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Topic: Support the Troops events (Read 1128 times)
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Mike Blais
SSM (NATO Bar), CPSM, UN-Cyp, CD
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A ROYAL CANADIAN "NEVER PASSES A FAULT"
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It has come to my attention that there will be many Support the Troops benefits and activities throughout the summer. Should anybody have something going on their neck of th woods, please post the event here. Who knows, might be an occasion for a meet and greet of Royal Canadians in the area. This is from Welland, Ontario, which for those not in the know, is close to St. Catherines and Niagara Falls. Pro Patria. Supporting the troops; Concert at Legion will raise funds to help wounded Canadian soldiers Through music, Eddie Coffey and his band hope to soothe the wounds of soldiers. "As long as God keeps us on our two feet and our soldiers are out there ... as long as it takes, we're going to do what we do," said Harold O'Connell, who plays harmonica and sings backup vocals. On Saturday the group is holding a free concert at Royal Canadian Legion Branch 4 to support the troops. The event runs from 7 p.m. until 11 p.m. A songwriter and a storyteller from Newfoundland, with 32 CDs under his belt, Coffey is a musician with a folk/East Coast sound. He started this tour five and a half years ago to raise funds for wounded soldiers. Joining Coffey is guitarist Rhonda Stamp, who with O'Connell co-manages the group. Together, they have performed at more than 59 armed forces bases in North America and at more than 30 veterans hospitals, including Sunnybrook Hospital and St. John's Rehab Centre in Toronto. They have also performed at legion halls and veteran retirement homes. What spurred this wounded soldier tour was the 9-11 attacks on the Twin Towers that grounded 350 jetliners. Newfoundland and Labrador "adopted (some of) these passengers," said O'Connell. He said while the group realized the attack was on the United States, Canada would have a big part to play. So the trio started touring and playing free concerts to lift the spirits of soldiers, soothe the souls of veterans and raise money for the Wounded Warriors Fund. They are funding it on their own dime. "We didn't do this to be rich," said O'Connell. "We did it because someone needed to start standing up for our troops." At the concerts, 25 per cent of CD sales are donated to the fund. Nearly $10,000 has been raised since the tour began. The group hopes to raise another $5,000 to $10,000 on the third phase of its tour across Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta which starts May 1 and ends Sept. 4. Performing for veterans, troops and wounded soldiers, said O'Connell, is an honour for the group. "If it weren't for them, we wouldn't have the freedoms we have today," he said. Hearing their war stories "really brings you back to earth because they were out on those frontlines." O'Connell said the band stays out of the politics of war. "We have no opinion other than if our country decides to send our troops out, we support our troops," he said. "When you see a soldier with one leg and one arm and on the one leg his toe is tapping and on the one arm his fingers are snapping, it makes it all worthwhile." O'Connell said while the music can't take back the injuries it can show great respect for soldiers' sacrifices and lift their spirits. "The reward at the end of the day is when you see a smile on a soldier's face," he said. When a woman or man is out in the battlefield and injured, O'Connell said, they are sent to hospital with nothing but what's on their back. The Wounded Warrior Fund sends packs with supplies such as a sweatshirt or T-shirt representing Canada, personal hygiene products and quality of life items they may use while at hospital and can bring with them when they return home. "Once upon a time our troops had to pay $10 a day to watch TV (while in hospital)," he said. O'Connell is encouraging music-lovers, Legion members and the general public to come to the show and support the troops. For more information on Coffey visit www.eddiecoffey.com or get more details on the Wounded Warrior Fund at www.woundedwarriors.ca. mriopelle@wellandtribune.ca |
1RCR 1977-79 Depot (Italy PL), B Coy, Mortars, Pioneers, D Coy (CFB London)
3RCR 1979-82 M Coy, Pipes & Drums, Sigs, Mortars. (CFB Baden-Soellingen)
1RCR 1982-88 Mortars. Dukes, Cyprus-Welfare NCO 84-85, Injured, WO&Sgts Mess, (CFB London)
1988-92 Med-remuster to HELL/ 35 DU, CFB Baden
1992 Medical release. God Bless you all!
Pro Patria
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Mike Blais
SSM (NATO Bar), CPSM, UN-Cyp, CD
Ultimate 2000+ Member
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Posts: 3260
A ROYAL CANADIAN "NEVER PASSES A FAULT"
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Coffey group plays for wounded soldiers
Posted 1 hour ago
The Eddie Coffey Group will perform two more shows in Niagara this weekend to raise money for wounded Canadian soldiers. Coffey and back-up singer Rhonda Stamp will play the Mediteran Cafe on Lundy's Lane Saturday from 8 p.m. to midnight, and the Grimsby Legion on Sunday from 3 to 7 p.m. They're playing for the Sapper Mike McTeague Wounded Warrior Fund, named after a 20-year-old reservist from Orillia injured during a suicide attack in Afghanistan two years ago.
