NEWS!!

RMCCC Strategic Review

The General Council on the RMC Clubs of Canada this fall approved a strategic review by appointing a Strategic Review Steering Committee under the interim chairmanship of 4976 Reg Watts. The goal is to take a fresh look at the needs and satisfaction of ex-cadets to determine how programs and services should be designed to ensure a healthy future for the club, with broad participation.

After forming a committee of 12 members from across the country, 9143 Bruce McAlpine joined Reg as co-chair. The SRSC includes representatives from RMCSJ, the Foundation and the National Executive as well as the Club Executive Director, and represents all age groups. The committee is seeking the widest possible input from all levels of graduates from all three colleges, and readers are encouraged to participate in the survey activities that will follow.

A three-phase work-plan was developed and agreed by the SRSC, and launched in September. The phases include a review of Best Practices of other alumni associations, targeted interviews with members and non-members, culminating in a broad member survey. The SRSC plans to provide a report to Council by May, 2012.

A concurrent task crossing the first two phases is the enrichment of the club database commencing December 2011 under the direction of the Executive Director 14356 Michael Rostek with S125 Bill Oliver.

In the coming months, the Team will solicit support from many sources, including Branches, Classes, as well as individuals, and all are encouraged to participate and any contribution to this effort will be welcomed.

 (Actual eVeritas Article published 15/12/2011)

Danny McLeod - 90th Birthday at Home!

Bob and Sheila Billings and grandson present Danny with a Sherman tank birthday cake at home on November 5th, the big day! Sheila, you got that colour just right!

The Branch and The Cadets of RMC

The executive of Kingston Branch met with the Commandant recently to discuss the branch Heritage programs and determine how the branch could support the College and cadets.

BGen Tremblay is very interested in the dissemination of College Traditions and Culture and military etiquette to cadets who are somewhat deficient in their understanding of these matters that were important to us in our years at the Colleges. Among the examples discussed were; saluting, giving compliments, table etiquette, forms of address, college history, etc. The suggestion was made that the senior Branch members could have a very positive impact on cadets by preparing and delivering a series of lectures/workshops to 1^st year cadets after FYOP.

The commandant has asked the Branch to present a list of what we could do, for example subjects like:

·         Conduct, - what does being a "gentleman" cadet mean?

·         Essential College history and traditions, etc.

·         Development of a revised cadet handbook

There is time to prepare this program before next August, we have a volunteer project leader and need further help from branch members:

1.      Suggestions on topics that should be on the program

2.      Development of lecture outlines

3.      Volunteers to participate in delivery.

This is your chance to directly make a difference in the College knowledge and military behaviour of cadets. Some of you have volunteered, but more are needed. Please contact Gwyn Griffith.

RMC Club of Canada President's Award to Kingston Branch

President David Benoit presents Kingston Branch President with the President's award for all the work done by branch volunteers to preserve and promote the heritage of the Colleges and ex-cadets.

La Chasse-Galerie

The "flying canoe" arrived at the RMC peninsula shore just below memorial arch on Friday Sept 30. BGen Eric Tremblay took the salute as the canoeists battled a stiff southerly breeze, but they handled the craft in a very seaman-like manner. A cadet party including a piper and many guests were present, and the Cordite escorted the canoe at this annual event. The excitement culminated a 7-day paddle by ex-cadet volunteers to raise funds for the Danny McLeod Athletic Fund.

2816 BGen (Ret'd) William Turner Celebrates!

Friends joined Bill Turner's family for a celebration of his 90th birthday birthday on Saturday, 17 September 2011 at the Fort Frontenac Officer's Mess. Four generations of Turners helped to make this a very happy event. Happy Birthday Bill, from the Kingston Branch!

RMCCC Executive Director Appointment

(Click here for bio and photo)

"I am very pleased to announce that LCol Michael Rostek has accepted the position of Executive Director.  His official start will be on 1 Dec 11.  His selection represents an entire collaborative effort between the membership, EC and GC all under the skilful leadership of Marc Drolet.  Welcome to Mike and BZ to the team who developed the process that delivered such a superb candidate.

I would also like to officially welcome BGen Richard Foster, our newly appointed CFLO [Canadian Forces Liaison Officer] who is replacing BGen John Madower. We look forward to Gen Foster's contribution and involvement with the committee.

While I have privately thanked Gen Madower for his involvement, I would like to publicly acknowledge and thank him for his contribution to the committee. We wish him all the best in his future endeavours."

David Benoit, President, RMCCC

VERITAS Needs Advertisers

Branch Challenge from National Club 1VP
 
"I would like to challenge each Branch to bring in an Advertiser for the VERITAS magazine. I would recommend to target companies such as: Thales, CAE, Boeing, Bell, Bombardier, SNC Lavalin, Bell Helicopter, L3, MDA, Raytheon, Marconi, and other large corporations which currently have large contracts with DND."

