President’s Message:
Joe Gowing – President@PrestonLegion.ca
Branch 126 continues to have a busy and positive year, with strong support for our sports, social programs, entertainment, seniors’ events, and our ongoing work in support of veterans and the community.
I am pleased to share that work continues on the new building project. I ask all members to please watch your emails closely over the summer. Although there will be no Torch in July or August, we may need to call a Special General Meeting to seek membership approval related to the start of the new building project.
I also want to recognize an important milestone: July 17, 2026, marks the 100th Anniversary of The Royal Canadian Legion. This is a proud moment for all of us as we reflect on a century of service, remembrance, advocacy, and support.
As a reminder, glasses are not to be reused at the bar. Each time you come up to the bar, you will be provided with a new glass to help maintain proper cleanliness, safety, and service standards.
I want to extend my sincere thanks to Myra Plantz for her more than 17 years of dedicated service to Branch 126, including her commitment to the Executive and as Seniors Chair. I wish her all the best as she steps down from these roles.
Thank you to all members, volunteers, and staff who continue to support Branch 126. Your contribution keeps our Branch moving forward.
I look forward to seeing you at the branch.
1st Vice President/ Bar Manager:
Al Clark – 1vp@prestonlegion.ca
As spring moves into summer, we will be moving to our summer hours effective June 1, 2026.
Our summer hours will be:
Monday to Wednesday: 1:00 PM to 6:00 PM
Thursday: 1:00 PM to 10:00 PM
Friday and Saturday: 1:00 PM to 9:00 PM
We encourage everyone to come out, enjoy the warmer weather, and continue supporting the Branch throughout the summer months. Whether you are stopping after work, coming out for sports, attending an event, or just enjoying time with friends, we look forward to seeing you.
At the bar, we are looking at introducing some new summer drink options, including new selections from Neutral, as well as bringing Michelob Ultra on tap. We are always looking for ways to improve what we offer our members and guests.
As always, if there is something you would like to see available at the bar, please reach out to myself or to Sandy, our Bar Supervisor. Your feedback helps us continue to improve service and provide options that members enjoy.
Thank you to our bar staff, volunteers, and members for your continued support.
Have a great summer and stay safe.
2nd Vice President/ Ways and Means:
Gary Staveley – 2VP@prestonlegion.ca
Hello again, welcome to spring even if it's still cold out, for now.
Will let you know there is still no news about the new Fortunato 5 tickets. As of our Spring Convention, there were still some Branches in process of filing their applications so hopefully they are complete and we will hear from them soon.
By the time this is distributed we will likely already have the spring Bottle drive (May 3).
To let everyone know, there will be another one in the fall, date to be determined so save those containers.
Given that 2026 is the 100th Anniversary year for the RCL, we will be having a special event with lots planned for an enjoyable time for everyone.
We also have the golf tournament to look forward to on August 30 so everyone mark your calendars for it.
May is a special time of year as the weather changes and trees and flowers bloom, making everyone feel much better especially after a long winter like we've just endured.
Hoping everyone gets out and enjoys the beginning of what we all hope to be a nice summer.
Remember we will still be open for all to enjoy.
Cheers to you all.
Secretary:
Gwen Whittaker – secretary@PrestonLegion.ca
Welcome to all our new members. Thank you, Debbie Page-Bruce, for working tirelessly on processing all those applications. I am keeping busy with registration for the Zone Convention in April. Helping at the Branch with a variety of events and will be assisting with the Honours & Awards Banquet this year. Always looking for volunteers to help with events.
Seniors:
Gwen Whittaker – secretary@prestonlegion.ca
We extend our sincere thanks to Myra Plantz for her more than 17 years of dedicated service to Branch 126, including her commitment to the Executive and as Seniors Chair, and we wish her all the best as she steps down from these roles.
There will not be any senior’s dances in July and Aug
Next Dance: May 17
Thursdays Euchre 12:30pm start $5.00 to play.
Treasurer:
Steve Howlett – treasurer@pretonlegion.ca
Wow—what a great start to 2026 with an incredible increase in membership! Congratulations to all our new members, and welcome aboard.
With my retirement effective May 1, I’m now able to commit 100% of my time and energy—previously dedicated to my career—toward supporting the Legion.
I’m truly looking forward to working alongside our Executive Team and, of course, with all our members. With more time to serve, I remain focused on identifying cost savings while maintaining quality, quantity, and integrity in everything we do.
Hopefully, the cold and snowy winter months are now behind us. I’m confident we will begin to see a positive shift in our Profit & Loss, particularly with the elimination of snow removal expenses.
As we approach the 100th anniversary of the Royal Canadian Legion, activity is ramping up in preparation for this historic milestone.
I would also like to extend warm wishes to all the wonderful moms this May—Happy Mother’s Day—and to all the amazing dads in June—Happy Father’s Day.
Branch Service Officer:
Terry Smith – VSO@PrestonLegion.ca
Hello everyone I hope you're doing well. Over last several weeks in conjunction with the EVHI programme and Legion provincial command I have assisted two more veterans who have been housed and off the streets. EVHI found apartments and the Legion provided furnishings and apartment kits funded through poppy funds and soldier Aid Commission.
The veteran banner programme is running again for this. It's strictly first come first serve this year. We have very little room this year.
If you already have banner you wish to see along King Street, the $50 renewal fee is now due and to be paid no later than August 31st
You can pay by cash or debit at the lounge bar or e-transfer to prestonrclbr126@gmail.com. If e-transfer make a note on it with the veteran’s name.
