Legions primarily exist to help veterans, but as veterans pass away, Legions are seeking new ways to boost their membership numbers.
Without members paying their yearly dues (of around $55) and people frequenting Legions, spending money in their bars and kitchens, branches are struggling to pay their overheads and simply survive.
There are four Legions on the Coast and their membership numbers and overall health varies from community to community.
Sechelt
The Sechelt Legion, Branch 140, has been in the news recently for its dire financial position that saw members vote unanimously on Nov. 6 to accept a deal from a local company to buy the Legion building and the property it sits on.
Details of the deal have yet to be publicized but the move means Legion members will be scouring Sechelt for another building to call home.
“The Legion is not going to close,” president Kay Metcalfe said this week. “It’s just going to be moving, that’s all. Sooner or later.”
She expects the membership to stay at its current location until the new year at least, which is why the Sechelt Legion is still advertising events, and Metcalfe hopes the community will support the branch by attending.
She said Branch 140 is also still taking memberships from the public and she’d like to up the Legion’s numbers before the end of the year.
Currently the Sechelt Legion has about 325 members – less than half of the membership the Legion boasted in the 1980s.
For several years now Legions in Canada have invited anyone aged 19 or over to join, regardless of past service, in an effort to boost membership numbers.
Roberts Creek
Roberts Creek Legion Branch 219 has been struggling for several years, according to Jake Klassen, who is on the executive committee.
“I don’t think it’s a secret,” he said.
Currently the branch has about 200 members, but Klassen said several of those members are “one-time people” who buy a membership one year but don’t come back the next.
“I feel we have a bit of a transient community here and there’s very little work around and people come and go,” Klassen said.
He also noted the change in smoking laws in recent years negatively impacted numbers at the Legion.
The Roberts Creek Legion does what it can through putting on music events, trivia nights and dinners to draw people in, but Klassen said more members and more patrons are needed.
“We’re still struggling, but we’re still here,” he said.
Gibsons
Gibsons Legion Branch 109 is in the midst of a transformation that’s been resulting in more members and patrons, according to president Wilma Jones.
“We’re trying to make it more upbeat, trying to change the image,” Jones said.
She noted the Legion has plans to upgrade its lounge to “make it more modern” and that the staff has been focused on friendly service while the Legion has been putting on more events.
“Every month we seem to be getting more and more people actually signing up,” Jones said, noting the current membership at the Legion is about 520 people.
It’s a positive change that Jones is pleased to see and she hopes it continues into the new year.
Pender Harbour
Pender Harbour Legion Branch 112 is doing very well thanks to the support of volunteers, the membership and the community.
Vice president of the Legion, Ted Taylor, said the branch’s membership is at about 280 people and that the plethora of events and activities at the Legion keeps it going strong.
“Besides our regular Wednesday through Saturday with the kitchen open, we have meat draws on the weekends, we always have a big fish and chip special Friday nights, we open the building up to all kinds of organizations to use … in the hopes that they’ll buy something from the kitchen,” Taylor said.
In addition, he said the Pender Harbour Legion hosts quiz nights, community events and parties.
“We have a very good volunteer base and a good membership base and everything is tickety-boo,” Taylor said, adding that the Legion is always pleased to see new members sign up.