From Bill Oliver:
To sustain the high quality of  of the Veritas magazine we require partners / advertisers.I’m currently working on obtaining more advertisers for the Fall / Winter Veritas magazine and hopefully for the long term. If you or someone you know can help us – now is the time we need your help. 

What we need:

a)      For you to provide us with the coordinates of persons who can make a decision to purchase an Ad; or they are close to a person in a business who can make that decision.

b)      Prior to us contacting the person they should be given a “heads up” that we will be calling.

c)       The person should be expecting to hear from us and we should expect a high likelihood that they will purchase an Ad.

 What we do not need is a “list of names” to make “cold calls”.  (See Bill For Rate Card)

Deadline for a commitment to take out an Ad for the Fall / Winter edition is 15 Sep. Consequently, we need plenty of time for us to make the 15 – 20 connections we hope to be receiving.

I look forward to hearing from you all very soon.  FYI, Veritas magazine is printed three times per year; it has a distribution of 6,000.  Most senior officers in the CF are on the mailing list.

Respectfully, Bill Oliver - Interim Executive Director

Chasse-Galerie

The Branch has made a $250 donation to the Chasse-Galerie program which fundraises for the Danny McLeod Athletic Fund.

School Awards Program

This year, the Branch revised its book awards program so that the awards to worthy high school students would be presented at the grade 11 level rather than grade 12 (where we found most students had already made their ongoing education or career decisions.) Some of these Academic Awards days are held in the Spring, and some in the following Fall, so this year we were able to reach 5 schools before the summer break.

Our plan is to continue to present the RMC historical book, "Truth-Duty-Valour" but to accompany it, an RMC scarf! This fall, we will also include "redcoats" to accompany the ex-cadet presenters, with the approval of staff, of course.

The following note is an indication that this change in our program is worthwhile!

The Wharton's 50th!

This is a bit late, but Wayne and Doreen Wharton celebrated their 50th anniversary on July 9th with friends, family and classmates at their home. Coincidentally, it was Doreen's birthday as well!

Congratulations from all of us!

Danny McLeod Recuperating Nicely

After surgery to implant a pacemaker, Danny is resting comfortably at home, Sheila reports!

Peter Dawe Retirement BarBQ

A farewell BBQ was held today (Friday, June 3) in the RMC Senior Staff Mess for Peter Dawe.  About 50 people attended representing Panet House, Ex Cadets and RMC staff.  Reg Watts, Bob Carr and Ed Murray represented the GC, as did a representative of the Vancouver Island Branch.  The Ottawa and Kingston branches were well represented by their members.   Bill Oliver acted as host and MC.   Speeches were made by the Commandant Commodore Bill Truelove, Peter's son James, Peter Kirkham, Reg Watts (who presented an engraved mantle clock from the Kingston branch), Gilles Langlois, Bob Carr (Hamilton Branch), Chris Carr, John Cowan and Mary Darlington.  A number of emails/letters of thanks were received including two from Ramsay Withers and Tom Lawson. The key point in every presentation, was that Peter had significantly advanced the state of the Club through his devotion to the College and cadets and inspired others to over-achieve. Often-mentioned was the high quality of the Club's two keys communications tools, Veritas and eVeritas.

Peter responded with an excellent speech which focused on his satisfaction and enjoyment in meeting the challenges of the ED job over ten years.  He paid particular tribute to Bill and Mary, Peter Kirkham and Reg Watts for their assistance. 

Branch Paddler

Mike Jackson will again paddle his way from Ottawa to Kingston, along with the rest of the La Chasse-Galerie gang. This is a fundraiser for the Danny McLeod Sports Fund, so get on board! Pledge form HERE

Graduation/Convocation 2011 -

We couldn't cover it any better than eVERITAS, so here's the link: http://everitas.rmcclub.ca/

BRANCH EXECUTIVE BUDGET - 2011 Click Here:

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

The Royal Military Colleges CLUB of Canada (RMCC) is seeking to fill the position of Executive Director (ED).

The main objective of the RMC Club is to establish and maintain a strong link between the Canadian Military Colleges and their alumni and members of the Club at large.

The ED is responsible to the Executive Committee (EC) for the day to day management of the Club. The ED will supervise the planning and implementation of the different programs, with the objective of promoting the vision, the mission, the values and objectives of the RMC Club. The ED will be expected to collaborate with the RMC Club of Canada Foundation for the mutual support and benefit of “Two Colleges and One Club”.

From a day to day perspective, the ED ensures the link between the different stakeholder groups. The ED will have the responsibility to manage the day to day affairs of the Club, which include the supervision of the Club employees, acting as Editor in chief of the Club Magazine, implementing the strategic plan in conjunction with the EC, offering bilingual services to its members, while ensuring a solid and structured management of the Club including the financial management. The ED is also expected to establish interaction with the Officer Cadets at the Colleges.

The ED will work in close collaboration with the President of the RMC Club, the Officers of the Club, the Executive Committee and the Branch Presidents in implementing the Club Strategic Plan, the Work Plan and the different programs of the Club.