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1RCR 1977-79 Depot (Italy PL), B Coy, Mortars, Pioneers, D Coy (CFB London)
3RCR 1979-82 M Coy, Pipes & Drums, Sigs, Mortars. (CFB Baden-Soellingen)
1RCR 1982-88 Mortars. Dukes, Cyprus-Welfare NCO 84-85, Injured, WO&Sgts Mess, (CFB London)
1988-92 Med-remuster to HELL/ 35 DU, CFB Baden
1992 Medical release. God Bless you all!
Pro Patria
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Mike Blais
SSM (NATO Bar), CPSM, UN-Cyp, CD
Ultimate 2000+ Member
Offline
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Posts: 3260
A ROYAL CANADIAN "NEVER PASSES A FAULT"
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Don Cherry gives Orillia soldier's Wounded Warrior Fund a boost Posted By Randy Lucenti Updated 22 hours ago Love him or hate him, it’s impossible to deny hockey celebrity Don Cherry is a vocal booster of this country’s soldiers. Now, the star of Coach’s Corner on “Hockey Night in Canada” is plugging the Sapper Mike McTeague Wounded Warriors Fund with a video clip on the organization’s website ( http://woundedwarriors.ca/nc/news/don-cherry-video/). McTeague, an Orillia native, was seriously wounded during a suicide bomber attack in Afghanistan on Sept. 18, 2006. Four fellow Canadian soldiers were killed in the explosion. McTeague is also featured in the video plug for the Wounded Warriors alongside the boisterous Cherry. Mike is currently living in Toronto and working part time while still recovering from the severe wounds which almost cost him his life, according to his dad, Orillia OPP Const. Sean McTeague. "Mike is doing as well as can be expected," said his dad, who also added that the Cherry video for the Wounded Warriors website has been in the works for over a year, but just recently released. "Don Cherry is a big supporter of our soldiers as everyone knows," said McTeague. In June of 2007, Cherry was made a Dominion Command Honorary Life Member of the Royal Canadian Legion in recognition of "his longstanding and unswerving support of Canadians in uniform". He joined an elite group of just 40 people so honoured, including William Lyon Mackenzie King, John Diefenbaker, Lester B. Pearson and Vincent Massey. In February of this year, Cherry was awarded the Canadian Forces Medallion for Distinguished Service for "unwavering support to men and women of the Canadian Forces, honouring fallen soldiers on his CBC broadcast during 'Coach's Corner' a segment of Hockey Night in Canada". Sean McTeague, good friend Captain Wayne Johnston and a supporting cast of friends started the Wounded Warriors program, which is named after Mike. It supplies emotional and financial assistance to injured soldiers as well as those who are injured in future endeavours of the Canadian armed forces. As wounded soldiers heal, they often require help getting back on their feet not just physically, but emotionally and financially, said Sean McTeague. Through his experience, McTeague learned that there are soldiers and families who need help so he created a fund to do it. "If a soldier requires anything, they can receive funding through their chaplain, nurse or family through the Sapper Mike McTeague Wounded Warriors Fund," he said. The Wounded Warrior Fund supports Canadian service persons wounded in operations, at the outset of the healing process. That includes the "Wounded Warrior Packs" containing a variety of items, including individual entertainment devices (like DVD players and MP3 players) to personal blankets, among many other items. To contribute to the fund, send donations, cheques or correspondence to: The Sapper Mike McTeague Wounded Warrior Fund, P.O. Box 141 Stn. Brooklin, Whitby, Ontario L1M 1B5. Article ID# 1002135 |
1RCR 1977-79 Depot (Italy PL), B Coy, Mortars, Pioneers, D Coy (CFB London)
3RCR 1979-82 M Coy, Pipes & Drums, Sigs, Mortars. (CFB Baden-Soellingen)
1RCR 1982-88 Mortars. Dukes, Cyprus-Welfare NCO 84-85, Injured, WO&Sgts Mess, (CFB London)
