hunter news - The Royal Canadian Legion - Branch 322

January 2012 The Hunter News
Bruce Sharpe
Presidents Report
Happy New Year everyone, I hope 2012 is a very fulfilling and wonderful year
for all of you.
I would just like to take the opportunity to once again thank all of our volunteers
that work so hard behind the scenes to keep our great organization and
especially our branch afloat. It is no secret that Legion branches are in terrible
financial trouble right across Canada from coast to coast. The main reason for
this is a lack of volunteers and a membership that does not support their
respective branches.
Paying your dues and renewing your membership every year without ever
coming out to support the branch activities just doesn’t cut it. We only receive
twenty one dollars of your membership fee, with the remainder going to
Dominion Command.
If all of our members just paid their annual dues and didn’t come in for the
remainder of the year we would be out of business in two months. Only eight
percent of our members support our branch on a regular basis. We have one of
the nicest and friendliest branches in Canada. We should be doing a heck of a lot
better.
We are lucky...we are keeping our head above water, but that can change in a
hurry without your continued support. I appeal to all of our members to please
get involved and come into the branch and bring your family members and
friends to our special events, dances and fundraising functions a little more often
this year.
Our veterans, our seniors, our charities and the needy are the beneficiaries.
In closing, Branch 322 also welcomes all Legion members from other Branches
as well as their guests to drop in and visit us anytime.
To all of our veterans, God bless you and thank you so much for the freedom
and prosperity we enjoy today.
Yours in Comradeship, Bruce Sharpe
ROYAL CANADIAN LEGION BRANCH 322
111 HUNT ST. AJAX, ONTARIO L1S 1P3 905 683‐2927 office 905‐683‐7811 bar steward www.rclajax.com CLAIRE WYLIE
LADIES AUXILIARY
I hope all had a Happy and Healthy Christmas and
New Year.
Our Ladies’ Auxiliary has done very well in Sports
and our Dart team is moving on to represent us at the
Provincials in Aurora on April 28th/2012. Good luck
ladies. We are sending four teams to the Cribbage
Zone Tournament at Bay Ridges on January 14th and
wish the girls all the best and hope you can bring the
Championship back to the Branch for next year.
Our Canteen is going well and we have been very
busy serving our Seniors’ lunches, Remembrance
Day Pot Luck, Seniors’ Christmas (sponsored by
Tom and Crystal from McGwyers Pub), and
Children’s Christmas Party and several Memorials
and Funerals.
The Provincial Ladies’ Auxiliary Planning
Committee for the Convention in September 2012 is
progressing very well and all Branches are working
hard to make the event a big success.
Our Ladies’ Auxiliary is running the Meat Draw on
the third Saturday of every month and we look
forward to seeing you all there.
Our membership is up to 42 members and I invite any
women to join us as members. Please remember that
we are a service group supporting Branch 322 Ajax
and that you do not have to be a member of the
Legion to join us. As well as working at the many
functions of the Branch, we do have our own Social
events from time to time.
Dave Wylie
SPORTS
We have started our 2012 Sports Season and our
Snooker Players attended the Zone Play downs
at Bay Ridges Branch 606 in December and,
although competitive, were not successful in
moving on to District. We are sending six
cribbage teams to Zone in Claremont on January
21st and wish them well. The Sports Calendar is
posted on the board in the Sports Room for your
information. I will be looking for a better
location to post our Sports Calendar and
upcoming Events so that all members and guests
can be better informed.
There have been many enquiries by members as
to how they can get involved in many of the
sports in the Branch. We have Newfoundland
Darts on Tuesday nights, Friday night darts in
the small hall, Friday Night Open Shuffleboard
and Euchre on the last Sunday of each month in
the small hall.
I have to thank Rita Cooke, Chris Montgomery,
Rheal Goulet and Mike Lescombe for their past
involvement with the Friday Night Open
Shuffleboard; Jim and Mark Hughes, Bob Bates
and Richard Washburn in Snooker; Andy
Rennick and John McKechnie in the darts. Your
feedback and assistance with running the Club
Play downs has been appreciated.
It is a known fact that over half of our
membership is made up of seniors and I invite
all seniors to let me know if there are any
programs that they would like to see at the
Branch or any assistance I can offer to set up
more Social or Sports programs at our Branch. I
look forward to working with you.
