888 (Komox) Wing RCAFA
Contrails
1st Edition 2016
The Largest Wing in the Air Force Association of Canada
FALL
2011
Al Hampshire Receives RCAFA National Order of Excellence
Pacific Group President, Reg Daws and RCAFA National President, Terry Chester
present Al Hampshire with the highest award, the “RCAFA Order of Excellence”.
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Executive 2015 – 2016 (Effective 1 Jul 15)
President
Hon. Pres
Past Pres
1st Vice
2nd Vice
Secretary
Treasurer
Membership
Contrails
Publicity
Welfare
Entertainment
Housing
Gaming Tres
Sgt at Arms
Auxiliary
Wing Manager
RCAC Liaison
CF Liaison
Dennis Dupuis
338-0310
Chuck Hazleton
338-0305
Jack Shapka
339-1864
Ron Western
941-5584
vacant
Jan Hogan
339-2494
Daryl Wright
339-7493
Len Kuchynski
334-4558
Jan Hogan
339-2494
Joyce Hallowell
339-5485
Colleen Boudreau
338-5228
Gerry Bullen
339-0046
Bruce Elford
941-3388
Allan Whynott
898-2524
Glen Hooge
338-5228
Audrey Donovan
339-7292
Lisa Gillis
339-0888
Frank Fox
339-1127
CWO JC Parent
339-8211
Loc 6970
Bar Hours
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Noon-6pm
Noon-6pm
Noon-6pm
Noon-9pm
Noon-6pm*
Noon-6pm*
Noon-6pm
*Except for major
Wing functions and
Steak/Pub Grub nights
These are guidelines;
official bar hours
posted in the Wing
shall prevail.
Next Deadline – 15 May 2016
Contrails 2016
CONTRAILS is the quarterly bulletin of 888
(Komox) Wing of the Royal Canadian Air Force
Association. It is published four times a year March, June, September and December.
Mail articles to PO Box 430, Lazo, BC V0R 2K0, or
place articles in the Contrails slot in the Wing
Manager’s office or E-mail articles to the Editor at
[email protected]
How to contact us
Phone: (250) 339-0888
Fax:
(250) 339-6088
E-mail [email protected]
Website: www.888wingrcaf.com
Meetings
The Wing Executive Council with the Board of
Directors meets regularly every other month (as
required).
General meetings are held on the first Wednesday
of every February, April, June, and October. The
Annual General Meeting is in April at which time
elections for the new Wing Executive and Board of
Directors is held.
Wing Executive meets regularly each month.
386 (Komox) Royal Canadian
Air Cadet Squadron
Supported by 888 (Komox) Wing, through the
Sponsoring Committee. The Squadron holds
parades every Tuesday evening during the school
year and other activities as scheduled by the
Commanding Officer and Staff. (250-339-9198)
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EDITOR’S COMMENTS by JAN HOGAN
It’s that time of year again….elections in April. You may think that there is enough said about
volunteering, especially throughout this issue, but there is a great need for some new faces to
volunteer for positions on the Board of Directors and Executive. Some current members have been
holding positions for years and really need a break. You can do it! You will not be alone and there
are lots of experienced members to help you learn the ropes. But the enjoyment you will get out of
being part of a really well working team will surprise you and will make you feel very proud to be a
part of this organization. In addition, it will allow our activities to continue. I know I don’t want
Pub Grubs to end; I don’t want entertainment stopped; I don’t want to cancel receptions for
memorials, the levee or for anything else. So I urge all members to attend the Annual General
Meeting on April 6th and let your name stand for a position. You can make a difference! Contact
Jack Shapka and you can put your name forward or nominate another member, as long as that
member agrees with the nomination.
_________________________________________________________________________________
Points to Ponder:
“If it’s true that we are here to help others, then what exactly are the others here for?”
“Love may be blind, but marriage is an eye-opener.”
“I thought I wanted a career; turns out I just wanted paycheques.”
“Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.”
“Hospitality is making your guests feel at home even when you wish they were.”
_________________________________________________________________________________
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PRESIDENT’S REPORT by DENNIS DUPUIS
The time since our last newsletter has just flown by. Our New Year’s Levee was a great success
with fine food put on by our Wing Auxiliary and lots of tasty moose milk from John Wood.
