Back in 2017, the Estevan branch of the Royal Canadian Legion found itself in a tough financial situation. Like many other organizations that struggle to meet the ends nowadays, the legion had to reorganize their efforts, think out of the box and come up with a recovery plan that would financially bring them to solid ground. And unlike some others, they succeeded.
“The executive came together and came up with some plans, changed the way we manage our stuff, so we didn’t get blindsided by things,” said Royal Canadian Legion Estevan branch president Jim (Frosty) Forrest.
One of the most successful initiatives was the truck raffle that the Estevan branch started in 2017.
“It was the first annual raffle and it was hugely successful,” said Forrest.
Hall rental promotion also did its part, and now their summer calendar looks busier than it’s probably ever been.
Different changes and initiatives took the time to give the results. But already by the end of 2017, the Estevan Legion could see the light at the end of the tunnel. By the end of 2018, they were in a pretty good financial shape.
“It took a lot of hard work on the part of our members, promoting our hall rentals, doing fundraising, doing what we could to get ourselves solvent again… But the community support, doesn’t matter whether we were doing a raffle or whatever, it’s all community support,” explained Forrest.
“We made an appeal to the public, to the citizens of Estevan and businesses and so on, and we received considerable support from the community.”
And as of the end of June 2019, the Legion has reached the point when they can cover all their regular expenses, aren’t carrying any debt, and are also are able to securely serve their main missions: support veterans and their families and invest into youth development. Which is only possible when the organization itself is in good financial shape.
“It’s been quite a journey. It’s made us take a look at how we do things and make sure we are doing them in a very efficient manner, that we are staying on top of things,” said Forrest. “(Now) everything that we spend gets examined with a fine-tooth comb before any decisions are made. And that’s the way it needs to be.”
Now they’re also able to look into some new initiatives that were out of their reach earlier.
“We are trying to support our youth too, air cadets and army cadets,” said Royal Canadian Legion Estevan branch past-president Lyle Dukart. “Army cadets are using our house, this is their main (location). Comrade Frosty is our liaison between cadets, army and air, for the legion and we’ve given them some financial help this year where we couldn’t in the past.”
They are considering the possibility of supporting the Estevan Legion track and field group and getting three athletes to go to provincial in Regina in July. Besides, they are looking into some structural upgrades such as public Wi-Fi in the legion’s buildings and an upgrade of the public address system.
But no matter what they do, they remain very prudent with how they distribute the finances to assure that they stay in good financial shape from now on.
“We have to make sure that when we are making these donations we aren’t putting ourselves back into any kind of financial situation,” said Forrest. “I think we are doing a good job.”
There are a few major campaigns and initiatives that bring the funds in. The Poppy Campaign is a trust fund, accumulating money that goes strictly towards veterans’ issues.
The gaming fund helps the legion to allocate money to give back to the community in the form of charitable donations, and also work on various community initiatives like the Wall of Remembrance at the Royal Heights Veterans’ Memorial Park that is done and paid for now. Another initiative is a military museum that is being developed by Commanding Officer Craig Bird and is slated to be completed before Remembrance Day this year. These funds along with hall rentals and supper shows also help them to operate and maintain their buildings.
This year’s big fundraiser, the 2019 Chevy Silverado truck raffle, with $10,000, $5,000 and $1,000 in cash prizes is ongoing. The legion decided to only offer 1,500 tickets this year, which makes the odds of winning quite attractive. Tickets can be purchased at the legion, at Murray GM in Estevan as well as from legion members.
The Estevan Legion is a vital part of the community both in what they do for the veterans, and what they do for the city and the way citizens helped the organization to get through hard times once again proved it.
“I’m very optimistic for the legion in Estevan. I think the legion is here for a long haul and it’s going to continue to do the good work it does,” said Forrest.
