. The formal program for the event will include an introduction about the club, some information about their history of events and details about their involvement with TeleMiracle over the years
Throughout each year, the Kinsmen Club either hosts or attends numerous events to help raise money for the communities they support including pancake breakfasts, working the bar at weddings and other events, working bingos and more. For the past several years, they have hosted their annual Chicken and Chuckles comedy night; however, this year, they will be doing something a little different. On Friday, May 31st during Buster Days, they will be hosting a ‘Piggies & Giggles’ comedy night. This event, done in partnership with a Saskatoon Kinettes Group, will be part of a Netflix regional Saskatchewan tour of five locations, which has the potential to be a documentary special on the streaming service. “It will be bigger than we have ever done before and will include five different comedians and a pulled pork meal. We will be announcing more information about the event as it approaches, so be sure to keep an eye out,” Ryan Cocks, the MKC Vice President, said.
Cocks, whose parents were both involved in Kin Clubs over the years, joined the Martensville & District Kinsmen Club approximately four years ago. “I had a couple of friends join, so decided I would see what it was all about and after finding out about all of the things they do, I decided to get involved and help give back to my community,” Cocks explained. After “tagging along to numerous events as a child,” Cocks had seen the benefit that being involved with a Kin Club could have.
Not only do the Kinsmen contribute to the community, they also believe in contributing to other groups within the community including the local Air Cadets, Martensville Community Recreation Project, Martensville Free Pantry, Voyage Club and more. “Our mandate is to serve the community’s greatest needs, so that is our goal when deciding where to donate funds,” Dietrich noted. Each year, the local Kinsmen Club contributes to the TeleMiracle fundraiser by providing rides for those involved. Additionally, every second year, when the Prairie Women on Snowmobiles come through the area, the Kinsmen help sponsor a fundraising event for the group.
Currently, the MKC consists of 17 members and has seen much growth in the past five years. “We have had numerous younger members getting involved, have had some guys leave and have had others come back after taking some time off as well. It was good to get some of the younger guys involved. They brought new energy and ideas into the group and because of that; we are doing a lot more than we were ten years ago. We have much more of a community focus, which is partly because of the new members, and partly because of our president, Arnie Deschner, who has a desire to make us better to do more things for our community,” Dietrich added.
For anyone that is interested in getting involved with the MKC, they can either attend one of their meetings that take place the first Monday of every month in the Kin Room at the Martensville Sports Centre at 7pm, or contact Arnie Deschner at (306) 975-3951. “Thank you to our community for always coming out and supporting our events, we appreciate your support more than we can ever express,” Dietrich noted.