Thank heavens, we have almost made it through the rains and winds of January/February and are
starting to think about the warm spring days to come. While the weather was nothing to write
home about, we cannot say that about the happenings within the Wing. The Entertainment
Committee continues to provide a variety of well thought out events thus keeping up the interest
of our members. This included a delicious meal and great entertainment at our Valentine’s Dinner
and Dance. Good on them!
The National Awards Presentations recently held at the Wing were a great opportunity for our
members to see first-hand our distinguished and most deserving Wing members being recognized
for their outstanding contributions to our Association and 888 Wing. Having our RCAFA National
President, Terry Chester and the Pacific Group President, Reg Daws volunteering to conduct the
ceremonies, within the Wing, was most rewarding. Special thanks to Terry and Reg for their
efforts in making these presentations first class.
As President, I again want to pass on my thanks to all of our Wing members who volunteer their
time supporting our Wing. Without those ongoing efforts, the Wing would not be the place it is
today - where the membership can feel good about being part of our establishment.
The present Executive is having difficulties with the recruitment of Wing members for our
upcoming vacant Executive and Board of Director positions. We do need a few members to step
up to the plate before the elections in April. If we are unable to fill these positions it will make it
very difficult to properly function as a Wing. For more information about volunteering for a
position on the Wing’s Executive, please feel free to contact our Past President, Jack Shapka.
________________________________________________________________________________
Mike Milne would like to say “hello” to the members of 888 Wing and sends his warmest regards
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1st VICE PRESIDENT REPORT
by RON WESTERN
On the 8th December 2015, I made an introductory trip to 101 Squadron in Port Hardy to attend
their general meeting on behalf of 888 Wing. 101 Sqn. were outstanding hosts and continue to
demonstrate exceptional community activity and support of Air Force heritage, through their
efforts in cairn and memorials as well as donations to various organizations and deserving persons
in the community. They look forward to continued association with 888 Wing and have planned
visits to the Wing this year, including attendance of some members at our Mess Dinner. They had
nothing put forward at this general meeting but are constantly in contact. My next trip is planned
for May.
2016 RCAFA Mess Dinner—Planning of this year’s dinner is progressing well. The first meeting
was held 14 January 2016 where all primary positions were identified and any concerns raised.
Since then the guest speaker has been confirmed, the caterer has been selected, letters have been
mailed to guests, the piper is secured, notification has been posted and a sign-up sheet activated.
Everyone is strongly encouraged to attend this year’s Mess Dinner, celebrating the 92nd
anniversary of the Air Force.
________________________________________________________________________________
Pacific Group President Reg Daws presents the National President
Terry Chester with the unique award “Pacific Bigfoot”.
888 Wing President, Dennis Dupuis presents Past
President, Jack Shapka with his President’s badge.
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NATIONAL AWARDS PROGRAM
by CHUCK HAZLETON HONOURARY PRESIDENT
Many thanks to Allan (Al) Hampshire, for 888 Wing has its first National “Order of Excellence” award winner! Al
has worked very hard as a Wing volunteer for many years. His carpentering skills are only part testamentary to
this statement. All a person has to do is look around the Wing and see his footprint everywhere, both inside
and outside. Upon accepting his award from the National President, Royal Canadian Air Force Association of
Canada, Terry Chester, at a capacity crowd of members and guests at the Wing, Al told the crowd he is very
honoured to have received such a prestigious award and that he wishes to share the recognition that comes
with the award with all his fellow volunteers who he ha s had the privilege to work with over the years.
Volunteering for Al Hampshire comes natural. He stated that he cannot stand on the sideline and watch when
there is work to be done...so he chose to get involved and continue his volunteering spirit. Ther e is more to this
story about Al Hampshire that many members are unaware! His many accomplishments in the Wing include his
driving force on the Wing Heritage Book Project for five years, President of 888 Wing in 2008, serving with
distinction and his many years of volunteer service with the Wing Maintenance Group, 386 Squadron RCAC,
other Wing committees and the list goes on.
For the benefit of our members, the Association National Executive Council (NEC) approved the Order of
Excellence award in 2014 as the highest award to be awarded to select Regular members already held in the
highest esteem by their fellow members, in recognition of their continuing service to community and country.
