Local resident Robert Lacombe has received national recognition for his years of dedicated community service.
On Jan. 25, at the ‘O’ Division Long Service and Awards ceremony at the Marconi Club in London, London RCMP veteran J.W. Robert Lacombe of Palmerston was recognized by Governor General Julie Payette with the Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteers for his sustained volunteer work in the communities he has lived in over the past 50 years.
His medal was formally presented to him by RCMP Assistant Commissioner Jennifer Strachan, the Commanding Officer of RCMP “O” Division. He was nominated for the honour by the RCMP Veteran’s Association.
Born in Shawinigan, Quebec, Lacombe joined the RCMP in 1965. He served about three years and left the force and later got into municipal policing in northern Ontario.
He was absorbed into the OPP at Smooth Rock Falls and eventually joined the Fergus Police Service.
In addition to policing, Lacombe has worked in security consulting, golf course management, as a golf pro, and in sales of sporting equipment. He has also worked as a driver for Coach Canada, Cherry’s Bus Lines, and Denny’s Bus lines, and currently drives a school bus part time.
“Everywhere he has lived since the 1960s he has been an active volunteer in the communities … which included active participation in the Lion’s Club, the Royal Canadian Legion,” states the RCMP Veterans Association in press release.
After living in Fergus and Belwood, Lacombe moved to Palmerston in 2012. He immediately transferred to the Palmerston Lions Club and is currently president of that organization.
In the course of his volunteer work with the Lion’s Club and the OPP Veterans Association since the 1970s, Lacombe has helped maintain and improve parks, raised funds for worthy causes and coordinated community events within southern Ontario, the release states.
In addition to being an active member of the RCMP Veterans Association, he continues to be active in the OPP Veterans Association, the Lions Club and the Royal Canadian Legion.
The Legion’s Palmerston branch recently presented him with its own 150 medal for volunteers for work he has done within that organization.
“I’ve had fun volunteering everywhere I lived and still enjoy it,” Lacombe told the Advertiser in an email.
