The Association was founded on Feb. 20, 1920 in Hamilton, Ontario by Harold A. Rogers O.C., O.B.E. (1899-1994). Rogers was 21 and had just returned from the trenches of the First World War when his father, a prominent Rotarian, encouraged him to get together a few young men his own age. However, when Rogers decided to join the same Rotary club as his father, his application was rejected. It was the policy of the Rotary not to have two members from the same business establishment. As a result of this rejection, Rogers and a small group of men gathered for a dinner meeting and became the first Kinsmen Club - the Kinsmen Club of Hamilton, Ontario.