We have Super Bowl Sunday coming up on
February 5th and there will be a Team Entry
Shuffleboard Tournament (start time 1 p.m.)and
I am assured by Mike Fitzpatrick that the chilli
and chowder will be available at 1 p.m. There
will be many prizes available from our suppliers.
I look forward to seeing you there.
ED GALLANT
SERGEANT AT ARMS
CANTEEN
I have just returned from my temporary duties in
Belleville and find that we have lost some of our
staff due to personal reasons. I look forward to
working with the new staff and assisting with the
selection and interviewing of new staff whose
goal will be to continue giving good service to
our members. I remind all members that I am
here to help with the delivery of timely service
through consultation with the Bar Stewards and
ask that you as members keep us informed of
any concerns that you may have by written
submissions to myself or our President or by
attending our General Meetings that are held on
the first Wednesday of the month. I will be
looking into replenishing our Legion Supply
cabinet so that you may place your orders and
ask if there are special items you may want to
see, give me a note on the item/items and I will
see if we can get them in for you.
Happy New Years Comrades, unbelievable, our first
article of 2012. As I stated in our last article, October
and November were our busiest times of Year.
Events were as follows:
Zone Convention October 2, 2011 was done to
perfection by our great team once again. Next Zone
Convention is March 2012.
Honours and Awards which was to be held in
October 2011 were cancelled, until New Year. Date
unknown.
The Church Parade November 6 was another great
success, thanks again for all your help to our great
Colour Party, Veterans Cadets, and many members
who marched or attended the Church Service in
support of our Veterans. November 7 & 8 our
Comrade Theresa Tremblay organized the cleanup of
the Parade Area in front of the Legion with some help
from Pat Milne, Karen Fry and Tom Webber. It was
the cleanest I have ever seen, excellent Job Theresa.
November 11 was another excellent turn out; all
went great in our task as Colour Party. It was great to
see father and son Randy and Travis on the Rifles
along with Robert.
The Veterans Dinner November 13 was our last
official event for 2011, except general meetings and
meat draws. Our ticket handlers at the door, also
colours marched on and off were something that is
always enjoyed by our veterans.
d Gallant
As with every appointment there can be a sad chapter
to it, which in ours is funerals or memorials, which
although sad, our helping the grieving family makes
it rewarding for us. Our great team once again came
through, in ensuring we had enough parade members
to send off Second World War Veterans Nancy
Macdonald, Roy Munro and Frank Mitchell with the
honour and respect they deserve. God Bless.
In closing, finally, as some of you will say; thanks
again to our great Colour Party who has supported
me no less than one hundred percent.
KAREN FRY
WAYS AND MEANS REPORT
The Ways & Means Committee has been quite busy over
the last few months. We held our Halloween Bash in the
clubroom on Saturday October 29th with entertainment
provided by the Draft King’s. We had a lot of people show
up in costumes to participate in our contest. Our 50/50 draw
for the night was very successful.
We held our Poppy Dance in the club room as well this
year and it was well attended.
Our third Ajax Legion Idol competition was a tremendous
success. Each Tuesday night got better as the contest went
on and we had a huge crowd in the large hall for the final
where we gave away two thousand dollars in prize money.
Thanks to everyone that supported this venture.
The New Year’s Eve Dinner and Dance was well attended.
The Lorraine Davies Band provided the entertainment for
the night as well as performing in the clubroom on New
Year’s Day. Thanks to Russell Greg and his crew along
with the Ladies Auxiliary for the dinner. Everyone had an
excellent time.
Our Saturday afternoon meat draws and 50/50 draws are
doing better than ever this year. We have now established a
rotation of teams to handle the duties each week. They
consist of the Executive members, the Colour Party
members and the Ladies Auxiliary.
We are also scheduling some new Karaoke challenges.
Coming up in February will be Branch 322 members only,
Males versus the Females. We will be advertising more
about this contest in the coming weeks as well as our
annual competition against Branch 238 Fenelon Falls on
April 19th.
In closing, I’d like to thank my committee members for all
their help. I’d also like to thank all our Branch members
who have supported all of our events. We need your
continued support in order to keep our doors open.
Halloween Dance
CHESTER MCCONNELL
POPPY CHAIR
Another year has gone by and so many things have
not changed.
We had another successful poppy campaign, but less
than 10 percent of our 1200 members showed up to
participate. Our oath asks for active participation in
poppy campaigns. Why is this not happening?
