Legion Leanings ~ Membership 2012

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 We are once again at what is probably our busiest time of the year for Membership activity. Our annual “Early Bird” campaign starts on September 1st and runs through to November 30th for the 2012 year. Fees are unchanged at $40.00 for seniors 65 or over and $50.00 for others.
All current members as well as those who may have neglected to renew their membership in 2009, 2010 or 2011 are eligible to participate in this campaign. We will draw six names from among all 2012 renewals and those members will receive a refund of their fee (or pre-pay 2013 at their discretion). Those who have not renewed in this or the past two years must of course also pay those fees in order to renew for 2012 on a continual membership basis.
It is perhaps not well known and bears mention here, that of your membership dues, $29.50 is sent directly to Dominion Command as a “per-capita” tax to pay for all the programmes that are operated nationally or provincially.
Members can drop in the Branch between 1:00pm and 5:00pm on Tuesday through Friday where our manager can deal with membership enquiries. Meanwhile, our bar-staff can process your payments any evening from Wednesday to Saturday. The premises will soon be open again on a Tuesday evening as our pool league gets under way.
New members are always welcome at this friendly branch. Those who might wish to join immediately will naturally pay a very much reduced fee for 2011 and may pay their 2012 fee at the same time to qualify for the draw. Those who might wish to wait until the New Year can still pick up applications and start the paper-work.
Application forms covering all of the categories are available at the Branch during the above noted times.
There are few barriers to membership in the Royal Canadian Legion. Under the basic tenet that you support the Aims and Objectives of the organisation, there are four categories under which we can welcome you. Broadly this breaks down as follows: for those with acceptable Military or Police service, there is the “Ordinary” category; if you have ancestors who have similar (proven) backgrounds then the “Associate” category is available to you; those who cannot claim such service in their family background but who are Canadian Citizens are eligible as “Affiliate Voting” members while those who do not have Canadian citizenship may apply to become “Affiliate Non-Voting” members.
We are hoping that the great majority of our 400+ members will avail themselves of this opportunity to re-commit to our great organization that does so much not only for our veterans both new and old but also for our youth and seniors in general.
On another topic, members are reminded that regular monthly meetings will resume at 7:00pm on the second Tuesday in September. Hope to see you there.

Committed to our Veterans, Youth, Seniors and the Community
RCL #78, Turner Valley

Malcolm Hughes
Membership Officer.