“Anyone can become a member of the Legion.”
That fact is something Royal Canadian Legion branches across the nation – and in particular Wellington County – are always trying to emphasize, says Randy Graham.
As president of Fergus Branch 275, Graham said Legion Week (Sept. 16 to 22 this year) is the ideal time to try to correct the “misunderstanding” that only relatives of veterans can become members.
Membership categories changed some time ago, he noted, adding those interested in joining can drop in to any Legion at any time – but next week may provide the best chance to do so.
“Legion Week is an opportunity for Legions to showcase themselves to the community,” said Graham, noting local Legions are “very active” in the communities they serve.
“We welcome the public to drop in and learn what we’re all about,” he said.
Obviously a large part of Legion Week is set aside to recognize veterans and thank them for their service to the country.
But it’s also a time to remind the public about the other important work carried out by Legion members.
“We’re really veteran driven but we do a lot for youths in the community,” said Graham, mentioning annual events such as remembrance poster and literary contests, as well as public speaking events and regular donations to various local youth organizations.
“Basically we’re like a very large service club in the community, but our roots are in recognizing veterans and their contributions,” he concluded.
Graham stressed Legions are always looking for new members and he invited the public to attend any of the regular Legion events in their community.
Terry Fisk, a past president and current executive member of Harriston Legion Branch 296, says the organization’s core mandate, to “look after veterans and their families,” remains an important function despite the declining number of Second World War veterans.
While the Harriston Branch, he notes, now includes just four such veterans, “there’s always veterans from peacekeeping and wars in other parts of the world.”
However Legions continue to serve their communities in many other ways.
“We do a lot of work with the youth in town,” said Fisk, adding the Legion sponsors youth activities such as public skating and makes donations to youth organizations.
“We have a very strong program with the schools. We have a poster contest and an essay contest centred around Remembrance Day and the schools are very good at promoting that,” said Fisk.
“There’s some wonderful pieces of art and literature that comes from these young people.”
The Harriston branch, says Fisk, also provides a meeting place for organizations and for social functions and assists the local food bank, including acting as a host site for the annual Christmas Hamper program.
The branch also keeps a supply of wheelchairs, walkers and other assistive devices available to loan to community members who need them.
“They’re not cheap to buy and if you’re only going to need it for a month or six weeks, it’s quite an investment for that short period of time,” Fisk points out.
Promoting remembrance of the great global conflicts and the sacrifice made by those who fought in them remains perhaps the Legion’s most significant role in society today.
“That’s a huge part of it,” said Fisk, noting the local poppy campaign continues to receive “tremendous support” from the community.
“I think we just came through our most successful one ever,” he said. “So I think that reaffirms the importance of remembering and if the Legion wasn’t doing that, chances are it wouldn’t get done.”