1988-92 Med-remuster to HELL/ 35 DU, CFB Baden
1992 Medical release. God Bless you all!
Pro Patria
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Tim McCully
Veteran 200+ Member
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Pro Patria
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I have just finished a weekend at the base in Kingston where the CAV-Vimy unit hosted a motorcycle show. The proceeds are going to four different charities, the heart foundation, the military blind children's fund, ICROSS(Lew Mackenzie's charity), and the Fisher House in Germany. The initial count reported tonight was 6,500.00 raised for these charities but it is not the final count. The CAV has many of these fund raising activities going on throughout the year, we are only just beginning. I will post each event here on our site as info comes available. Hope some of you may be able to attend! If any of you have any ideas that the CAV could help with, let me know and I will see what we can do. Keep in mind that we are only 3600 members across the country now, split into 42 units. We are just a small resource for fund raising, ha, ha, ha. Tim
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1RCR (82-88) B coy 6pl, (84-85) UNFICYP- BBC coy Tpt, C coy 9pl, E coy Mortars, (88-90) CFB Halifax Base Chief's Staff, CFB Trenton Refinisher Tech.(90-92). UNFICYP,CPSM
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Mike Blais
SSM (NATO Bar), CPSM, UN-Cyp, CD
Ultimate 2000+ Member
Offline
Gender:
Posts: 3260
A ROYAL CANADIAN "NEVER PASSES A FAULT"
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Well done, lads.
In an effort to rekindle interest, I would pose a question. Due to a couple of back operations, compliments of DND, riding anything other then a mountian bike is out of the question. Can vets, who are non riders or cannot ride due to services rendered join up the CAV?
BTW, you might want to post a message here about the CAVs activities before they occur so Royal Canadians living in the area might offer their support through attendance
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1RCR 1977-79 Depot (Italy PL), B Coy, Mortars, Pioneers, D Coy (CFB London)
3RCR 1979-82 M Coy, Pipes & Drums, Sigs, Mortars. (CFB Baden-Soellingen)
1RCR 1982-88 Mortars. Dukes, Cyprus-Welfare NCO 84-85, Injured, WO&Sgts Mess, (CFB London)
1988-92 Med-remuster to HELL/ 35 DU, CFB Baden
1992 Medical release. God Bless you all!
Pro Patria
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Tim McCully
Veteran 200+ Member
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Posts: 239
Pro Patria
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Mike, although the premise is that you ride, it is not carved in stone. There is always a requirement for four wheeled safety vehicles or recovery rigs to accompany our riders. Myself, I have not yet secured 2 wheels but very soon! I have been driving the safety/kit shop vehicle for the last few rides. At times I have had passengers jump in because they were sore from the back seat or cold,etc. So you can join the CAV without a bike we welcome all vets regardless. I am the 2i/c for the CAV kitshop and it just won't all go on the bike no matter how i try to compress it. LOL Soon I will have my bike and I'd rather ride than haul kit! If our readers here check in on ..... www.thecav.ca there is event boards there for each division ie..1st, 2nd, and 3rd CAV as well as 1stVAC (Veteran Armee, Canadian) in Quebec. If you fellows keep up on it then you will know about your local events upcoming. Also I encourage all of you to check the site regardless just to familiarize yourselves with the CAV and what it is we do. WE ARE NOT a "club"or"gang" We are an Incorporated Organization now, WE DO NOT wear our "colours" WE FLY our colours and WEAR our Crest. We have all makes of motorcycles and all trades involved. The Mayor of Kenora has even started his own unit. We don't have Chapters, we have units. All are named after battle honours specific when possible to the area they hail from, I mean like for example..Bowmanville is Hasty P territory so their unit is called Assoro, a Hasty P battle Honour. Ortonna is an RCR battle Honour and their unit is in London headed up by none other than our beloved brother Doug Christian. Any way enough verbosity here, I hope I have answered your question, the closest unit for you is Normandy from Toronto. We are working towards forming a unit in the Niagra area as soon as we can find interest there. Go, check the site and start talking to your people there and let me know if you have any other questions. |
1RCR (82-88) B coy 6pl, (84-85) UNFICYP- BBC coy Tpt, C coy 9pl, E coy Mortars, (88-90) CFB Halifax Base Chief's Staff, CFB Trenton Refinisher Tech.(90-92). UNFICYP,CPSM
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Mike Blais
SSM (NATO Bar), CPSM, UN-Cyp, CD
Ultimate 2000+ Member
Offline
Gender:
Posts: 3260
A ROYAL CANADIAN "NEVER PASSES A FAULT"
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ust call this town Big Red
Bridgewater wants to host giant rally to support troops
By RENEE STEVENS
Tue. Apr 29 - 5:38 AM
BRIDGEWATER — David Mitchell is hoping that his town will be the talk of the country on May 23, when people don their red shirts to host what could be the biggest Red Rally that Canada has ever seen.
