Royal Canadian Legion Branch 25

OCTOBER 2018

DISPATCH

Royal Canadian Legion Br. 2596 Great Northern Rd

Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario P6B 4Y5Phone: 705-945-8721

Fax: 705-945-6372Ladies Auxiliary: 705-256-2941

Lounge: 705-256-6921E-mail: rclbranch25@shawbiz.caWebsite: www.branch25rcl.org

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!!1

Quote of the Day

1. Vegetables are a must on any diet. I suggest, carrot cake, zucchini bread and pumpkin pie. – Jim Davis

2. It’s not November, but we can still give thanks to those who fought and are still fighting and dying for us.

President’s Report – Respectfully submitted by Wilma Oliver

With Remembrance Day approaching – our calendars are filling up.Our poppy campaign begins on October 26th, 2018 with a flag raising ceremony at the Queen St. cenotaph at 11 am. The campaign runs through until Remembrance Day Nov. 11th. Please consider helping out with the poppy distribution by calling the office at 705-945-8721 or the Poppy office at 705-575-3895 after October 26th.At a recent meeting of Zone H4, our District Commander Comrade Steve Frech gave us a brief report from the Dominion Convention in Winnipeg this past August. The major concern across the country for the Legion in Canada is declining membership and a lack of new members. In Canada, now, we have approximately 350,000 members. Dominion Command says we must keep our membership above 300,000 in order to stay afloat, or we will cease to exist by 2033.With the above information in mind, our Branch is considering including a survey in an upcoming issue of the DISPATCH inquiring of our members:

2

how you think we can better support our members; encourage our members; increase our membership; what you would like to see happen to encourage attendance at our Branch, etc.Please give this some thought and prepare to answer the survey. In the meantme, please feel free to call me in the Office atny time with suggestions. I will do my best to answer your calls.

Ladies Auxiliary President Report – Respectfully submitted by Gail Carter-Hill

Our September Family Pasta Supper was a success again and we would like to thank everyone for your support especially the ladies who supplied the desserts.We had a very successful ????Dart tournament this past week-end. Teams advancing to District in Blind River are: Kasey Krauter, Roxanne Leziert, Marlene Guidon, Evelyn Wilson. Also advancing in Singles to is: Kasey Krauter and Doubles again Kasey Krautr and Roxanne Leziert. In Euchre there are 3 teams advancing to District competition in Sudbury.The list for the meat pie orders will be up shortly (probably around Oct. 10th) please support your Ladies Auxiliary.

1 st V-P/Honours & Awards/Sgt @ Arms Report – Respectfully submitted by Ernie BremnerSgt@Arms –

3

If there is anyone out there interested in and willing to march with the colour party this season, please contact myself (Ernie) at the office 705-945-8721.

Hard to believe, but true – preparations will be taking place soon for the upcoming Remembrance Day service at the GFL Memorial Gardens on Sunday November 11th., 2018. This year’s event will be a huge – lots of new things – make arrangements to attend and bring your family. More information as preparations are going forward.

There are lists in the office:

1) March for a Vet 2) Poppy Taggers 2 nd V-P/Museum/Service Officer Reports Respectfully submitted by Ron Rouleau

September 12th & 13th, I attended a Mental Health First Aid certification course at the Water Tower Inn presented by the North Bay Military Family Support Group.The group attending consisted of Afghanistan Veterans and their spouses, counsellors from support providers in Sault Ste. Marie and personell from the 49th Field Regiment. This was a very informative hands on training course which Tina Thomson presented, taking the group into the lives of persons dealing with mental health issues.

4

We were placed in small groups going through various true life scenarios, and we had to establish the levels for threat of suicide, the avenue that brought them to this state and develop a safe route for them out of this state.

We were shown videos of people in various stages of depression, schizophrenia, PTSD and additions for which we had to prepare a platform of assistance to help them fight the demons that brought them there.Mental health affects all of us at some stage of our lives; some of us are able to work through it and carry on, while some are burdened with it for life.

