The Okotoks Legion is looking back on 10 years of service while looking to the future as its search for a dedicated space continues.
Officially chartered on Oct. 29, 2014, Royal Canadian Legion Branch #291 was at the time the first new Legion branch in 33 years.
It succeeded the original Okotoks Legion, which was dissolved in the early 1990s due to dwindling numbers. Despite that, founder Malcolm Hughes saw the need for a local Legion branch after moving to town.
"I found that there were an enormous number of veterans here," said Hughes, who started the Okotoks branch as District 5 Commander of the Royal Canadian Legion. "Within no time at all, we had more than 50 members."
By the time the Legion branch was officially chartered, it had well over 130 members. Today, the Okotoks Legion has over 190 members.
Over the last 10 years, the Legion has contributed more than $500,000 to various local causes, including over $20,000 yearly in scholarships and bursaries for students, said Hughes.
"We're contributing a great deal into the community," he said.
The decade-long journey hasn't been without its bumps, with the group's largest obstacle being its ongoing search for a building to call its own.
While there's been support from organizations like the Elks, which provide a venue for the Legion's meetings, the fact remains that the Legion's lack of a dedicated space is a serious issue.
"Older Legions have their buildings provided, built and looked after by local communities, as those veterans returned from World War One, World War Two and Korea," explained Hughes.
"There was a different view in the communities and they were willing to provide a place for those veterans. Times have changed, the economy has changed, everything else has changed, and so we're having great difficulty."
Many prospective members have decided not to join the Okotoks Legion because of its lack of a building, said Hughes, while many have left after a year or two.
According to Okotoks Legion secretary Mandie Barker, at least 75 people have ended their memberships and cited the lack of a building as the reason over the last 10 years.
"People join the Legion so that they can be with like-minded people. Otherwise, they join the Rotary or they join the Scouts, or they join something different, but they come to a Legion because they're veterans or because they have a connection to the military," she explained.
"They come to us for a specific kind of interaction, and by not having a building, we're not giving them that."
The Legion's membership is primarily composed of recent conflicts such as Afghanistan, Bosnia, Iraq and the Cold War.
"More than half, over 90 people, in our Legion are actual members of the armed forces who have served," said Barker. "That's huge, because I don't know that there's many other Legions have that number of veterans in their numbers."
In an ideal scenario, Barker would like to see the Legion located in a building that can accommodate quiet rooms and counselling services to help provide therapy for conditions such as severe PTSD, as well as modern amenities such as a kitchen.
"Buildings are not just magically going to appear," she acknowledged.
"We have a building fund that we are slowly but surely building. We are working towards that and we will always continue to work towards that."
Proceeds from the Legion's fundraising events primarily go toward the building fund.
"When we have any event that we can put the money to the building fund, we do... we try, but we're limited in what we can do," she said, adding the problem with raising funds by hosting bigger events is that renting venues costs money, which hinders fundraising efforts.
As it works toward achieving its goal of securing a building, the Legion is continuing its work to serve the community, with all proceeds from the Poppy Fund going toward local charitable initiatives.
"Every penny of poppy money that is raised in Okotoks stays in Okotoks," said Barker.
With that in mind, Barker hopes to see Canada's military history continue to be honoured.
"It's important that we remember the fallen, that we teach the children what was given up for them to be able to live the lives that they live," said Barker. "We just have to keep teaching, and having a Legion in town is part of that."
The Okotoks Legion currently meets out of the Elks Hall on the second Tuesday of every month.
Learn more about the Okotoks Legion on its website or Facebook page, and contact the group at [email protected].
