I am writing to Sundre and area residents about the Sundre Branch 223 of the Royal Canadian Legion. My wife Deb and I are relatively new residents of Sundre and I transferred my 38-year legion membership from Rocky Mountain House to Sundre because we intend to stay here and we are strong believers in what the legion does. My reason for writing is to encourage you to seriously consider becoming members. The legion was founded by veterans, for veterans more than eight decades ago but demographics have changed over the years and membership is now open to any Canadian citizen, Commonwealth subject or citizen of an allied country. You only have to agree with the purposes and objectives, which are as follows: The care of our veterans, the perpetuation of remembrance and the development of the community in which you live.
But the branch in Sundre is suffering from an aged and dwindling membership. There is a small, dedicated and hardworking group who are struggling to keep it alive. You've seen them often. They are the ladies and gents who provide an honour guard at the Canada Day flag-raising ceremony and for members' funerals, who put together lovely lunches in the hall for various receptions and other catered events, who work at the barbecue suppers, who man the legion float on parade day, who solicit donations from local businesses and individuals for the Poppy Fund, which helps needy veterans, and perhaps most importantly, who organize the Remembrance Day ceremony at the cenotaph. They are not necessarily veterans themselves, although many are. What they have in common is their belief in the stated role of the legion, which is as follows: To serve veterans, new and old, and their dependants, to promote Remembrance and to act in the service of Canada and its communities.
From a community point of view, our branch has since 1947 been a strong supporter of our local seniors, youth, schools and the hospital by contributing funds and volunteer labour for a wide variety of activities, housing and equipment. It also contributes to many national programs and activities, which are too numerous to list here. The Sundre branch has an excellent facility on the east side of town that is sadly underused both as a location to host events and a place to gather socially. The problem is there just aren't enough members to organize many events or social get-togethers that most legion branches are well known for, such as games nights, crib tournaments, meat draws, bingos and so on. To lose our legion branch due to lack of membership would be a sad loss for Sundre.
The legion is not only an honourable and worthwhile organization due to its care and concern for veterans, it is a big supporter of the community in which each branch is located. If our branch is to survive and prosper — and we sincerely hope it will — the Sundre Legion needs your help. Visit us at our new website www.rcl223.ca to learn more about our branch of this iconic Canadian institution and keep an eye out for our branch event advertisements in the Round Up.
We hope to see you all at the Remembrance Day ceremony at the Legion Hall — not the community centre — at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 11.
Fred Gillies
RCL Branch 223
