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Niagara Falls
Friday, March 29, 2024
Legion membership continues to grow each year

More newcomers and longtime residents are turning to the Niagara-on-the-Lake Legion to give back and connect with the community; the organization welcomed more new members this year than previous years, recruitment officer Doug Pettit said.

Twelve new members were welcomed into the Legion Branch 124 this year, seven of which were initiated at a ceremony at Navy Hall during the New Year’s Day Levee.

“We’re getting a lot more than we used to,” he said.

Pettit said many “new members” have moved to town from other districts. But several are brand new to the organization altogether looking to connect with people in town while also joining a service club.

“A lot of people do it because it’s social. We’re a non-profit. It’s like a service club and they know we do a lot of things in town,” Pettit said.

And though traditionally members were veterans or family members of veterans, many new recruits are joining for personal reasons, he said.

“In the old days it used to be a grandfather to father to son. Absolutely it’s not like that anymore. No, there’s no more veterans to start the thing to get everybody else going,” he said.

Though that hasn’t slowed the number of new recruits joining the Legion’s ranks.

He said there are three different member classifications:

“Those who have served and that includes first responders. They would be known as members. And then there’s associate members who are related. I’m an associate member because my father was a veteran,” he said.

“And then those who don’t know anybody – they’re an affiliate member.”

Though he made it clear that all are voting members.

Anyone interested in joining the Legion Branch 124 can reach out the office at 905 468 2353.

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