The award is bestowed upon a limited number of select Regular members in recognition of and appreciation for
service of the highest quality to the Association. The total number of members authorized to wear the Order of
Excellence shall not exceed ten, at any one time.
The above example of “Volunteerism” is not unique to 888 Wing. We have so many members who have done
so much for the Wing. However, the Wing could face a shortage of volunteers unless more members “step up
to the plate” and volunteer their service. At the past general meeting the Wing Auxiliary Chairperson stated
she is losing long time members and needs replacement ASAP. These ladies do herculean service to our Wing.
They desperately need more help. The “volunteering gap” will be exacerbated by the retirement of many longtime volunteers in the next couple of years or longer. The Wing has been through such boom and bust cycles
before, but factoring in a large number of the more senior volunteers at the same time will make dealing with
the downturn more complex. This is why it is crucial for 888 Wing to stay focused on recruiting more
volunteers. Please consider—VOLUNTEER!
___________________________________________________________________________________________
888 (KOMOX) WING
ROYAL CANADIAN AIR FORCE ASSOCIATION
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
April 6, 2016 at 1400 hours
Elections will be held
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386 (KOMOX) SQUADRON RCAC
by FRANK FOX
The projector system that was donated by the Billy Bishop Legion of Vancouver was picked up and
delivered to us by Burt Graham and I ask for a vote of thanks to Burt for the extra time and effort
that he took for the benefit of the Wing and our cadets. We have co-ordinated with the squadron
for the location and installation and Garth Loga has volunteered to help Bruce with the installation.
The squadron activities are posted on the Wing bulletin board for all Wing members to see and t o
keep you up to date on what’s happening. Please note that cadet registration is Tuesday nights at
1830 hours and the parents need to have the birth certificate and medical card of their cadet with
them.
The last meeting of the Squadron Sponsoring Committee was February 16th and all Wing members
are invited to any of these meetings. They are held in the Wing at 1830 hours.
A reminder that the Squadron account number at the bottle return on Anderton Road is “91”.
386 (Komox) Squadron is planning for some cadets to attend the 100 year Anniversary celebrations
at Vimy Ridge. The cost is quite high, so if you see the cadets fund-raising for this event, please
consider helping them. If you would like to make a private donation to the squadron, contact the CO
Captain Davidsen at the squadron office on Tuesday nights.
This year the Air Cadet League of Canada is celebrating its 75th year. Congratulations.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Past President Jack Shapka (L) and 1st Vice President Ron Western (R) present a cheque for $550 to
Brent Hobden of the Salvation Army during the Christmas Campaign.
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PAST PRESIDENT’S REPORT
by JACK SHAPKA
Military Family Resource Centres (MFRC) across Canada, are located at all Canadian Military Bases
and are registered non-profit organizations that provide relevant high quality programs and services
for military members and their families. As of October 2015, the MFRC facilities are also providing
their services for ex-military members and their families.
888 Wing annual elections warning order has been published, copies have been emailed to all Wing
members who have email addresses. A hard copy has also been posted on the Wing bulletin board
for all to read. Just a quick reminder to all nominees and volunteers (members of the Executive and
Directors) who wish to run for the present position they are holding, must indicate their wishes to the
Nomination Chair by the end of the business day, March 7, 2016, so that the names can be posted in
the Wing for the members review prior to the election.
Note: During the past couple of years the Wing Executive has worked extremely hard to get Wing
members to fill the Executive and Directors positions. In the past the Executive volunteers started at
the 2nd Vice, then 1st Vice and then on to President. Realizing that this is a four year commitment,
members are reluctant to volunteer for the duration. However, this does not have to be the case; a
member can volunteer for any position. The only positions which are not up for grabs are the Past
President and Honourary President. For example, if a member wishes to volunteer for the 2nd Vice,
he or she does not have to advance to 1st Vice the following year and may volunteer for another
term in the same position.
