The Royal Canadian Legion Alexander Ross Branch 77 has received an award. The Early Bird Achievement Award is granted by the national Dominion Command to Legion branches which get a high rate of renewal for memberships before the early bird deadline, and the Yorkton Legion had a renewal rate of 86 per cent.
As Legion branches across the country are struggling to attract new members, the award is a major boost for morale says Sandra Leitch, secretary for the Legion. With the award, it’s encouragement that they amount of work put in to recruitment and member retention is paying off.
Last year did see a larger number of new members for the local legion, Leitch says, with nearly forty new members joining, a significant jump from previous years. That increase comes after a year of very hard work to recruit and bring people into the Legion, and in previous years the new membership averaged around six to ten members.
“It’s a new process now, a new kind of people are coming in, and they’re the future of the Legion.”
Leitch is also a mentor for new members for the Legion, making an effort to get people information they need and help them get involved in a way that best suits their talent. She admits that joining a group can be intimidating for a new member, so they want to find a way to make it easy to join.
“With these new members coming in, we need people to look after them.”
She notes that it’s wide open to join, and no military experience is required to become a Legion member. The goal is to find a younger generation of members to “carry the torch” and continue supporting veterans, continuing remembrance activities and working within the community.
In spite of the increase of membership, Leitch admits that the Legion itself is still struggling financially, and is having difficulty continuing to do the things they do within the community. Whether it’s the annual Remembrance Day ceremony, money distributed through the poppy campaign or education programs in the schools, the Legion has had a prominent role, and Leitch says that it would be a major loss for the community if they couldn’t meet it.
“The Legion is very respected and very looked up to in the community... We’ve done a lot for the community, and now we need the community to look after us.”