I recall seeing a large number of members at our levy
who did not participate. To those who did participate,
the poppy campaign does thank you for your help- a
job well done. Just remember that this fund helps
support those who fought for the freedoms we enjoy
today.
In closing I would like to wish a healthy- happyprosperous New Year to everyone.
CODY MCCONNELL YOUNGEST POPPY VOLUNTEER
Chester
The Halloween Dance proved to be a great success
this year, I must admit, as I your Editor was enjoying
a vacation in Texas; I was totally surprised to see my
husband Rick has shaved off his beard to wear a
unique costume. I was totally surprised to see he had
won for Best Male Costume and was equally
impressed with the female winner. Comrade Karen
Fry presented both awards.
BEST MALE AND FEMALE WINNERS
Veterans Dinner
This was an occasion to celebrate what our Veteran's have done for us. They were warmly welcomed and everyone
had a good time.
Karaoke Contest
As usual we had excellent quality singers for the Karaoke contest on December 3, 2011. The night was a fun filled
evening with more wonderful singers. Here is the night in pictures as it says more than I can saw in words. Here are
the contestants.
Winners Andrew Notzl , Tyra Johnson 2nd,
Gerry O'Neil, Helen Chitiz 1st,
John McDonald, Laura Hurst (not in photo) 3rd.
Roy Munro Award presented to
John Devison
Kids Christmas Party
The event of the year for the kids was the Christmas Party. This year it was hosted by the Ladies Auxiliary and was
a fun day for all kids, and at the end mission accomplished the kids had fun and the parent's went home tired.
Thanks to the Navy League volunteers, we were able to have the kids play and have assistance with the crafts. Great
food and lots of activities were enjoyed by all. Best of all Santa did not disappoint, happy faces abounded.
New Years Dance
We stared the New Years with a bang. What a wonderful evening. The Lorraine Davies Band played and during
intermission it was dance music all the way. This tired little puppy had very sore feet when she got home.
However, it was worth it. Had so much fun with all the fellow legion members who attended. Some who shall
remain nameless are very camera shy; however I persevered and got as many pictures as I could. It helps to remind
people, you really do look better before closing time. All the women were dressed to the nines and one bartender in
particular looked fantastic as she danced the night away.
New Years Fete
A grand welcome to all members for 2012 was
held on New Year's Day. Many thanks to the bar
staff and especially our wonderful members who
attended this event.
Jeanette Clarke-Boutilier
Youth Education Chair
The fall has been a busy time for Youth Education.
Letters and information for the Remembrance Day
Poster and Literary Contest was sent to all Ajax
Schools in September, 2011. There were 308 entries
into the categories which included Black and White
Posters, Colour Posters, Essay and Poem categories.
Judy Davidson
EDITOR'S NOTES
Well it was a busy time this past quarter. I had so
many photos and opportunities to talk with all
members who attended our wonderful events. Let me
say Happy New Years to all and may your year be
blessed with good news, good health and good fun at
the legion.
There were 308 entries received by the closing date.
Judging for the contest occurred on Sunday,
November 20, 2011 with 3 judges. The judges, Sheila
Boyer, Patti Boyer and Jacqueline Clarke, spent 3
hours reviewing and reading all the entries. Winners
were chosen and all first place winning entries went
on to the Zone level of Competition. Of the winners
at the Branch level, 3 entries went on to achieve 3rd
place at the Zone level, 1 achieved a 2nd place and 2
winners at the branch level did win at the Zone level.
The 2 first place winners have gone on to the District
level.
Comrade Doug Smith and I had the opportunity to
attend the Zone celebration for the winners. This was
held at the Port Perry branch on December 5th, 2011.
I took so many photos that I could not put them all in
the newsletter. If you were at the events and want
copies or photos I did not include please contact me I
will be happy to provide you with them via email.
The next event for Youth Education is the Public
Speaking Competition which will take place at the
Branch on Sunday, February 26, 2012.
There are lots of events coming up, please join us and
have fun at the legion. It is your legion, make use of
it for your social events, the Karaoke on Friday is
always a sure fire hit. We celebrate many birthdays
during this time and would be glad to have you come
and celebrate yours with family and friends at the
legion.
Stay tuned for the next edition of the Hunter News
that will contain photographs of all the winners of the
competitions.
Congratulations to Erin Galante on the birth of her
daughter January 7th, 2012.
