A few years back, things were starting to become bleak for our little Squamish Legion, the doors closing forever were sounding in the very near distance. I could have shrugged my shoulders and said not my war, not my problem. However, being born and raised in Squamish, these were people I came to deeply admire and respect.
Does one throw away the history of those from Squamish who served their country and, in some cases, made the ultimate sacrifice?
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With the scenario of closing the doors slowly becoming a reality, I stood up and ran for the Squamish Legion President five years ago. My goal was twofold, turn around a business model that was no longer sustainable and provide better service to programs for our veterans.
I saw great potential and some institutionalized roadblocks. There is something fun about challenging institutionalized roadblocks that gets the creative juices flowing. The roadblocks as I saw them, risk alienating what members we had remaining, making capitol investments, clearly identifying us as Canadian and the biggest panzer in the room, culture change…did I also mention we are on a limited budget.
As a veteran serving over 28 years in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) in including both Bosnia and Afghanistan, let us say I have skin in the game. I saw value in keeping this institution, the Squamish Legion established back in 1931 not only alive, but something to be proud of. However, it really needed to hit the gym and learn a new routine. It needed a different perspective from a different generation of veterans while respecting and honouring those who came before.
Keeping things simple, I focus on the mission of the Royal Canadian Legion, “To serve Veterans, which includes serving military and RCMP members and their families, to promote remembrance and to serve our communities and our country.”
In the military we have a saying, no plan survives first contact. Keeping focused on the mission allows one to improvise and focus on the end state (objective or how this fits into the bigger mission). Focusing on the mission does not mean focus on the process, it means keeping the end state in mind. My new end state in combination with the mission statement was making the Squamish Legion a financially viable non-profit that will serve our veterans of past conflict and future conflict. Serving our community and promoting remembrance while making the Squamish Legion a respected and reliable community service club.
When it came to the revitalization of the Squamish Legion, there is a lot to unpack. How does one balance the core of the Royal Canadian Legion values based on the generations of WWI, II and Korea while concurrently ensuring respect our current minority population of veterans? To have a gathering space for veterans to process their experiences, share a laugh during those WTF moments while concurrently opening ourselves up to the community that may not understand those experiences?
I can proudly say our branch is achieving that end state; we are one the most genuinely Canadian places in Squamish. We serve our veterans, community and promote Remembrance, an undisputable Canadian tradition. None of this could have happened without the help of some amazing Squamish Legion members.
LEST WE FORGET
