Row Ontario and Ontario Sailing Announce New Member Services Coordinator
Announcement/ Feb 9

Row Ontario and Ontario Sailing Announce New Member Services Coordinator


Ontario Sailing and Row Ontario are pleased to announce that Kathleen Rankin will join both organizations in early March as the new Member Services Coordinator.

Last year the two provincial sport organizations announced an expansion to their collaborative programming to support the growth and development of member clubs across the province. The joint hiring of Rankin represents the next step in that process, as she will support Member Services Manager Lisa Roddie to increase support with club governance and operations for the almost 200 rowing and sailing clubs in the province.

“Through the recent strategic planning process that Ontario Sailing conducted, the message from our member organizations was clearly in support of the services provided through the COAST program and the request was to increase those services and communication about what is available to our members,” said Glenn Lethbridge ED of Ontario Sailing. “We are thrilled we have found an individual that will be able to support the program and increase our capacity to serve the needs of our members. The partnership with Row Ontario, the COAST program and the service level it provides are greatly valued.”

“We are delighted to jointly announce with Ontario Sailing the hiring of Kathleen as the Member Services Coordinator,” said Andrew Backer, CEO of Row Ontario. “Growing the club governance resources we provide to our member clubs has been a goal of ours and we think Kathleen’s work will greatly benefit our ability to deliver enhanced member services. We are excited to add her to the team and look forward to the increased resources we can provide to our clubs.”

Rankin has a strong background in administration and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations from St. Thomas University as well as a Master of Arts in Political Studies from Queen’s University. Along with Roddie she will work within the COAST program to increase club’s impact on their communities and their sports. Over the last five years, a changing sports landscape has led to member clubs facing an increased workload with regards to topics such as ONCA, safe sport, human resources as well as challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. More resources in these areas were needed and adding Rankin to the staff teams represents a commitment from both provincial sport organizations to continue to provide increased support to the foundation of both sports.