We Will Remember Them

In honour of our fallen CanadiansThey shall grow not old, as we who are left grow old
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn
At the going down of the sun, and in the morning
We will remember them

In memory of our fallen Canadians:

Sgt John Faught — Afghanistan January 16, 2010

Sgt Mark Gallagher — RCMP — Haiti January 12, 2010
Supt Douglas Coates — RCMP — Haiti January 12, 2010

Always Caring — Always Canadian — Never Defeated

Support Our Troops — Wear Red on Fridays

New Year; New Look

I’m starting the year off with a new look on the blog. Seems to freshen it up. Now, it is time to get down to posting more regularly.

Let me know what you think of the new look.

We Will Remember Them

In honour of our fallen CanadiansThey shall grow not old, as we who are left grow old
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn
At the going down of the sun, and in the morning
We will remember them

In memory of our fallen Canadians:

Sgt George Miok — Afghanistan December 30, 2009
Sgt Kirk Taylor — Afghanistan December 30, 2009
Cpl Zachary McCormack — Afghanistan December 30, 2009
Pvt Garrett William Chidley — Afghanistan December 30, 2009

Michelle Lang — embedded journalist — Afghanistan December 30, 2009

Always Caring — Always Canadian — Never Defeated

Support Our Troops — Wear Red on Fridays

Spending Christmas Alone

I’ve spent Christmas alone before. The first few times, I found myself feeling rather sorry for myself, unhappy that I couldn’t be with my sister and her family. While I enjoy being with them, I’ve found that there can be a gift to myself in spending the day on my own.

I am able to spend the day without distraction or demands on me. It becomes a day for me to do as I desire. Coming at the end of two extremely busy months at the Legion, that time alone is refreshing. Time in which I know I wont be pulled away from what I’m doing, wont hear the phone ringing with telemarketers ticking me off and distracting me from what I’m doing. Read the rest of this entry

We Will Remember Him

In honour of our fallen CanadiansThey shall grow not old, as we who are left grow old
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn
At the going down of the sun, and in the morning
We will remember them

In memory of our fallen Canadian:

Lt Andrew R. Nuttall — Afghanistan December 23, 2009

Always Caring — Always Canadian — Never Defeated

Support Our TroopsWear Red on Fridays

Yesterday was the shortest day of the year, it was also the first official day of winter. We’ve been pretty fortunate so far, we’ve had very little snow so far this season. For the first time in 160 years there was zero snow in November.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t really dislike winter. I do love the beauty of a winter snowfall, even the beauty of ice clinging to trees after freezing rain. I don’t enjoy the treacherous roads the weather brings. I deal with them by refusing to budge from the house when a storm is underway or imminent.

The start of winter also brings us very close to Christmas Day, just three days away as I write this entry. I’m going to be spending a quiet day at home on Christmas Day. Depending on the weather on Christmas Eve, I will be going to church and then will settle in for a couple of days of quiet time. I’m looking forward to that time. I have some reading I want to do and some writing. Read the rest of this entry

The Legion in the Community

Life is busy, isn’t it for most of us. November and December are two of the busiest months in my year. Remembrance Day (Nov. 11th) is the most important day of the Legion year. At the same time we start taking applications for Christmas hampers. Intertwined in there, I have to show up at the office to make a few bucks to fund my volunteer time.

I was a guest at Rotary this past Monday to deliver a talk on the Legion in the community. I am sharing my talk with you:

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When I was asked to speak this evening about the Legion in the community, I have to admit I did a bit of a gulp. I know our local branch does a lot in and for the community as do branches throughout the country. To assemble that knowledge into a brief speech is a bit daunting.

Where to begin. Don’t all groups start with a mission statement?

Our mission is to serve veterans, and their dependents, promote remembrance and act in the service of Canada and its communities.

The first two elements of our mission are pretty specific, to serve veterans and their dependents and to promote remembrance. It’s the acting in the service of Canada and its communities where the picture grows pretty large. Tonight, I think the best I can do is bring you an overview and a bit of a snapshot.

The Legion is actually made up of two distinct elements, the branch and the Ladies Auxiliary, which is separately chartered but under the guidance of the branch. LA members can hold membership in the branch and many do, which creates considerable overlap between the two groups as it is not uncommon for members of the LA to be serving on the branch executive and vice versa.

Locally, the Ladies Auxiliary form the catering part of our work and when called upon they support the branch activities. So, in a very real sense, the work of the branch is the work of the LA. Read the rest of this entry