"My goal is for this to be the top news story coast to coast that day," the town councillor said Saturday of the event in support of Canadian Forces members serving in Afghanistan and elsewhere.
"It would be really nice to broadcast some good news here by showing how much support the troops have for what they are doing, instead of just broadcasting funerals."
The inspiration for the event, which Jeff Hutcheson of CTV News will host at the South Shore Exhibition Grounds, came last May, when Mr. Mitchell and Mayor Carroll Publicover heard Rick Hillier speak at a conference.
Mr. Mitchell said they were both so moved by what the outgoing chief of defence staff said that they decided to invite him to Bridgewater.
"It elevated this event so much to have him come because his message is something you don’t forget, and I’m so glad to be able to share that," he said. "We want this to be the biggest rally in support of the troops, but we are also hoping that it will be different from the others that have been held, too."
Mr. Mitchell said planning is underway but they already have 1,000 people confirmed for the parade, which will include a colour party of 120. The local Royal Canadian Legion is involved as well.
Members decided this weekend they would break tradition for that one day and step aside to allow uniformed soldiers to lead them in the parade.
Prime Minister Steven Harper is not able to attend, due to a prior commitment, but Mr. Mitchell said Defence Minister Peter MacKay will be there, along with MPs from across the country.
The organizing committee has also received numerous letters of support, including one from Wayne Gretzky and another from Prince Harry’s office.
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1RCR 1977-79 Depot (Italy PL), B Coy, Mortars, Pioneers, D Coy (CFB London)
3RCR 1979-82 M Coy, Pipes & Drums, Sigs, Mortars. (CFB Baden-Soellingen)
1RCR 1982-88 Mortars. Dukes, Cyprus-Welfare NCO 84-85, Injured, WO&Sgts Mess, (CFB London)
1988-92 Med-remuster to HELL/ 35 DU, CFB Baden
1992 Medical release. God Bless you all!
Pro Patria
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Mike Blais
SSM (NATO Bar), CPSM, UN-Cyp, CD
Ultimate 2000+ Member
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Posts: 3260
A ROYAL CANADIAN "NEVER PASSES A FAULT"
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Operation Maple Leaf giving troops a little more TLC
Posted 8 hours ago
Marlene Harnden is bringing back Operation Maple Leaf this year - her drive to prepare care-and-comfort boxes for Canadian men and women who will be serving with the Canadian Forces in Afghanistan on Canada Day.
The Grafton resident came up with the idea last year to celebrate the July 1 national holiday by providing troops with a little piece of home just to let them know they are remembered and supported.
"I just wanted to do something for our troops overseas to boost their morale, and I wanted it to have a theme - like Canada Day," she said.
People from across the county jumped on board, and 553 shoeboxes were filled.
This year, Mrs. Harnden is co-ordinating the program with Joy Herrington of Trent Hills, issuing the appeal again - and there are many ways to help:
Shoeboxes are needed to fill with items, to serve as individual care-and-comfort packages.
Small utilitarian items that are nice to have include little note pads, tissue packets, sun block, moisturizer, lip balm, hand sanitizer, pens and pencils, pocket-size day time calendars, locker-size unbreakable mirrors, decks of cards and small puzzle books.
Flea collars come in handy, when worn around a wrist or ankle, to ward off sand fleas.
Snack items like peanuts, cookies, jerky and sausage products, and dried foods like soups, hot chocolate, tea, lemonade and flavoured drink mixes are always welcome.
Items with the Canadian flag or maple leaf are a nice touch from home - pins, key chains, postcards, bandannas, stickers, flags, hats, badges, socks and ribbons.
Entertainment items could include DVD movies and CDs.