Wounded Warriors will be doing their annual fund raiser run on Vancouver Island during the week of
22 -28 February. They will be in Comox/Courtenay the afternoon of the 25 February, and will be
making their last stop of the day at 888 Wing as per the similar event of the previous year. Royal
Canadian Legion Branch 160 (Comox) will be participating in hosting the event with 888 Wing. 19
Wing and Branch 17 personnel will also be attending as per last year’s event. Additional details will
be published when confirmed. It has been suggested that 888 Wing make a donation of $500.00 to
the Wounded Warriors during their Vancouver Island fund raiser run.
The 2016 five-year plan was approved at our last General Meeting and most big ticket items have
been replaced at this time.
___________________________________________________________________________________
PACIFIC GROUP AGM
to be held in Chilliwack May 10 and May 11, 2016
Details will follow at a later date.
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MEMBERSHIP REPORT by LEN KUCHYNSKI
Currently we have a total of 563 members. This is composed of 333 Regular, 26 Dual, 87
Associates, 112 Spousal and 5 Life members. We will be starting our Pathfinder program on
Thursday, March 3. Someone will be in the office every Thursday from 1330 hours to 1600 hours.
The last full week of the program, May 23 to 27 and May 30 and May 31, someone will be there
every afternoon.
_______________________________________________________________________________
AUXILIARY REPORT
by AUDREY DONOVAN
We ladies have had a very quiet time since our last edition of Contrails. We happily looked after
the platters of food for our annual New Year’s Day Levee. It was nice to see such a grand turn
out to start the year off. Thanks to Mary Shaw and Betty Kuchynski for helping me with the
serving. After many, many years of helping with the Levee, Mary Shaw is going to take a welldeserved retirement! How can we thank you Mary for all the service you have dedicated to the
Auxiliary? I hope you know how much we appreciate you and how much you will be missed!
For all you new members to the Wing, let me be the first to welcome you and I do hope you are
looking forward to meeting all your new friends. Please call me and I will be happy to introduce
you to all the ladies in the Auxiliary. We do not have any meetings but we do like to get together
to make sandwiches once in a while. I’d love to have you join us. And gentlemen, you too are
welcome to come along!!
Spring is in the air! The birds are singing and the flowers are popping up everywhere. Get out
there and enjoy it!
_______________________________________________________________________________
WELFARE REPORT
by COLLEEN BOUDREAU
“Get Well” wishes were sent to five members.
A wedding “Congratulations” card was sent to Al and Nancy Hampshire.
“Sympathy Cards” were sent to:
Jack and Chris Shapka for the loss of Jack’s brother;
Len and Betty Kuchynski for the loss of Len’s brother;
Duke Reid and Audrey Lahaise for the loss of Duke’s brother;
Vic and Mary Crisp for the loss of Mary’s mother; and
Bill Mumford for the loss of his wife, Myra.
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101 SQUADRON REPORT
by BOB HEMPHILL
I am typing this on my smartphone 36,000 feet over the coast of Russia on my way to Thailand for the
dedication of 101 Sqn.'s plaque commemorating the RCAF crew who took out the infamous Bridge Across the
River Kwai in WWII. As mentioned previously, the unveiling will take place at the Thai Burma Railway
Museum in Kanchanaburi on April 1. I am joining my brother Larry at a beach-side condo for “101 style”
meetings where we will finalize plans for the event. Apparently shares in the Singha Brewing Company rose
significantly in anticipation of those meetings. Of course you are all invited to attend the ceremony in
Thailand, otherwise we'll let you know how it goes in the next Contrails.
Over the past few months 101 Sqn. has been determining the order in which we will commemorate each of
the RCAF Stations on the North Island over the next two years. We enjoy that sort of thing because you ca n
only imagine all the meetings THAT requires! The Sqn. proposes to install plaques at RCAF Station Sandspit,
Alliford Bay, and Masset this coming April or May. Then on our 2016 Memorial weekend, 24-25 September,
we'll commemorate Holberg, which we hope to complete with a dinner at the Scarlet Ibis Pub. In 2017 we'll
do Cape Scott and Ferrier Point in the spring, followed by Coal Harbour during that year's memorial weekend,
23-24 September 2017.
101 Sqn. will help the Wounded Warrior Run 2016 get off to a good start in Port Hardy on the 21st of Feb.
We will be donating a cheque to them at a meet and greet at the Glen Lyon Inn. Later that evening the Port
Hardy Legion will host them in turn. Their run starts at 07:00am the next morning, stopping in Port McNeill,
then spending the night in Woss.
