Vegreville Couple Treated to Warm Welcome at Royal Canadian Legion No. 39

Vegreville Couple Treated to Warm Welcome at Royal Canadian Legion No. 39

Michelle Pinon - News Advertiser

Joining the Royal Canadian Legion has been a goal of Shannon Haubrick’s for the past several years. She, along with her husband Shane Letendre, did just that this past December, and they are thoroughly enjoying time spent at the Royal Canadian Legion No. 39 in Vegreville.

Shannon and Shane served in the RCMP for 20 and 25 years respectively. Shannon grew up in Vegreville and is happy to be back home and be a part of the 95-year-old community-minded organization.

Shannon says, “Joining the Legion has meaning and tributes, first to my two uncles who served in WWII, thankfully both survived and went on to have fulfilled lives. The second, and most important, is that both my dad and brother served as regular members of the RCMP.

Shannon Haubrick and Shane Letendre.

(Rosanne Fortier/Photo)

My dad served from 1955 to 1977, reaching the rank of Staff Sergeant, and my brother served from 1997-2015, also reaching the rank of Staff Sergeant. I would joke with them that I would reach the rank of Inspector to beat them both!”

Shane and Shannon started coming to Branch 39 eight months ago. “We have a good friend of ours that volunteers on the executive and we started to come and meet every Friday. We started calling it Club 39 as a tribute to Branch 39. Kind of a club within a club.”

Shane says joining the Legion has been awesome. “The environment here is very warm and welcoming. And you can see how they honour service and you just feel like you are wholeheartedly accepted and appreciated.”

He explains that it’s not just the environment at Branch 39 that’s special. “It’s the work volunteers do there for veterans and their families and their communities. They do a lot of fundraisers that help strengthen and build the community.”

Shannon adds, “The Legion and its mandate mean a lot to us and the fundraising to support programs for veterans would not be possible without the commitment and passion of all the volunteers. Branch 39 is fortunate to have a dedicated and tremendous group of volunteers who work tirelessly to fulfil the commitments of the Legion in support of veterans and the community.

The Legion is such an important part of Vegreville, to show our thanks by supporting and advocating for veterans, remembering their sacrifices and helping support services within our community. The Legion is a place to meet with friends, support local events, and if you are lucky, you can sit and talk with a veteran.”