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01/30/2019 07:30 AMHilary Kumnick of Killingworth has always believed in the power of volunteering to serve his community, and now he’s teaching others the leadership skills they need to do the same.
Before retirement, Hilary worked for 37 years in the manufacturing industry, and rose to the rank of vice president. He began his career as a sheet metal worker in his trade years. Now, he still works part-time for a family-owned industrial ventilation business in Bloomfield, but the rest of his time is devoted to his work as a Lion.
The year was 1997, and Hilary was invited to join Lions Clubs International.
“Membership is an invitation by local officials,” Hilary explains. “They saw my work on town committees. These were guys who were very active on the boards of Selectmen and Finance.”
By 2001, Hilary was serving as president of the local club, a role he accepted again in 2011. Now, Hilary is a council chair, supporting a district of clubs within the international organization.
Among his proudest achievements are that he was “the first in at least a decade to form two new clubs, [which is] a big deal. I was [the] organizer in three out of four of the district’s new clubs in the last few years.”
The process always begins with a first selectman, but it’s a sizable undertaking.
“I will start a new club in Cromwell this year,” he says.
Positive membership and donations growth has been another cornerstone of Hilary’s service.
“I turned around donations to form a positive trend for two years,” he says. “Now we have to make it a long-term trend.”
How has he helped increase donations?
“I write a ton of grants,” Hilary says, “it’s one of my niches.”
Recently, he helped procure funding for Fidelco guide dog vans as part of the Lions Clubs’ Vision Quest program.
Vision Quest involves local vision screenings using Lions KidSight, which “will screen 80,000 children in Connecticut this year,” according to Hilary.
The screenings identify correctable vision concerns.
“Better vision equals better education and a better school climate,” Hilary says.
Kids who need vision care and can’t afford it can receive anonymous assistance through the local Lions Club.
“We run at a 10- to 12-percent referral rate in suburban towns,” Hilary says.
Diabetes and measles are two additional health-related battles Lions Clubs are fighting and making progress with, but Hilary says that more funding and more work lies ahead.
In order to meet goals such as Vision Quest and other health initiatives, effective leadership is necessary.
“There’s a strong leadership development aspect in Lions Club International,” Hilary says, and he’s been training and teaching future leaders to take the reins and expand Lions Clubs International.
“Lions Club tapped me as a faculty member to teach advanced Lions leadership,” Hilary says. “Now I’m going to Reno to the training facility. It’s enjoyable, challenging, and I get a lot out of it.”
Hilary attributes his enjoyment of imparting knowledge and skills to his background—“I come from a family of teachers.”
But it’s not just family history. Hilary has coached for years. He started in youth sports, coaching baseball, soccer, and and basketball.
“One year I coached seven teams,” Hilary says. “My last stint coaching was high school lacrosse [at Haddam-Killingworth High School]. I coached the J.V. team to its first victory.”
Coaching, like teaching, isn’t really about winning, but the confidence that comes with it, he says.
“Teaching those young men...the feeling of winning will stay with me,” Hilary says. “It was very special...If they asked me to coach again, I would.”
Hilary’s decision to focus most of his energy on the Lions Club was accompanied by soul searching.
“After a bout with cancer in 2010,” Hilary says, he realized that he couldn’t burn the candle at both ends. “I reached a crossroads. I could either run for public office or go 100 percent into Lions. I chose Lions.”
The Lions Club has “supported every initiative in town,” Hilary says. “We built or funded two ramps. We sponsor scholarships, scouts, and [collect] food for the hungry. We don’t turn people down. When there’s a need, there’s a Lion.”
Hilary has devoted his life thus far to volunteering and education—whether in the Lions Club or on the field. In retirement, he plans to continue to build Lions Clubs in his four-country district. He also plans to travel with his wife Laurie after she retires.
“In the 1980s,” Hilary says, “we traveled in South America.”
Laurie worked as a principal of a school in Colombia, and Hilary put to good use his spark for education as a preschool teacher.
“We honeymooned in Colombia, too,” Hilary adds, “and adopted [our] two sons [there]. We’ve been there many dozens of times.”
He wouldn’t mind visiting again.
Hilary’s work in the community has been recognized with the Connecticut Secretary of the State’s Public Service Award, the 2013 Middlesex County Volunteer of the Year Award, and induction into the Haddam-Killingworth Hall of Fame.
To nominate a person of the week in Madison or Killingworth, email m.mcnellis@shorepublishing.com.