June 18: Sutton Hears the Call to Action and Answers Heartily

The Portraits of Honour national tour spent a sunny day in Sutton on Saturday, with hundreds of visitors coming by to view the portraits. The day began with a formal ceremony attended by local and provincial dignitaries, Kin members, legionnaires, and most touchingly, family members of fallen soldiers.

Mother of Warrant Officer Robert Wilson, Anne Wilson, spoke to the crowd about the belief that her son had in making a difference. She encouraged Canadians to truly be proud of our troops and the impact they are making internationally. 

The father of Trooper Larry Rudd and the mother of Corporal Joshua Baker also visited the Portraits of Honour and had the opportunity to speak with artist, Dave Sopha.

As day turned to evening, attendees for the gala dinner began arriving at the Kin Community Center, stopping to view the portraits before proceeding inside. Once inside they enjoyed a lovely three-course dinner, speeches, a silent auction and an excitement filled live auction featuring the Mayor of Sutton as auctioneers assistant.

A local  volunteer had even hand carved a large wooden  panel with the Portraits of Honour dove and the Kin Canada logo, which was submitted to the auction, subsequently bid upon, and once won, donated back to artist Dave Sopha who was honoured to receive it along with a significant donation from the kinette club of Sutton.

The room was alive with energy and chatter well into the evening, but one could clearly see quieter emotion on the faces of the organizing committee, who shared just how important it was for them to support the project. Talking about their introduction to the project many months ago an organizer stated, “ We just HAD to do it.”