Personal touches, which even children could contribute, would include letters, paper banners, greeting cards and artwork.
It all has to be packed into shoeboxes, she said, so keep it small! Mrs. Harnden is also hoping to collect a generous supply of Izzy dolls.
The name is in honour of Master Cpl. Mark Isfeld, an engineer who died in 1994 while clearing land mines in Croatia. He'd asked his mother, Carol, to knit little 15-centimetre dolls for him to give to the children he met while serving overseas.
The tradition has continued, and soldiers today are delivering little Izzy dolls to children in Afghanistan as one step toward winning over the hearts and minds of the people.
The pattern is available online - and on Page 5 of today's Evening Guide. Mrs. Harnden has plans to knit 12 of them herself. She will be putting a little tag on each one handed in to give the donor's name and address, attached with a little Canadian flag pin.
Donations will be accepted until June 7 at your local Legion branch - or call Mrs. Harnden at 905-349-3063.
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1RCR 1977-79 Depot (Italy PL), B Coy, Mortars, Pioneers, D Coy (CFB London)
3RCR 1979-82 M Coy, Pipes & Drums, Sigs, Mortars. (CFB Baden-Soellingen)
1RCR 1982-88 Mortars. Dukes, Cyprus-Welfare NCO 84-85, Injured, WO&Sgts Mess, (CFB London)
1988-92 Med-remuster to HELL/ 35 DU, CFB Baden
1992 Medical release. God Bless you all!
Pro Patria
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Mike Blais
SSM (NATO Bar), CPSM, UN-Cyp, CD
Ultimate 2000+ Member
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Posts: 3260
A ROYAL CANADIAN "NEVER PASSES A FAULT"
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Fundraiser held in honour of Capt. Nichola Goddard Calgary Herald Saturday, May 03, 2008 This speech was given Friday by Tim and Sally Goddard of Calgary, the parents of Capt. Nichola Goddard, the first female Calgary soldier killed in combat. She died in Afghanistan in 2006. The family held the first Light Up Papua New Guinea: The Captain Nichola Goddard Project Gala fundraiser on Friday to gather funds to put up solar-powered LED lights at medical aid posts in Papua New Guinea. Wow, what an incredible evening! It is so good to see you all here tonight. Thank you so very much for coming out to support the Captain Nichola Goddard Light Up Papua New Guinea Project. Today is obviously a special day for us. It is Nichola's birthday, and so it is a wonderful day to celebrate her life, and to look to the future, to the legacy that she has left in the world. We are so pleased to welcome so many special people here this evening, many of whom had direct contact with Nichola. We cannot mention you all by name, otherwise we'd be here all night (and we have been given very strict time limits for this talk!) And of course, we don't want to just mention a few, otherwise we'd be sure to forget someone. But we must say this: There are people here this evening from Papua New Guinea, where Nichola was born, including ambassador Evan Paki and counsellor Vincent Somale, who have come up from Washington. There are members of her family, including her grandmother, Betty, who has travelled from North Wales to be with us tonight. There are some of her aunts and uncles, her cousins, and of course her sisters, Victoria and Kate. There are her best friends from high school, Krista, Shannon, and Heather, who have travelled from Nova Scotia and from Ontario, and others who knew her in her days at the Royal Military College in Kingston. Also with us, of course, is her husband Jason and many of you who were here in Calgary in 2002 to celebrate their wedding. There are some of her men, from the 1st Regiment of the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery, Sergeant Dave Redford and Bombardier Clint Gingrich, who served and fought with her in Afghanistan. There are many who joined with us to grieve at her funeral, which was also here in Calgary just two short years ago. There are those of you in the media, whether print or radio or television, who have told her story to audiences across Canada and around the world. We would especially recognize Christie Blatchford and Don Martin, who are our speaker and MC tonight, and also Valerie Fortney, who has written such wonderful pieces for the Calgary Herald. We are particularly grateful to those who have helped us so much as we organized this evening - the volunteers who have given many hours to this event. Their names are in the program but we cannot thank them enough - Felicia, Judy, Jane, Jan, Jill, Louise, and all the rest. This has been a labour of love for many months, and we hope that you will enjoy the fruits of their labours. There are those who contributed so wonderfully to the endowed graduate scholarship we established in Nichola's name at the University of Calgary, including Jim Prentice, who facilitated a major donation from the government of Canada, Mayor David Bronconnier, MLA Harry Chase, and others. And