Former President Bob Ellis and longtime Legion member John Wade received the Legion Meritorious Service Medal.
The Meritorious Medal is one of the highest awards the Legion bestows upon its members. It is awarded to those who have provided exceptional service to the Legion and gone above and beyond the call of duty.
The award was presented by former President Jim Graham who has since moved away from Melfort. Graham nominated both Ellis and Wade.
Ellis has been a member of the Legion for almost 34 years and was given a Life Membership in 2009. Ellis was installed as Branch President 20 years ago and was the first non-World War veteran to serve in that position.
Ellis said that he was a little surprised to be recognized leading up to the award.
“I didn’t think I’d get it, but it was a nice surprise, actually,” Ellis said.
Ellis said he got involved with the Legion in Melfort because he is ex-military. He originally joined the Legion in Comox, B.C. and was involved for eight years. He then met his wife Grace who is originally from Melfort.
“I met a beautiful lady there. She lived in Melfort and we got married,” Ellis remembered. “I thought, ‘well, I got to keep going on with my Legion,’ so I joined it here. There was a few years between Legions. It’s something I just always wanted to do and keep the memory going of all our veterans.”
During his time as President, Ellis pledged to broaden the membership of the Melfort Legion to include Associates who “would commit to the Legion’s values and responsibilities,” according to the nomination papers. That expansion helped keep the Melfort Legion afloat from 2010 to 2019.
As Legion president, he made Remembrance Day a significant event each year at the Melfort and Unit Comprehensive (MUCC) gymnasium and also made Decoration Day another significant event on the Legion calendar.
“It’s nice to show off to the people in the town, and it was nice for ourselves to pay homage to the guys who went before us. It’s something I needed to do,” Ellis said.
Ellis said he wants to see these events continue to be significant.
“I’m going to bug the people if they don’t, but they will do it. We have a good a new President now, a retired RCMP lady,” Ellis said of current President Constance Roussel.
He was also applauded for his efforts in undertaking the Poppy Chair responsibilities, and his involvement in the Canada Day program.
“I was president for 14 years and three months, and you’re only supposed to be president for two years, so I got to extend it a little bit and I loved every minute of it,” Ellis said.
“I wish I was still there. All I am now is a spectator, but it doesn’t matter. We had to get some new people involved. I’m 86 now, so it’s time to quit,” he added.
Ellis also received applause for his efforts in undertaking the Poppy Chair responsibilities.
“During the 10 years leading up to Comrade Ellis stepping back from the Presidency of the Branch, he was key to keeping the Legion as a viable entity within the community,” the nomination form said.
Wade has been a member of the Royal Canadian Legion for over 43 years and was awarded a Life Membership in 2016.
Wade said receiving the Meritorious Service Medal meant a lot to him.
“I don’t join organizations for awards and stuff like that. I join to do what I can and the best possible way I can to help out, whether it’s the Legion or anybody else, but it’s quite an honour,” Wade said.
“There’s very few of those types of awards given out, so it is a great honour to get it and be recognized by your peers,” he added.
Wade said the award is significant because it has to be approved up the Legion chain of command from district to Sask Command and finally to Dominion Command.
“You’re getting the approval of a great many people and different levels of the Legion,” he said.
Wade said he initially was asked to join the Legion when he lived in La Ronge. He joined as an associate under his father’s service in the Air Force.
“I changed my status to associate to ordinary and like I said, that’s 40 some years ago and I’ve been with it ever since and enjoying every minute of it, although at the end of last year it was time for me to hang up the Spurs, so to speak, and pass whatever I was doing on to younger people,” he said.
Wade was one of the faces of the Melfort Legion for the past nine years, with responsibilities including Legion Lounge management, rental bookings, and facility upkeep. Along with those duties, Wade has also worked tirelessly on memorabilia displays to display many more items from armed forces and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
Wade’s nomination form cited his ability to attract more members and interest in the Melfort Legion from both members and “friends of the Legion.”
Interest in the facility also increased, as did lounge profits in the last nine years. With the increased revenue allowing the Legion to focus more on improving the Legion facility, which is over 100 years old. He was also instrumental in bringing the Saskatchewan Command Biennial Convention to Melfort in 2022.
Wade really became involved after he retired from his job as City Manager for the City of Melfort in 2012 but really became involved in the lounge in 2015.
“In 2015 Bob had always sort of had a job lined up for me, and that was a lounge manager in particular. So when the former person that had the lounge (position), Stub Henning, unfortunately passed away, I took it over and then I got into looking after the memberships and rentals and a couple other things, but I really did get involved and doing more after my retirement from the city,” Wade said.
Wade stepped away from executive and managerial responsibilities at the end of 2024 but during his time membership doubled and the finances of the Melfort Legion are now stable.
Wad said that having a thriving Legion in Melfort is important.
“We’re remembering the service of others back to World War One and the Korean War, World War 2, Afghanistan. Those people put their lives on the line–some lost their lives—for the rest of us so that we can live the way we do today and it’s an honour to honour them as best we can and remember them as we can,” Wade said.
michael.oleksyn@paherald.sk.ca