How we deal with this stress can determine how we deal with others, or how we deal with the expected and the unexpected presssures life put on us. Remember, there are groups and organizations out there who can help; all you need to do is reach out.Sometimes sharing the load is easier than carrying it on your own.

Band: The band at the Battle of Britain Sept. 16, 2018 – a really good band presence – and they played magnificently as well (as usual)

5

Reports Respectfully submitted by Mary Anne Martin

Entertainment – The Saturday night dances went well all summer despite other dances throughout town.

I do apologize for the duplicity on the band schedule, but some did take the summer off. The band line up for October is:

6th – Dusty Roads 13th – Nostalgia Live20th – R.F. Wave 27 – Full Circle

October 27th is our Hallowe’en Party with prizes for costumes, and it is free draw night and creepy music by Full Circle. Come out and enjoy the night with us.

Sick & Visiting – Good news, we are going to have cdets visiting the nursing homes while the regular visitors are in Florida – Thank-you Pierre

The November Remembrance Day Services at the nursing homes are:

1st. – 2pm – Pathways 5th – 10:30 am Great Northern6th – 10:30 am – Collegiate Heights6th – 2 pm – Mapleview8th – 2 pm – Finnish Rest Home 9th – 10:45 am Davey Home

If you can participate in any of these services, please sign up on the sheets on the bulletin boards in the lounge area.

6

Seniors – The 2018 & 2019 season for seniors’ programs began with Carpet Bowling on September 10th.

The Matinee dances with the big band sound of the Happy Days Band begins on October 10th. Hope to see you there.

Veteran’s Week

I will be taking the Veterans’ Display to the Station Mall and will have the display from November 2nd. to the 10th. Again, I am looking for veterans and comrades to help man the display and assist with inquiries from the public. There will be three new storyboards this year featuringCanada’s Future Armed Forces, the present day military involvement throughout the world and the Invictus Games. If you can provide two or ore hours, please leave your name and phone number in my mailbox in the office.

Public Relations – Respectfully submitted by Debbie Rouleau

The Legion is hosting a new event this year, which we are quite excited about. On Saturday November 24 th we are hosting a Christmas Dinner/Dance, which is ideal for small businesses who want to celebrate with their staff, but don’t have enough people to rent a hall etc. Leave the planning to us!! Call the office to book a table or

7

two, for the reasonable price of $50.00 per person, which includes: ham, chicken picata, perogies, cabbage rolls, mashed potatoes, green beans almondine, relish tray, dessert and even 2 bottles of win on each table.

Dancing to the band SoundCheck will start at 8:30. Cocktails are at 5:30 and dinner at 6:30. Please get the word out; we have posters that we can send to any small business, or even a group of family and friends who want to get together.Tickets must be ordered and paid for by November 16th.

Our Drum & Trumpet band numbers are small, but we welcome anyone who can play an instrument and is able to march with us. Please contact myself at: rouleaulegion.deb@gmail.com to inquire about joining the band.

Do you live in an apartment building? If your landlord allows posting information on a community bulletin board in your building, we would appreciate being able to put posters up regarding upcoming Legion events.

We would be willing to e-mail you a poster, if you can post it for us. Please e-mail us at rclbranch25@shawbiz.ca if you can participate in this.

There will be a Craft Sale here at the Branch on Sunday November 18th. To secure a table, please contact Jodi at 705-542-0615. More info to follow.

Membership– Respectfully submitted by Helen Stewart

8

Please remember, the Early Bird campaign is still on for two more months. The September winners will be contacted and have a choice of a) their dues back or a cheque are:

Wm. Wallace, Walter Zurby Jr, Donald Furber, Norm Poolton and Tammy Guay.Good luck to the next 10 winners!It isn’t enough just to join – we need you to help with some of our endeavours.

