Division 7:

Brampton, Ontario

Governor Gary updates Kiwanians at the Division 7 caucus meeting.

The City of Brampton, the third largest city in the greater Toronto area, is home for the Kiwanis Club of Brampton and our Lieutenant Governor, Mark Brewer and Linda.

We began our Governor's visit with a tour of Brampton and update on the Kiwanis clubs of Division 7. We had the opportunity to visit the youth centre that now serves as official "club house" for the Brampton club. They are fortunate to have a permanent space to display their banners and awards. When not in use by Kiwanis, they rent out the facility to local nonprofit groups thereby acting as an ongoing fundraiser for the club.

The Brampton Club has just completed their Celebrity Clowns fundraising event. Here, local celebrities donate $500 to Kiwanis for the privilege of dressing up as a circus clown and participating in the Santa Claus Parade. The event serves as a major club fundraiser, outreach project and team builder for the club.

President Murray Lang and Governor Gary induct new Kiwanian Frank.

Our caucus meeting took place in Etobicoke, hosted by President Robert Fleischman and the 47 Kiwanians of the Kiwanis Club of Kingsway Humber.

Of particular note was that the Kiwanis Club of Islington chose this venue to demonstrate real Kiwanis Growth in action. Together with President Murray Lang we inducted new Kiwanian Frank into our family.

Enthusiastic reports were presented by the presidents of all visiting clubs. The Secretary of the Casa Loma club, Harold Roebuck, gave us a quick history of their involvement with the Toronto showpiece, including a recount of having to replace all of the castle's windows when they first took over the project.

District Growth Chair, Past Governor Chuck McIlravey and Dorothy.

At the conclusion of the caucus meeting we adjourned and partook in a Governor's lunch meeting. We were delighted to be joined by a large number of Kiwanians including Past Lieutenant Governor Barnaby Ross and Past Governor (Growth Chair) Chuck McIlravey and Dorothy.

We were entertained by local youth group, The Samba Kidz. Founded in 2005, the Samba Kidz encourages children to discover their creativity through music, art and drama in a non-competitive and supportive environment.

Their mandate is to inspire and empower the inner-city youth in Toronto through participation in the arts. They treated us to an energetic display of drumming (to a Samba beat) and got the Kiwanians and guests to "rise to the occasion" and take an active part in the event.

Governor Gary, Lieutenant Governor Mark Brewer and President Murray Lang.

Our leadership team believes in The Power of One. We know that Kiwanis growth begins with one Kiwanian inviting one guest to take part in a meeting or event. At lunch, Lieutenant Governor Mark and I celebrated the Power of One by calling President Murray Lang to the stage to accept a pin on our behalf.

For Slide Show Please Click Here