As soon as their front door opened, I could feel that the Kool family was a strong blended family unit. Rob and Candace were especially warm and welcoming; eight year old Sydney had an engaging, magnetic smile; and there was something about the way fourteen year old, Mitchell, shook hands that said he was a particularly solid teenager. Haley and Maxwell weren't there at the time.

We had arrived to shoot a Hidden Heroes feature on twelve year old, Megan, for Shaw's Channel 4 - I'll tell you more about her next week.

As we entered their home, there was an indescribable smoothness in the way members of the family related to one another - They were definitely a team and it seemed as if each person was committed to doing his or her part.

Perhaps the best example of this commitment to family success happened as we were in the back yard shooting Megan. When I looked into the house, there were Sydney and Mitchell sitting quietly around the dining room table doing school work. With all this excitement going on - it's not every day you're invaded by television cameras - there they were studying; doing the right thing. It sure impressed me.

Soon after that I noticed a plaque featuring their family vision statement, "Servant Leadership". It took them six months working together to come up with that statement Candace told me. It's a description of their family's purpose and commitment. During that same six months they identified 85 family values and they are continuing to add to that list.

It was this commitment to a mutually held positive family vision that I felt as soon as the front door opened; a commitment to work not only for the seven of them but for generations to come.

Rob and Candace first learned about this family visioning process when they met Greg and Rhonda Gunn at a business conference in Palm Springs.

In the late 1990s Greg and Rhonda were encouraged by their Associate Pastor to work on a family vision statement to help them create a greater sense of purpose. That led to them developing a Family Vision ministry/workshop.

Rob and Candace have been so impressed with what this workshop has done for their family that they are about to sponsor their third Nanaimo workshop.

Greg and Rhonda will be at the First Baptist Church, 1650 Waddington Road on Friday May 30 from 7:00 to 9:50 pm and Saturday May 31 from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm. Breakfast and lunch will be provided on Saturday. The cost is $80 per couple, $35 for singles and $15 for teenagers. Special breakout sessions are scheduled for singles and also for blended families. To register email rckool@telus.net.

Like many readers of this column, I consider myself spiritual but not religious. That said Rob and Candace assure me that, although this workshop definitely has a Christian foundation, all are welcome.

If it does for your family half of what I have seen in the Kool family, you won't want to miss it.