If you are willing to give a few hours/week or per month that would be a tremendous burden off the shoulders of your Executive – come on in and offer your services.

Our Sept. 30th Pancake Breakfast was a great hit again. We would like to thank Soo College Aviation Program Connor Anderson, Kody McDonald, Ayan Yusuf and Aidan McDiarmid: from the 46 Sea Cadets we had Paige Twardzik and Josh Ruddy and from the Newman Navy League we had: Jacob Ruddy and his Dad Curtis.We also had the Secretary Treasurer of the Navy League Branch Stephenie Twardzik in attendance – we thank them all for their help, it was much appreciate. The next one is on Sunday October 28th from 9:30 am – Noon. $10/adult, $5/child (5-12 years), Children 4 and under are free. Includes: plain or blueberry pancakes, scrambled eggs, breakfast sausage, fruit cup, coffee/tea/juice/milk. Hope to see you there.Our September silent auction was a hit again – we cleared well over $500 and thank those who donated and bid.

9

Track & Field and Cadet Report – Respectfully submitted by Pierre Breckenridge

Cadets – The Cadet Corps have had a busy start to the year. They have started their recruiting efforts and all unitsare looking to bring in new cadets.

All units parade out at the Armoury on the following nights:

46 Sea – Thursday evening – 18:30 (12 yrs old & up)2310 Army – Monday evening - 18:30 (12 yrs old & up)155 Air – Wednesday evening – 18:30 (12 yrs old & up)NL 30 Navy League – Friday evening – 18:00 (9 – 12 year olds)This past week-end, cadets from 46 Sea and 2310 Army attended the area Orienteering competition in Sudbury. WO Assiginack won a bronze individual intermediate level medal.

The 155 Air Cadets traveled to North Bay to participate in a gliding weekend supported by the regional gliding school.Pictured to the left:

Some of the 2310 Army cadet corp. at the Battle of Britain on Sunday Sept.

15th., 2018

10

Track & Field - Mike McWatters, my Track & Field co-chair will be attending a District H sports meeting in Bruce Mines next month.

Building & Sports – Respectfully submitted by Rick Pihlaja

We have quotes being tendered for the repair of the HVAC east basement area and now the upstairs HVAC system is down as well.We are also asking for tenders to do snow plowing of our parking lot.

LAST POST – WE WILL REMEMBER THEM

Veteran and Comrade Mario BrescacinComrade Lila Maybee

Ways & Means Respectfully submitted by Betty Irvine

The 2019 Calendar is in the house!!! It is also available at the Wishing Well in Cambrian Mall and several other places throughout the city.The cost is the same $20 each and make a terrific Christmas, Birthday, or whatever gift.

October Veteran Birthdays

Pat Vardy, John A. Baker, Jim Quinlan, G. Harten, Ken Anstice, G. Schimings, B. McBride, Violet Henderson, Bob Lewis, John Aymar, Norm Poolton, Jamie Hart, Mark Lawson

11

MANY HAPPY RETURNS OF THE DAYSeptember Monthly Draw Winners

$2000 – Mert Alcock – Ticket # 3302$1000 – Betty Tremblay – Ticket # 7744

$500 – Balint Peter – Ticket # 4577

CONGRATULATIONS!!

September 2018 winners of calendar lottery(at time of printing)

Heather Lewis, Krista Bissiallon, Don MacDonald, Lance Houston, Marilyne Parent, Terry & Jim Parr, Judith Falkins, Roland Aube, Dan & Melissa Poulin, Kevin Krohn, Steve Rennison, Bud & Pat Lidstone, Tim Raposo, Lucy Nowitski, Vera Murray, Alex Christie. Wesley MacDonald, Sheila Smith, Andrew Stinson, Mary Wallace, Glen Bertrand, Clare Lennox, Chris “Mike” Applejohn, Michael Schryer, Juliana Adam, Liz Cox, Louise Garrett, Johnny & Nicole Findlay.

