Estevan Branch No. 60 of the Royal Canadian Legion is approaching the remaining 11 months of 2013 with renewed vigour and more than a handful of new members.
Troy LeBlanc, who assumed the presidency of the local Legion last September, was officially confirmed into that role at the installation ceremonies that were part of the Legion's annual past president's dinner held Saturday night in the Legion Hall.
Six new faces join LeBlanc at the executive table, along with a good sampling of veterans. The club will be welcoming 20 new members into the fold at the next regular meeting later this month.
"We hope the new members will be active because we want to continue to be a major presence in the city, especially with the Colour Party," LeBlanc said.
Newcomers on the board include Chad and Corinne Laviolette, Jim and Willie Forrest, Linda Betnar and Ed Schell.
"From what I understand, new members want to get involved in some community activities, especially on the sports and recreational side. We're also going to continue to represent Canada at the annual Hands Across the Border ceremony at Sherwood, North Dakota this Memorial Day weekend. It's a pretty impressive event. A full contingent of Legion members march with the RCMP across the border and we join our United States counterparts to exchange flags and then we march together. We've been doing this for five years now," LeBlanc said, while explaining the importance of keeping the face of the Legion in front of the public.
"I hope you'll see us in the community. I know our poppy blitz went well last year, so that helps us make our contributions back to the veterans and others," he said.
One project LeBlanc said he'd like to get underway is the establishment of a memorial wall, probably on the face of the Legion Hall on Fourth Street, or perhaps near the cenotaph, although he said "there are some red tape issues there. Apparently nobody is sure as to who actually owns the property the cenotaph is on ... us or the courthouse, but we'd still like to build a memorial wall."
Peter Piper, president of Provincial Command, was the special guest of the Estevan Legion for the Saturday night installation. It was noted that Piper also serves on the executive of Dominion Command, giving Saskatchewan additional exposure at the national table.
