March President’s Report

Schooners is OPEN but the Legion Canteen remains closed until further notice.

Schooners is open to the public and it is anticipated that Legion members will come down with a friend or two for coffee, lunch, or maybe a drink and make Schooners their go to place for the next few months. The Pool tables are not open nor are the dart boards.

As mentioned above, Schooners Pub is open for business from 11-5 everyday. This Easter weekend the Pub will be closed Friday and Sunday. The Legion Office will still be open from 9-12 and by appointment. Just call or email the Legion.

· A limited Lunch menu is also available from Monday-Friday.

· Soup and Sandwich special every day- $7.75.

· Douglas Meats sausages are available from the bar throughout the day.

· Highballs, wine and draft beer are all priced at $3.50.

· Domestic Beer is available for only $4.00.

We are anxiously awaiting news from AHS as to when we can move to the next level so please stay tuned. In the meantime, we are planning another Rafflebox 50/50. Thank you to everyone who bought tickets for our first 50/50 raffle. We made approximately $8000.00 after expenses. This has been a tremendous help in paying for the utilities, repairing the walk-in cooler in the kitchen and keeping your Legion, Robertson Memorial Br#17 in the black. Expenses do not just go away as you all know, just because there is a Pandemic. So, our next 50/50 will start on April 5, 2021 and the draw will be held May 10. Please support the Legion like you did last time with your generosity and caring.

We continue to apply for the Federal Wage Subsidy every two weeks and have been very thankful to receive it. As well the Provincial Re-Launch grant of $20,000.00 has been much appreciated. For example, our Legion Canteen Revenues for 2020 are down over $100,000 from the previous year, 2019. This money we receive from the different levels of government is definitely helping us “to keep the doors open and the lights on”.

Robertson Memorial is investigating the hot meal programs that exist in Medicine Hat and have become aware that there are Veterans who regularly rely on many of these hot meal programs. Therefore, we are going to start donating from the Poppy Fund to help these programs financially. We have already donated $500.00 to the Salvation Army hot meal program to help feed Veterans and others who need this assistance at this difficult time.

I know we are all anxiously waiting for this silent insidious illness to fade but in the meantime, we need to follow Alberta Health Services rules. This means wearing a mask when you enter the building, signing the contact tracing sheet, and using the hand sanitizer. It goes without saying, please stay home if you are sick. We have Legion cloth masks available in the Office for $10.00.

A big thank you is extended to Holly and Judy and all the staff for all they have done and continue to do to move our Branch forward and keep us safe. Some of you may have

received a phone call to update our member data base to ensure you are getting the latest Legion information. A big thank you is extended to Gerry Beebe for spearheading this initiative and to Roger Beebe for taking the time to call everyone. Comments were very positive, as they reached out and talked to the members.

The Loonie and Toonie draw are now open and you can sign up in Schooners Pub on the sheet or the envelopes on the bar. Just place your loonie in the cup and the toonie in the envelope.

I hope you are all able to get your flu shot. Keep safe and pray that soon we can get back to some kind of normal.

Respectfully submitted,

Sheila Donner, President