DON’T FORGET WE STILL COLLECT

1. Pop Tabs: Every tab you bring in is gratefully received. Please continue to bring them.

2. Pop cans for the Shriners to compact and sell the scrap metal for donations to their children’s hospital projects.

3. Canadian Tire Money is used for the children’s Christmas Party.

12

4. Used eyeglasses are shipped to third world countries.

5. Lock City Milk Bags . All of the money must be used for youth activities so we basically use it for our children’s Christmas party.

Keep those bags coming in!! We can only recycle Lock City Milk bags, all other brands are discarded.

The monies we collect stay locally. None of our pop tab, milk bags or Canadian Tire money goes out of town. Strictly local.

UPCOMING EVENTS

October 19th – Harvest Moon Dinner/Dance – tickets are $20 for members and $25 for non-members – available at the office or the bar. October 24th – Ladies Auxiliary Family Pasta Supper – 5pm – 7 pm – call 705-256-2941 for more info.***FRIDAY OCTOBER 26TH – 11 AM - the poppy flag raising ceremony at the Queen St. cenotaph – all are welcome – poppy taggers will be out in force right after the ceremony.Oct 28th – Pancake Breakfast – 9:30 am – Noon

***NOVEMBER 24th – Small Business/Large Family Christmas Dinner/Dance – call the office for more details. Get everyone together and leave the cooking and the mess to us.

13

If there is anything you would like to see in the Dispatch, please contact the Office, leave your suggestion and we can see if it will fit. If any Branch of the Military (cadets and family support group included) would like us to advertise something in our Dispatch – please do not hesitate to ask. We are here to serve our Veterans, Members and our Community – please help us to do that.

‘Tis the Season.(unfortunately)

If you are contemplating snow removal for your home or office/apartment complex, please consider this local business.

This is a subsidiary of J&B Rubbish who is now doing our waste removal at the Branch for significantly less money than the company we were using.

14

Need a Hair Cut!!

Laura Harten has over 30 yrs. experience as a Barber and was deployed to Kabul Afghanistan as a Barber in 2005 for Canadian and NATO soldiers.

Laura invites all existing and new customers to the Queen's St. Lounge, 512 Queen St. E. See the spacious Barber Shop and SalonLaura will be available to cut your hair on Wednesday  9-5 ,Thursday’s 9-5, Friday’s 9-5 and Sat 9-2. (Closed Sat. Oct 21). Lots of Free Parking in the Bingham and Spring St. Parking Lots.

There will be a Remembrance Day special for Serving CAF Members and Veterans with ID from October 10th. till November 10th. $2.00 off a haircut, regular price $19.00 special price $17.00 Senior cuts regular $14.00 special price $ 12.00 .

Looking forward to seeing you.

Thank-you Laura for continuing to serve!!

15

2017-2019 Officers/E xecutive & Committee Chair

President – Wilma OliverPast President– Marilyn Isaacson

1st. Vice/ Sgt. @ Arms & Honours & Awards and T.OD. – Ernie Bremner

2nd. Vice – Ron Rouleau – Service Officer & Museum Curator

3rd. Vice – Wm. Bennett – Cenotaph & Donation Review Secretary/Poppy Chair – Rob Gardner

Srs/Entert/Sick & Visiting – Mary Anne MartinTreasurer – Carol Piper

Youth Education – Pat VardyBranch Padre(s) Rev. Phil Miller

Capt. Pat VardyMrs. Helen Smith

Bar Chair – NONEBuilding & Mtce. and Sports – Rick Pihlaja

Bursary – Warren PihlajaMembership – Helen Stewart

PRO – Debbie RouleauT&F and Cadet Liaison – Pierre Breckenridge

Burial – Elane TurnerWays & Means – Betty Irvine

If there is anything any one of us can do, please do not hesitate to contact the office (705-945-8721). The Legion is here to help, please help us to do that.

16