The Sqn. donated money to the RCAF Association’s Air Cadet Flying Scholarship Fund and also to the Junior
Rangers to acknowledge their participation at many of our functions; and of course, two scholarships were
offered to our local high schools. Recently, Past President Jim King learned that the Gwa'sala -'Nakwaxda'xw
Band School, where our bugler, Kristine Bratosh works, was in need of a podium for use at school functions.
Jim went ahead and built one and 101 Sqn. dedicated it to the school in Kristine's name. Well done, Jim!
101 Squadron came up with the idea of posting co-ordinates for all our crash sites to a geocaching website to
encourage more people to visit and learn about the tragic events that happened at each one. It was initially
suggested by the geocaching organization that we could place a weatherproof tube at each of these sites with
a log book where visitors to the cairns could enter their comments. You can probably understand how our
members were not especially enthusiastic about trekking into those remote sites to perform maintenance
and recover the logs. We might have gotten enthused if helicopter transportation was provided – we do
enjoy riding around in whirlybirds! Instead, we are opting for a virtual type of log on 101's website where
geocachers can post “selfies” in front of the obelisks showing they were there. Now our techie just has to
figure out how the heck that's done.
One of the rewards 101 Sqn. receives for the work involved in our dedication program is witnessing the deep
emotional effect and closure these ceremonies can offer the deceased's next of kin. You may recall that Linda
Olinger Turner, daughter of F/O William John Curtis (the copilot of Dak 966, killed when it crashed at Port
Hardy airport in 1944), and her son, Curtis, and husband Keith, attended the re-dedication of the plaque for
Dak 966 last September.
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We were honoured recently when we received a “thank you” letter with a cheque for $800US from
the family to help in our work. 101 Sqn. has mounted a small plaque on the obelisk commemorating
their participation in that ceremony. We also recently received a cheque from the Wardlow brothers
in Britain - their brother was killed in Dak 576. They had noted a comment in our minutes where we
mentioned the need to mount heritage conservation signs at the crash site advising visitors to
respect the site. They sent us a cheque for £100 which nicely paid for three permanent metal signs
to be made. Two local businessmen, Dale Dorward of Macandale's and Bill Milligan of RockPro,
volunteered to trek into the site and mount them for us.
So...! Another busy year lies ahead for the Sqn. We hope to see you all at some of our functions, and
as always we hope to see you at the Wing. Cheers!
__________________________________________________________________________________
ROYAL CANADIAN AIR FORCE ASSOCIATION TRUST FUND
The RCAF Association Trust Fund Is a Registered Charity and may accept donations and distribute
grants.
THE TRUST FUND GOALS:
1. Raise $100,000 by December 31, 2018;
To support the “Air Cadet Continuation Flying Award” of three annual $2,500 awards to successful
cadets on the Power Pilot Scholarship Summer Training Program.
2. Raise $10,000 annually;
For undesignated and forecast projects to benefit RCAF Association Wings, Academic Institutions,
Aerospace Preservation Projects and Airforce museums.
You can help by making a donation on the RCAF Association website: rcafassociationc.ca
The RCAF Association Trust Fund
Donate today
CanadaHelps.org
For more information contact: DON HOGAN – Pacific Group Trustee [email protected]
(250) 339-2494
_________________________________________________________________________________
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ENTERTAINMENT REPORT
by GERRY BULLEN
We got through the festive season with three successful events, namely the Christmas Brunch, the
Christmas Dinner and the New Year’s Eve celebration. All three events were well attended and from
comments made by members, the events will be repeated next December. In January, we had a full
slate of Friday Pub Grub nights with a variety of menus including a five-buck hamburger extravaganza.
February functions were Chinese New Year Pub night, a Valentine dinner/dance with a buffet catered
by “The Beez Neez” and a five-buck Pizza night. Tickets for the Valentine function were not moving
very fast and members were advised that the event was open to guests.
Upcoming events will include a St. Patrick’s theme Pub night on March 18th and a St. George’s theme
British Pub night on 22nd April.
