The upcoming Remembrance Day service will for the time being continue to be held at the Sundre Legion Branch No. 223.
The local legion's former president Chris Ferguson, who recently had to step down due to ongoing health concerns, had recently written town officials a request to waive the Sundre Community Centre's rental fee so the event could possibly be held at that location to accommodate the large turnout of residents who always attend the annual ceremony at the legion's hall.
Although council approved that request, the legion's general membership had not yet officially decided to hold the coming Remembrance Day service at the community centre.
“It was our intention simply to ask the town for permission to waive the fee should the legion have decided to use the facility,” said Fred Gillies, second vice- president of the Sundre Legion.
However, due to logistical challenges and limited volunteer resources to draw from, moving all the equipment from the legion to the community centre posed too great a hurdle to be able to do that this year. So the legion's membership decided not to move the ceremony away from the legion hall at this time, he said.
“We understand that it's too small a venue for everybody that wants to be there — we certainly don't want to discourage anybody from being there,” he told the Round Up.
“We would certainly strongly consider moving to a larger venue next year.”
That will in part depend on the available number of volunteers to make it happen. Anyone who wants to find out more about the Sundre Legion or perhaps even get involved is encouraged to contact membership chair Dave Hart, who can be reached at 403-638-3707. Work on a website is also underway, said Gillies.
This year's Remembrance Day service takes place Friday, Nov. 11 at the legion's hall — located south of Main Avenue along the Bergen Road — starting at about 10:30 a.m.