For a complete list of upcoming events check our
bulletin board, or read your email notices.
Judy Davidson
LA Exec. Committee 2011-2012
Ladies Auxiliary Officers
Executive Committee 2011-2012
Branch Officers
President
Past President
1st Vice President
2nd Vice President
3rd Vice President
Treasurer
Secretary
Sgt. at Arms
Bingo
Building
Bursary/Charitable
Canteen
Honors and Awards
L. A. Liaison
Legion Seniors
Membership
Nevada
Poppy
Public Relations
Sick and Visiting
Sports
Special Events
T OD
Veteran Services
Ways and Means
Youth Education
Bruce Sharpe
Mike O'Hara
Dave Wylie
Chester McConnell
Garry Campbell
Doug Smith
Jeanette Clarke-Boutilier
Ed Gallant
Doug Smith
Garry Campbell
Jeanette Clarke-Boutilier
Dave Wylie
Karen Fry
Jeanette Clarke-Boutilier
Sheila Boyer
Bruce South
Doug Smith
Chester McConnell
Judy Davidson
Sheila Boyer
Dave Wylie
Bruce Sharpe
Bruce Sharpe
Ed Gallant
Karen Fry
Jeanette Clarke-Boutilier
General Meeting
7:30 PM.
Executive Meeting
at 7 PM.
1st Wednesday of the month at
Last Wednesday of the month
Branch Office Administrator
Sally Leebody
Phone: 905 -683-2927
Chief Bar Steward
Cathy Taylor
Phone: 905- 683-7811
Email Address
rcl322@bell.net.ca
Website
www.rclajax.com
President
Past President
1st Vice President
2nd Vice President
3rd Vice President
Treasurer
Secretary
Sgt. at Arms
L. A. Liaison
Padre
Canteen
Honors and Awards
L. A. Liaison
Legion Seniors
Membership
Sick and Visiting
Sports
Ways and Means
Claire Wylie
Dorothy Buchanan
Judy Davidson
Sheila Boyer
Anna Lennerton
Anna Lennerton
Katherine Clarke
Jeanette Clarke-Boutilier
Janet Kaminsky
Rita Cooke
Judy Davidson
Jeanette Clarke-Boutilier
Sheila Boyer
Janet Kaminsky
Rose Carry
Joanna Wall
Judy Davidson
General Meeting 2nd Wednesday of the month at
8 PM.
Zone Commander
Diane Howarth
905-623-8980
Deputy Zone Commander
Claire Wylie
416-261-6358
BRUCE SOUTH
NEW MEMBERS
October 2011...
Paul Shepherd (A)
Lesley Griffith (A)
Martin Breslin (N)
Thomas Hanna (A)
Gerry O'Neill (A)
November 2011...
John Mitchell (O)
Patricia Clark (V)
Sandra Barrett (V)
Valentina Budd (V)
Lynda Pelyea (A)
December 2011....
Terri Schott (A)
Glenn Partington (A)
Grant King (A)
Shirley Babstock (V)
Jim Pesme (V)
Robert Maguire (O)
Mike Kinghan (V)
Eleanor Plain (A)
Robert Plain (A)
Linda McCrorie (A)
Arthur McCrorie (A)
John Evans (O)
Transfers into Branch 322
Ajit Zacharias (V) - October 2011 - From Br. 614
Colin Wallace (V) - November 2011 - From Br. 614
Walli Neumann (V) - November 2011 - From Br. 614
Merlyn Luke (V) - December 2011 - From Br. 419
Christopher Pittens(O) - December 2011 - From Br. 637
Leo Hynes (V) - December 2011 - From Br. 258
Herbert Forfar (O) - January 2012 - From Br. 258
Ruth E. Forfar (A) - January 2012 - From Br. 258
Ruth M. Forfar (A) - January 2012 - From Br. 258
Ronald Gosling (A) - January 2012 - From Br. 152
Last Post
They shall not grow old
As we that are left grow old
Age shall not weary them
Nor the years condemn
At the going down of the sun
And in the morning
"We Will Remember Them"
Lest We Forget
Lest We Forget
Herbert E. Hyatt (V) - October, 2011
Ken R. Younie (O) Veteran - October 9, 2011
Roy J. Munro (O) Veteran - November 15, 2011
Frank Mitchell (O) Veteran - December 17, 2011