___________________________________________________________________________________
PUBLICITY REPORT
by JOYCE HALLOWELL
Our list of email recipients is now up to 364 and it is a wonderful way to keep everyone informed of
our Wing’s activities. However, several members have told me they aren’t getting their emails
despite the fact they are on the list! Because of the high number of recipients, it is quite possible that
the email has been diverted to your “trash” or “spam”, or alternatively the Wing email has been
blocked. If you are having this kind of problem I would advise you to go to the Tools and Options
menus and make the necessary changes. If you are going away for any length of time and do not wish
to receive emails during that time, let me know and I will remove you from the list. It will be your
responsibility to contact me on your return and I will put you back on the list.
If your emails bounce, I take you off the list until you advise me of your new email address.
To those of you who have dropped me a line and thanked me for all the information, I thank YOU for
your kudos! It is a rewarding job...and I love it!!!
—————————————————————————————————————————————
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VIDEO LIBRARY by DAVE GODFREY
It is hard to believe that another year has passed and we are already into the second month of 2016.
As far as the Wing’s video library goes, we have had over 100 movies signed out so far this year and
we are only midway through February.
The “Top Ten” movies of interest in 2015 were: “Lucy” (13), “The November Man” (12), “American
Sniper”, “Reasonable Doubt” and “A Most Wanted Man”, each signed out 11 times, followed by “The
Imitation Game”, “The Railway Man” and “The Hundred Foot Journey”, each 10 times; and lastly
“The Silver Fleet” and “Jersey Boys”, nine times each. It is nice to know that our members are
enjoying the cross-section of variety in the movie selections.
There are some blockbuster movies coming in future months. The action adventure series continue
with Chris Pratt starring in “Jurassic World”, Tom Cruise in “Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation”, the
remake of “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” starring Henry Cavill as Napoleon Solo, as well as the latest
episode of James Bond with Daniel Craig starring in “Spectre”.
Other Golden Globe and Oscar winners coming soon will include “The Theory of Everything” starring
best actor winner Eddie Redmayne, “The Martian” starring Matt Damon, “Creed” with Sylvester
Stallone reprising his role as Rocky Balboa, and “Bridge of Spies” starring Tom Hanks. For loads of
laughs, watch out for “Trainwreck”, “Spy” “Ted 2”, “Horrible Bosses 2” and the animated comedy
“Minions”.
At any given time, there are more than 350 entertainment movies to choose from in our video
library. If you are looking for a specific movie title, check the alphabetical listing found in the signout binder to see if we have it. Throughout the year a few problems have cropped up with the
condition of some discs, and I would ask, once again, that members please handle them with care.
These discs are not indestructible and are subject to scratches which make the movies unplayable.
Most of the time, reports that a disc is unplayable, are the result of greasy finger prints on the
playing surface. If this should happen to you, simply take a soft damp cloth to wipe the surface... DO
NOT USE any cleaning solutions! Also, please ensure that the disc is in the case before returning it to
the Wing. A simple check of the case before leaving home will save time tracking down the missing
disc. It would also be a good idea to check the case before signing it out. AND please
remember to sign them back into the book!
Noni and I will be away on holidays until mid-May, but in my absence Wing Manager Lisa Gillis will
keep the video library up to date. Thank you Lisa! In the meantime, I encourage all our members to
browse through the video cabinets and sign out a movie or two to enjoy... “On the Wing!”
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National Awards Presentation
Pacific Group President, Reg Daws and RCAFA National President, Terry Chester
present National Awards to the following members of 888 Wing:
Distinguished Service Award Jan Hogan
Lifetime Membership Don Hogan
Meritorious Award Gerry Bullen
Meritorious Award Chuck Hazleton
WOUNDED WARRIORS 2016 RUN
Past President Jack Shapka and
President Dennis Dupuis wait for the
runners to arrive.
Here come the six Wounded Warrior
runners who ran this last leg for this day.
19 Wing personnel and 888 Wing members
form the lines to welcome the runners.
Arrived at last!
President Dennis Dupuis presenting a cheque
from 888 (Komox) Wing.
Legion 160 Ladies Auxiliary present a
cheque...all donations gratefully received.
Introductions of some of the runners for
the Wounded Warriors.
This hug says it all!