Branch 202 - May 2022 Newsletter

     Ontario Provincial Convention: Cde. Nancy Alleyne and I attended the Provincial Convention in North Bay. The Convention started on May 15 and ended on May 17. There were 387 accredited delegates with 727 proxy votes. The total voting strength was 1114 votes. The total registration was 414 people. The theme running through the Convention was Veterans First.

     One of the events of the convention was to elect the new senior officers of Provincial Command. Cde. Derek Moore was elected President by acclamation; however, he was unable to attend the convention as he was in hospital recovering from surgery. Cde. Lynn McClellan was elected First Vice-President. Several years ago, he had been the Commander of District C. The three Vice-Presidents elected were Cde. Crystal Cook, Cde. Diane Condon and Cde. Mark Rogers. The Honorary Treasurer elected was Cde. Ed Pigeau. Several years ago, he had been the Provincial President. His pledge was to get a better return on Provincial Command’s investments. Cde. Ron Goebel was elected Meeting Chair, and Cde. Ron Crown was elected Meeting Vice-Chair.

     The Convention had a number of guest speakers—the majority of them were focusing on veterans and their issues. The Convention heard from Colonel (Ret’d) Nishika Jardine, the Veterans’ Ombud, Cde. Owen Parkhouse, First Vice-President of Dominion Command, and many other guest speakers.

     One of the highlights for me at the Provincial Convention was my being able to speak with and see the service dogs that are trained through Wounded Warriors Canada. Because there was no large hotel in North Bay, convention delegates ended up being dispersed over four different hotels. Everyone would then drive to the convention in the Athletic Centre in Nipissing University.

     I chose to stay at Best Western in North Bay. The service dogs, their trainers and handlers were also staying there. As a result, I had the opportunity to speak with the trainers of the service dogs. All of the trainers were veterans of the Canadian Military. The first photo that you see is Jeff with his service dog named Professor. I asked Jeff how the service dog would know if a veteran needed assistance. Jeff told me that the dog could smell the rise in the person’s adrenalin. He also told me that it costs $40,000 to train a service dog, because there are the dog’s food and the vet bills as well as the training. Jeff told me he could train five service dogs per year.

     Here is some additional information on service dogs taken from the brochure Service Dogs, Therapy Dogs:

Oftentimes the FTK-9 service dogs is the missing piece of the puzzle for a veteran’s successful integration into civilian life;

A service dog and handler pairing is a unique relationship formed by matching the right dog with the right handler. By getting this match right, both the dog and the veteran gain independence and a renewed purpose together;

While service dogs are trained to aid one individual to aid, mitigate or alleviate a medical diagnosis, therapy dogs are trained to work with many people;

The FTK-9 therapy dogs are trained to work in a variety of settings, including hospitals, treatment programs, family court, long-term care facilities, palliative care facilities, rehabilitation programs, home front support programs, colleges and universities, workplaces and employee support programs, literacy and reading programs and more.

     At every Convention, branches usually make donations from their Poppy Funds to various charities such as Youth Education, Ruck to Remember, Bursary and so forth. This year, putting Veterans First, Branch 202 donated $1,500 to Leave the Streets Behind (Homeless Veterans), $500 to the bursary fund to help veterans and their families with education, $500 to Veteran’s Comforts at Parkwood Hospital, and $900 to Ruck to Remember. Below is a copy of Ruck to Remember’s Mission Statement:

     Ruck To Remember is an organization that serves as a tribute and support to those who have served as a front line responder or military in the present, past, and future. Ruck To Remember is about creating awareness and support for those within our front line responders, which include, Paramedics, Firefighters, Law Enforcement, and Military. Ruck To Remember will host an annual ruck and also take part in multiple events and fundraising hosted by others throughout the year to continue raising awareness and support.

     This year one of the fundraising events of Ruck to Remember is the walking of the Bruce Trail from Tobermory to Niagara Falls over the month of June. The walk is 900 kilometers; hence, the $900 donation from the Poppy Fund.

     Note: If you wish more information on the Service Dogs, their website is www.k-9hq.ca

     Cornhole: If you are interested in participating in Cornhole, the activity is held every Thursday starting at 1:00 p.m., weather permitting. If you have never played the game before, come out and try your hand. Entry fee is $2.00.

     Ladies’ Auxiliary: The Ladies’ Auxiliary are asking some of the men of the branch to volunteer to assist with the monthly dinners that they hold in the branch. One of the duties that was mentioned is asking one of the men to lift up some of the large pots that are too heavy for the ladies.

     The Ladies’ Auxiliary perform an important function in the Branch and it is important to give them help when requested.

Yours in comradeship
Richard Smith, President

Branch 6 – Owen Sound
Branch 50 – Fred Gies, Kitchener
Branch 208 – Wiarton
Branch 290 – Tobermory
Branch 464 – Chatsworth
Branch 586 – Hepworth Shallow Lake