there are people who have already received some awards established in her memory. A PhD student in the Faculty of Social Work, Aamir Jamal, who holds the first University of Calgary Captain Nichola Goddard Graduate Scholarship, and Officer Cadet Lessard, from RMC, who received the Captain Nichola Goddard Sword of Honor for Best Artillery Student. And, of course, there are those involved with the University of Calgary and the Light Up The World Foundation, president Harvey Weingarten, director of communications Colleen Turner and my colleagues at the university have been steadfast in their support over the past two years, and we must thank the founder of Light Up The World, Dave Irvine-Halliday, for offering us the opportunity to link up with LUTW for this project. Rosie Hymann, Christoph Schultz, Pauline Cummings and the board and staff of LUTW are wonderful people to work with. To all of you, and to everyone else who is here tonight, thank you so much for your love and support. This is an ambitious project. To provide reliable solid state lighting to the nearly 2,000 medical aid posts of rural Papua New Guinea is no small task. This is a country of dense forests and isolated valleys, of towering mountain ranges and scattered coral islands. It is not a case of driving to each community and installing lights! Nor is it a case of simply dropping off the lights and then moving on. We are so pleased that this project will include a technician from Light Up The World, who will travel with us in July to install the first lights and to train Papua New Guineans in the techniques of installation and maintenance. To bring light to the world, and specifically to the place of your birth, what a wonderful legacy this will be for Nichola. And because of the generosity of our sponsors for this evening, the gala is already paid for. This means that every penny raised from ticket sales, from the raffle, and from the silent auction will go towards the project. Every penny! How wonderful is that? Two years ago Nichola celebrated her 26th birthday on a mountainside in southern Afghanistan. She sent us photographs showing her unwrapping the presents she had received, silly things to while away the hours. Some books, some non-melting candy bars, a limbo bar. She wrote to thank us for her gifts, and spoke of how she had learned so much during her short time in Afghanistan. How she had realized that people all over the world, with few exceptions, simply want a good, safe and productive life for themselves and their families. She had realized, she wrote, that those of us who were well placed in this world, by accident of birth or by virtue of hard work, had a duty to help those less fortunate. That is her legacy. It is saddening for us to recognize that if we had not lost her, then this event would not be happening, those scholarships would not have been awarded, this project would not be taking place. Out of darkness, indeed, shall come light. This evening we come together, as friends and neighbours, to honour the memory of a remarkable young woman. But we are also here to enact that memory, to take it beyond stories and photographs. Through your generosity this evening we shall continue towards our goal of raising some $360,000 for the Light Up Papua New Guinea Project. Through the continued efforts of the LUTW Foundation we shall translate that money into tangible results, into things which make a difference in our world. We would like to close by asking you to each take a glass and raise it with us, as we toast this day and wish Nichola, wherever she is, a most wonderful and happy day. Happy birthday, Nichola! Thank you. Tim and Sally Goddard. May 2, 2008. To donate to the cause, go to www.lutw.org. |
1RCR 1977-79 Depot (Italy PL), B Coy, Mortars, Pioneers, D Coy (CFB London)
3RCR 1979-82 M Coy, Pipes & Drums, Sigs, Mortars. (CFB Baden-Soellingen)
1RCR 1982-88 Mortars. Dukes, Cyprus-Welfare NCO 84-85, Injured, WO&Sgts Mess, (CFB London)
1988-92 Med-remuster to HELL/ 35 DU, CFB Baden
1992 Medical release. God Bless you all!
Pro Patria
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Mike Blais
SSM (NATO Bar), CPSM, UN-Cyp, CD
Ultimate 2000+ Member
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Posts: 3260
A ROYAL CANADIAN "NEVER PASSES A FAULT"
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Military moms have high hopes for Canada Day barbecue
Posted By Luke Hendry
Posted -38 sec ago
A group of local mothers want Quinte residents to celebrate Canada Day by meeting some important local troops: their children.
Mothers of local Canadian Forces staff heading to Afghanistan this fall are now organizing a public meet-and-greet barbecue with the troops to be held as part of Belleville's Canada Day celebrations.
The event was approved last week by the city's Canada Day committee and supported by Mayor Neil Ellis.
Many of the local troops will be serving with the Royal Canadian Regiment (RCR), particularly its Petawawa-based third battalion.
