An important change took place in mid-2008 when the Timmins Club of Timmins welcomed its first female member.
http://www.timminspress.com/2008/07/23/kiwanis-sets-new-course
Source: The Daily Press – July 23, 2008
It’s a sign of the times. But a very positive sign more organizations are sure to follow. The Kiwanis Club of Timmins has introduced its first female member as Crystal Luckett was asked to join as detailed in a front page story in The Daily Press last week.
The Kiwanis Club of Timmins has been around for more than 80 years since forming back in 1923 and after more than eight decades of doing quality community work, Luckett surprisingly was the first female invited to join the club.
Luckett was invited to conduct a presentation for the Kiwanis Club about the CNIB early intervention program for blind and low-vision children.
She obviously made an impression as the club’s senior membership decided to invite Luckett to join the previous all-boys’ club.
She gladly accepted.
“I was looking for an organization to join, but I didn’t want to volunteer for the same company I work for,” Luckett told Daily Press reporter Jessica Young.
Luckett said she didn’t realize she was to become the first female Kiwanis member in the Timmins organization.
Her presentation happened to fall on the same day Kiwanis members invite their wives out for Mother’s Day at Siva’s Restaurant in Timmins, where weekly meetings are held.
“I was a little bit surprised and a little bit excited to be the first female member,” she said.
Luckett has quickly become an active member as she assisted with organizing bingo and the inaugural Angler and Young Angler fishing tournament held recently.
“It’s definitely exciting,” she said. “You meet lots of new people and it’s nice to know you’re doing something for the community.”
President-elect Marc Mayer said the organization is ecstatic to bring Luckett into the fold as the Kiwanis’ first female member.
“She’s the first recruit of the new generation,” he said. Secretary Jim Chisholm said the group had been planning to introduce female and younger members for some time now and he’s pleased it’s finally happened.
“We’re out for younger members,” he said. “We were all gung-ho for it to happen.”
Luckett is now urging more female members to come forward and join the Kiwanis.
Her pleas were heard quickly as her sister Natachia said she’s interested in joining as well. She will have to wait until she turns age 18 in November, but Natachia is very excited about becoming the organization’s youngest member in the near future.
The fact is people who are interested in assisting their community should not be divided by gender.
It doesn’t matter if you’re male or female, young or old, wanting to be part of an organization that makes a difference in your community is what volunteering is all about.
However, the Kiwanis Club of Timmins is to be congratulated for no longer being an all-male organization and reaching out to a quality young woman like Crystal Luckett.
If organizations like the Kiwanis Club have any hope of continuing to do good work, they are going to have to introduce younger members and female members and having Luckett on board is certainly a nice move in the right direction.
This is what you call a win-win situation for the Kiwanis Club of Timmins as well as local citizens as Luckett will continue to do good work for this community for years to come.
