Earl Pennington receives recognition with Hal Rogers Fellow Award and Kinsmen of the Year

Earl Pennington (right) receives Kinsmen of the Year Award.

By: Kate Smith

It was in April 1987, nearly 40 years ago, when Earl Pennington joined the Kinsmen Club of Goderich.

Pennington was at a Buck and Doe when a friend approached him and asked if he would be interested in attending a Kinsmen meeting.

“I didn’t know what Kinsmen was,” admitted Pennington.

“Since we had recently moved to Goderich, I decided to go to a meeting to see what it was about and maybe meet some new people. The rest is history.”

Since then, Pennington has been involved in many fundraisers, served as chairs to raise funds for charities, led projects to better serve the Goderich community, and competed at national level speaking conventions.

At one of the Kinsmen Club of Goderich’s latest meetings this year, Pennington was honoured with receiving two distinctions – the Hal Rogers Fellow Award and the Kinsmen of the Year – for his distinguished Kin career with extreme levels of involvement.

With these latest awards, Pennington admits he was choked up when he received the Kinsmen of the Year at the club’s last meeting this year but was totally shocked when the District Governor took the podium and read off the award information for the Kin Fellow Award.

“Words can’t describe the feeling knowing not only my club, but the entire association recognised what I have done for Kin and for our community,” Pennington remarked.

A week following this, Pennington received a letter from Kin’s National President explaining he had also received the Kin Canada National President Recognition Award.

“What a week,” stated Pennington.

“I was on cloud nine and it took awhile for me to come back down to earth that week.”

Kin Canada’s Hal Rogers Fellow Award is the highest honour bestowed by the Kin Canada Foundation, recognising individuals who have made significant contributions to their community.

Hal Rogers was the founder of Kin Canada, a major network of community service organisations dedicated to fellowship and philanthropy.

Rogers was a Canadian entrepreneur and First World War veteran, known for leadership and dedication to community service.

His legacy continues through the organisation’s network of clubs across Canada, focused on volunteerism and community engagement.

This award is the highest formal presentation designed to honour individuals who made outstanding contributions to their community and consistently embody the ideals of the organisation’s founder.

In a letter addressed to Pennington, Patrick R. Bowers, National President of Kin Canada expressed his admiration of Pennington’s efforts over the years.

“Your leadership has strengthened your club, uplifted your community, and embodied the very best of what Kin stands for,” wrote Bowers.

“You saw what needed to be done, and you made it happen, not for recognition but because it was right…Thank you for your vision, your dedication, and your unwavering commitment to service.”

The other distinction, the Kinsmen of the Year award, is voted on by the club members with a secret ballot process.

It is no secret why Pennington has been honoured with these awards, when his vision, determination and leadership have helped change the future of the community.

Although a severe introvert, Pennington attributes his time in Kinsmen as a major factor to overcoming his fear of public speaking.

This led him to win the District Level of the Gord Harbinson Public Speaking competition and compete at National Convention.

As soon as Pennington joined the Kinsmen Club, he became involved in all aspects of Kin, and he achieved the Maple Leaf, Outstanding Maple Leaf and Founders Award for Achievement within his first four years of membership.

After making his way up the ranks of the club executive, Pennington became Club President in 1993, and Zone K Deputy Governor in 1994.

Pennington was awarded his Life Membership in 2002 and shortly after, he served as District One Service Director as well as a Kin-CF Liaison Committee member in the 2003-2004 Kin Year.

Pennington started the Goderich Kinsmen annual Easter Egg Hunt in 1991, which has been happening for 35 years.

From 1999-2001, Pennington spearheaded a Kinsmen project to hold New Year’s Eve dances on the Goderich Arena floor.

At the end of 2019, the caterer retired who provided meals for the Kinsmen bi-weekly dinner meetings, and since 2020, Pennington and his wife Mary voluntarily stepped up to prepare and serve meals at every dinner meeting for six years and counting.

Since 2020, Pennington has been instrumental in championing many functional upgrades to the Goderich Kinsmen Centre building. This including repainting the walls and ceilings, replacing the floors, installing new A/V equipment, obtaining grants and funding for an accessible three-level chair life, as well as upgrading the kitchen with new ovens and sinks.

In 2021 through 2022, Pennington co-chaired a community effort along the Rotary Club to fundraise for, design and built outdoor pickleball courts for public use in Goderich.

In 2025, the Goderich community rallied to save the Memorial Arena and Community Centre from an unknown fate after the arena floor cooling system was decommissioned, and the overall state of the building led it to be closed.

A group of Service Clubs came forward to try and resurrect the building into a multi-use Community Centre and Pennington volunteered to be part of the organising committee as a representative of the Goderich Kinsmen Club. He continues to volunteer his time at the Community Centre in 2026.

Between 2023-2025, Pennington stepped forward to lead not one, but two major construction and renovation projects that would redefine accessibility, inclusion and community service in Goderich.

The first was the installation of a new chair life and elevator system inside the Goderich Kinsmen Centre. This involved planning, coordination, fundraising, and hours of hands-on involvement.

The second was the construction of a new accessibility friendly pavilion in the Kinsmen/Kinette Park.

This pavilion stands as a welcoming, inclusive space.

Over the years Pennington looks back at his time with the Kinsmen fondly, having experienced so many great things with the group.

When attending his first meeting, it was difficult for Pennington, who is an introvert. But through meetings and giving reports over the years, he soon grew more comfortable in front of others.

This growth in confidence for public speaking has been one of the great experiences for Pennington.

Another fond memory is winning the District 1 Speaking Contest, which propelled Pennington to speak at the National Convention.

Throughout his time as a Kinsmen, Pennington has won Kinsmen of the Year, received a Life Membership, was chairman, and led the move to charter a new Kin Club in Mitchell.

“Being a part of the Kinsmen Club in Goderich is still the highlight of my Kin Career since I joined,” admitted Pennington.

When Pennington was the District 1 CF Service Director in 2004-2005, he was responsible for raising $250,000 towards Cystic Fibrosis (CF), Kin’s National Charity.

Pennington and his wife Mary came up with the idea of hosting a District 1 Vacation Trip to raise funds, and 21 years later, people are still going on these yearly trips to raise money for CF.

Kinsmen Club of Goderich is very active in the community, and Pennington finds joy from seeing people have fun at one of their events or fundraisers.

Pennington attributes becoming more of an open person to his time with the Kinsmen.

“I have said many times that everything I have done or achieved is due to my time in Kin,” he reflected.

“Every aspect of Kin helps you to gain confidence and improve your organisational skills.”

Pennington has had a distinguished career with Kinsmen Club of Goderich for nearly 40 years, and has no plans to stop contributing to the community.