Susanne Quinlan, whose son Pte. Devin Quinlan, 24, is with the unit, said the barbecue was inspired in part by the parades held in the last century as troops went to war.
Too many see ceremonies for troops only when they've been killed and are being repatriated, she said.
"In the old days they used to have these grand marches through the towns ... but today all you see is them coming back, and it's not so nice," said Quinlan.
She and fellow military mother Ginger White conceived the idea for a reception about a month ago. White's son, Pte. Kyle Meeks, 21, also serves with the RCR. Aiding in their plans to date are Quinte West's Sharon MacKenzie, mother of Pte. Kyle MacKenzie; Foxboro's Gwen McKeown, mother of Cpl. Brad McKeown; and Judy Vickers, mother of Trenton-based medic Cpl. Darren Dyer.
"It would be great if we could give these local boys a great sendoff," Quinlan said.
"We just want the community to meet these guys who are going out," added White.
"If the troops know how much the community supports them, that gives them a big boost when they're over there," Quinlan agreed. "They need to know that. They're going to have a lot of things going on when they get over there."
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White and Quinlan said their sons, now stationed in Wainwright, Alta. for training, aren't aware of their full plan for Canada Day, but as White said, the soldiers are certain to participate.
"They'll just be good boys and do what their mothers tell them," she joked.
Quinlan said as many as 50 local military staff could attend.
The mothers are hoping other parents of troops deploying this fall will join them as they plan the event.
Any military parents who want to get involved should call Quinlan at 613-962-9043.
lhendry@intelligencer.ca
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1RCR 1977-79 Depot (Italy PL), B Coy, Mortars, Pioneers, D Coy (CFB London)
3RCR 1979-82 M Coy, Pipes & Drums, Sigs, Mortars. (CFB Baden-Soellingen)
1RCR 1982-88 Mortars. Dukes, Cyprus-Welfare NCO 84-85, Injured, WO&Sgts Mess, (CFB London)
1988-92 Med-remuster to HELL/ 35 DU, CFB Baden
1992 Medical release. God Bless you all!
Pro Patria
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Mike Blais
SSM (NATO Bar), CPSM, UN-Cyp, CD
Ultimate 2000+ Member
Offline
Gender:
Posts: 3260
A ROYAL CANADIAN "NEVER PASSES A FAULT"
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Benefit brings old-time rock 'n' roll to Sussex Published Tuesday May 13th, 2008 B7 By Charlene MacKenzie SUSSEX - Decades ago, communities held lively dances to support the troops. With a new generation of Canadian soldiers serving overseas, local organizers are drawing on that successful formula again, this time to benefit children of soldiers who have died in the Afghanistan mission. Donnie and the Monarchs, a popular Saint John band that's been serving up old-time rock ‘n' roll for a quarter century, are playing at a May 24 benefit dance at the 8th Hussars Sports Centre, with all proceeds going into the Royal Canadian Regiment's Education Fund for Children of Fallen Soldiers. The fund was established to provide support for the post-secondary education of children of regiment soldiers who died in service, said event organizer Lloyd Benson. His family decided to get involved after their son returned safely from service in Afghanistan at the end of last year. "Sussex is steeped in a military background, with the 8th Hussars Regiment here and the RCRs local to this area, in Gagetown," said Benson. "People have been really supportive. Because it's for the troops, everybody is coming onboard." As news of the fundraiser spreads, several organizations have joined the cause. The Moosehead Oldtimers hockey team offered to host the bar, a jive dance club is coming down from Moncton to jive to the Monarchs and the Valley Cruisers classic car club is coming from the Kennebecasis Valley area to hold a show-and-shine. Several businesses are pitching in with door prizes and silent auction items. WestJet is providing the main door prize, a trip for two anywhere in Canada the airline flies. Items up for bids in the silent auction include a pair of tickets to this summer's Eagles concert in Moncton. Doors open for the May 24 event at 8 p.m. and the dance is from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. Tickets are $20 each and available at Connie's Collectables, Pizza Delight, Backstage Music, the Norton Irving station, Ron's Esso in Hampton and Sobey's in Rothesay. They're also available at the Royal Canadian Legion, Branch 20, in Sussex. For more information on the RCR Education Fund, visit http://thercr.ca/funddev/education_fund.htm |
1RCR 1977-79 Depot (Italy PL) | | | |
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