Sgt At Arms:
Terry Smith – vso@prestonlegion.ca
In my role as the convention General chairman, I would like to thank everyone involved in making the recent district command convention at our branch a great success.
Gwen Whittaker convention secretary
Al Clark hotel accommodation for delegates
Gary Staveley transportation
Dean Broad. Nathan McDaniel. Brian Arn, Steve Staveley (drivers)
Emma Babalan chef and catering
Dan Welsh, Jeff Whittaker, Nathan McDaniel colour party.
Entertainment:
Terry Smith – VSO@PrestonLegion.ca
I continue to book things for most Saturdays in the lounge so please check branch social media and the TVs in lounge for what’s going on.
I'm also starting a monthly dinner for the first Friday of each month. Again, please check social media for dates times and then menu.
Finally, I'm also working on an all day fundraising event to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the Royal Canadian Legion I will put out more information once I get things lined up and schedules worked out but am looking for this to take place on the official anniversary date of Friday 17th July.
Membership:
Debbie Page-Bruce - membership@PrestonLegion.ca
HELLO COMRADES!
Branch 126 has welcomed over 200 new members to date, and applications are still coming in. This brings our Legion to over 715 members, which is an incredible milestone for our Branch.
With this growth, we are working hard to officially welcome and initiate our new members. For each General Meeting, between 30 and 40 new members are contacted by phone and email with the hope of having them attend and be sworn in as official members of Branch 126.
Unfortunately, attendance has been much lower than expected, with only about 5 to 6 new members attending each meeting. As a result, we still have well over 180 new members who need to be officially initiated.
We are now looking at additional ways to complete membership orientation and initiation so these members can be fully welcomed into Branch 126. Please watch for future announcements regarding upcoming opportunities for new member orientation and initiation.
Finally, a sincere congratulations to all the new members who have already been initiated into our Legion. We are proud to have you as part of Branch 126 and look forward to seeing our new members become active participants in the life of our Branch.
Poppy Chair:
Sherrill Hyde – poppy@prestonlegion.ca
Welcome to spring 2026. It's time we got rid of the doomy / gloomy weather. We need to get our shorts/ t-shirts out and tuck our winter clothing away for a few months.
Every year, RunWaterloo hosts a charity run with the proceeds being donated to the Poppy Trust Fund for our Veterans. They've just donated another $2,000 to the account from last year's run. This brings the total amount donated to approx. $6,000. Thank you, Lloyd for all your hard work and generosity over the years. The Veterans really appreciate your efforts.
Not much to report this time of year. Poppy is quiet with not much happening. I'm working on the Canada Revenue Charity report which is due in June. Also, HST rebates report to recoup the HST that was paid on Poppy purchases.
House and Ground/ Building Committee:
Dan Welsh - danwelsh@hotmail.ca
Welcome to all of our new members. As we slowly edge out of the colder weather we look forward to what this summer will bring to the legion.
There have been some fixes on the building recently and one major one was the wastewater pipe from the legion. After our house and grounds team tried several options We recently had an issue that required the city to dig up the road on Westminster which we believe is a city issue so we shouldn’t be responsible for any expenses for the work that was done.
With all of our new members joining we have been looking for those wanting to volunteer. Volunteers play a very important role in the everyday operations of the legion. I have received a few names and we are always looking for more. Please reach out as we would love to have you on board. I would like to send a big thank you to all the volunteers over the years as you are the ones that have brought the legion to where it is today and to be able to help out all the charities and veterans we provide for.
The building committee is meeting on May 5 and there will be some updates on the building plans with the city approvals. The new plans are posted in the main foyer of the legion for those that have not seen them or were unable to attend the April General meeting where president Joe Gowing’s presentation on how the build came about as well as a virtual flyover of the building was shown. We will keep you updated as time moves on.
Volunteers:
Dan Welsh - danwelsh@hotmail.ca
If you would like to volunteer in any of our Branch activities such as Remembrance Day, Poppy Campaign, Sports Program, Committee Work, Kitchen on Saturday afternoons, Sunday breakfast, etc., please feel free to contact me via computer at danwelsh@hotmail.ca
Sports:
Jeff Whittaker – sports@prestonlegion.ca
Good day Comrades.
Have a shuffleboard team moving on to play provincial shuffleboard on May 24th good luck gentleman.
Zone cornhole in Hespeler May 30th. Must be a member in good standing; rules apply. Have 3 teams and singles signed up already. Let’s represent Br. 126!!
Darts/ Euchre coming to an end. Thank you Ed Wiseman and team and Steve Howlett and team for running to two activities. Looking for someone to run Friday night summer darts easy peasy; let me know.
Sports@ prestonlegion.ca. Due to construction, we will be unable to offer horseshoes. Sorry comrades. The result will be great.
Cribbage? Somebody interested in running? Boards and cards are waiting. Thank you to who have supported our sports during the season. It takes all of us to keep the legion running.
Cadet Liaison:
Nathan McDaniel - nthn_mcdaniel@hotmail.com
Branch 126 continues to be proud of our connection with the local Cadet programs and the important role they play in developing leadership, discipline, teamwork, and community service among our youth.
The annual inspection parades are taking place on June 6, 2026. I will be attending the Air Cadets Annual Inspection Parade on behalf of the Branch, and Al Clark will be attending the Army Cadets Annual Inspection Parade the same day.
These inspections are an important opportunity to show our support for the Cadets, their officers, instructors, volunteers, and families. They also allow us to recognize the hard work and dedication the Cadets have shown throughout the training year.
Branch 126 looks forward to continuing our support of the Cadet movement and maintaining a strong relationship with both the Air and Army Cadet units.