The preferred candidate will be a confident self-starter, bilingual, and team player seeking a challenging position where he/she may contribute to the success of the Royal Military Colleges of St-Jean and Canada through the RMC Club. He/she will have extensive knowledge of the Candian military and its culture.

APPLICATIONS CLOSED

Dave Benoit, RMCC Président – David Benoit (naveng7@yahoo.ca)

Portraits of Honour Fundraiser

http://www.portraitsofhonour.com/

Thanks to the efforts of Andrew Robb and twenty other branch members and over 700 man-hours of work, this project was completed on April 6, 2011.

Andrew Robb: 'It' is finally completed, after four years and many dedicated hours each month by members of the Kingston Branch of the RMC Club. 'It' is the project to protect all the pre WW II cadet files from deterioration. Each sheet of each of the 2828 files of the cadets who entered the College up to and including 1940 has been interleafed with a sheet of acid-free paper. This will protect the contents of the files from further more rapid deterioration. All files are now boxed and stored in the climate controlled workshop of the RMC Museum where they are readily accessible by researchers and others. Thank you to all Branch members involved for completing this Herculean task.

Sadly we have been unable to locate any of the files of cadets from the post WW II years. The best information we have received is that they were destroyed. Too bad!"
 

Reg Watts:  "This project has several levels of significance. First of all, the RMC spirit of getting the job done came through on this. Some days we trudged through the snow and occasionally sweated through summer mornings when the library air conditioning failed. It showed that our common past is a still a strong bond. Second, we realized the wealth of College Heritage information contained in the ex-cadet files now preserved for researchers, families and interested parties, and it revealed to us that there are many similar aspects of College heritage in similar danger. Third, projects like this can keep alive the fellowship aims of the RMC Club of Canada by bringing Branch members together. We are fortunate because of our location to have access to records and memorabilia, but we need the support of the entire Club in future to make major progress. Hopefully this accomplishment will lead to similar activities in other branches, and support of the RMC museum financially. Well done to all KB "Frequent Filers!"

Project leader Andrew Robb ceremonially completes the last file while the stalwart Filers look on;. Frank Norman, Ray Dignum, Charlie Simonds, Reg Watts. Missing from the photo is Ed Murray who inspired the project, filed and encouraged members during this work.

The last cadet record file, #2828 Keith Cleaver Weston Dean

• College Tours - Another Museum Support Project Off and Running!

  The Tour Guides Group is formed as a part of the Kingston Branch Heritage Committee. In order for the Curator of the RMC Museum, 8057 Ross McKenzie, to have more time to do Museum work, it is essential that he reduce the time spent on conducting tours for visitors to the College. Consequently, a group of Kingston Branch members have volunteered to conduct those tours that the Commandant does not get personally involved in, nor those involving recruiting and admission of candidates.
  
  Members of the group are: 2864 Pierre Bussières, 3826 Don Coulter, 5256 Gwyn Griffith, 4459 Ed Murray, 2908 Al Pickering, 5611 Gerry Stowe and 5300 Bob Thomas. Bob Thomas led the first tour for the group on Tuesday 5 April, a group of about 20 foreign officers and their wives from the CF Language School in Ottawa.  It was a particularly cold day so they spent most of the time in Mackenzie Building and Currie Hall, discussing the history of the College and the current programme.  It went well and they asked a variety of insightful questions.

  Gwyn Griffith has one on Friday 15 April, and Gerry Stowe will lead a tour on Wednesday 13 April.

  Gerry Stowe is the Group organizer and he expects the group to do one or two tours each week in the foreseeable future. As an incidental note from Ed Murray,  the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD, also uses alumni volunteers for tours of the Academy.
   

• Appointments of Interest!

BGen J.G.E Tremblay will be appointed Commandant Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston (College # 14835 - CMR, 1985)

Cmdre W.S. Truelove will be appointed Chief Of Staff (Operations) Canadian Expeditionary Force Command in Ottawa

MGen T.J. Lawson will be promoted LGen and appointed Deputy Commander NORAD in Colorado

•  RMC - CONCERT in SCARLETS 

   If you missed it,  Saturday the 19th, what a shame, but book it for next year. The Bands, choir and dancers were "Amazing" to quote the Commandant.The performances included music from The Trews, excerpts from “The Phantom of the Opera”, “Trombone Rag”, piping “Highland Cathedral”, Carlos Santana’s “Maria Maria” and numbers with the Highland Dancers.

  

Nonetheless, the Kingston Branch Executive strives to meet the needs of its members and work within the overall strategic framework of the parent Club. There is much opportunity and few resources, so we have taken a strategic approach to managing the Branch. Your Executive Committee has developed guiding principles, goals and program activities to balance these diverse needs and has put forth a Strategic Direction document, (summarized in the attached file - click here). It is used to make resource decisions and prioritize programs and activities. Comment is invited.

2006 Recruit Obstacle Race