Serving Community
How Local Legion Branches Are Keeping Busy
By Matt Prokopchuk
“The main goals have never changed,” Ken Milenko says of the roles that the branches of the Royal Canadian Legion play in their communities. Milenko, who is the current second vice president of the Kakabeka Falls and Rural District branch and a former vice president of the legion’s Manitoba-Northwestern Ontario Provincial Command, adds that they’re there to support and advocate for veterans and their families, promote remembrance, and use their volunteer bases to help a wide range of local grassroots causes.
Across Canada, the organization’s membership numbers have seen decline over the years, and individual branches have closed. In the Thunder Bay area, the last legion to surrender its charter was in 2014, when Branch 6 on May Street shuttered its doors due to reported dwindling membership and revenue. However, Milenko—who has been involved with the legion for over 20 years—says numbers nationally are now slowly rebounding, which is important, as the vast majority of legion work (including all executive positions) is done by volunteers.
Many of the local branches appear to be in good shape today, and rely on a number of ways to keep people coming through their doors and their bottom lines stable. The Kakabeka Legion (which celebrated its 75th anniversary this year) actually closed its bar a number of years ago, Milenko says, and now primarily supports itself through food sales, including popular monthly community breakfasts. In the East End, the Slovak Legion uses its expansive property, including two kitchens, to offer weekly and holiday-centred take-out meals, along with frequent lunch buffets; the organization also hosts and caters events like weddings and banquets. “Another thing that we have is a large parking lot,” says Vic Renouf, the Slovak’s president, adding that for bigger gatherings, upwards of 1,000 vehicles can be accommodated. “Sometimes we have outdoor weddings and things like that too.”
Some local branches have also seen a lot of success as entertainment venues, with the Polish Legion on Simpson Street and the Port Arthur Legion (commonly known as Branch 5) on Van Norman Street seeing a steady stream of concerts and other performances on their stages. “It’s what keeps our doors open,” Branch 5 president Katriina Myllymaa says of their event bookings. “If we don’t have people coming to the branch and taking advantage of the events that we have there, it makes it really hard for us to keep our doors open.”
Keeping those doors open and their facilities up-to-date allows legion branches to fulfill their mandate, which includes supporting veterans and their families. Money donated to the legions’ poppy trust funds (including for Remembrance Day poppies around this time of year) is used to help veterans requiring emergency financial help. Branches also have volunteer service officers (Milenko is currently one), who provide a range of help for veterans, including assisting them in accessing services and benefits, making personal visits, and generally being there to help.
In the community at large, legion branches can also be important locations in case of emergencies. Milekno says the Kakabeka Legion is currently applying to become a certified emergency shelter, while Renouf says the Slovak Legion played an important role as a humanitarian and disaster relief staging ground back in 2012 when a massive rainstorm flooded the Thunder Bay area, particularly ravaging the End End. “It was nice to see that we could help, and that’s what we do. We’re here for anything that comes up,” Renouf says. “We’re always ready.”
To learn more about the Royal Canadian Legion or to get involved (anyone 18 or older can join a legion branch), go to legion.ca.