News

The Mt. Brydges Legion is now Open

Effective 16 July, the Mt. Brydges Legion has reopened. New hours and the return of horseshoes on Tuesday nights plus the return of the ever popular meat draw every Saturday at 3:00 p.m. Bring out your friends and family – we would love to see everyone again. Remember, everyone is welcome.

It’s Back – Horseshoes, Starting Tuesday 6 July. Everyone is welcome.

The Mt. Brydges Legion Branch 251 will start up its horseshoe league beginning Tuesday 6 July 2021 at 7:00 p.m. Everyone is welcome – we are seeking new players and you do not have to be a member to play. So bring your family and friends out for a fun time, something to do this summer.

Turkey Dinner Special – Take Out Only

Mt Brydges Legion will be providing a turkey dinner, which includes turkey, potatoes, dressing, carrots, cranberry sauce, gravy, dinner roll, dessert – all for only $25.00, Take Out Only. Get your tickets by 19th June. Everyone is welcome.

Part 11 – Building Next Generation Community Legion

In Part 1, we discussed the challenges facing Legions today. This blog discusses a recommended approach to building a resilient future – Next Generation Community Legion. Hopefully with the help of the Ontario Trillium Foundation, we will be able to make the Mt. Brydges Legion a “pilot” for all Legions to follow in 2021 and beyond.

There will come a time in 2021 when the pandemic will be behind us and we will be looking for a place to go once again to socialize with friends and family, enjoy live entertainment, to laugh, dance, sing, dine, and connect with the local community.  Local bands and musicians will also be seeking a venue to entertain people and recover from the pandemic.  And people themselves will be seeking new ways to “support local”.

And as we all know, there is a network of Legions out there, in every community anxious to welcome everyone of all ages to their facilities, their community  and local businesses.

This presents a glorious opportunity for Legions to now try to reach and engage with a younger audience to help drive a promising future for themselves and their community – a new life post COVID 19.

However, the Legions will need to change their traditional model to align with the new world realities. They need to be innovative to create a Legion that will last well into the 21^st century. Through collaboration with the market and partnerships with local business/community, they need to repurpose themselves to become a Community Gateway / Community Social Club…a new business model for a new life. The idea of a Community Gateway Legion will ensure the value of Lest we Forget is indeed carried on for future generations but in a totally new way.

Creating this change will obviously require ongoing collaboration and partnerships with the new markets, the younger demographics, as well.  The Legions will need let go of the traditional approach and become youth-centric, let the younger generation drive the development of a new model.

Fortunately, research indicates that the millennial generation embrace change. They want to make a difference. Their greatest need today is for a sense of community. They seek a place of familiarity, a place to share, to feel connected and to feel a sense of belonging. They want to be part of something meaningful, a worthy cause, a millennial experience.

The Community Gateway Legion, focusing on millennial trend for community-based tourism, will drive a “near me” movement to pull people from nearby urban communities out to explore, discover and experience everything that small communities and Legions have to offer.

But how does the Legion get started with this transformation?

During the downtime forced on Legions by COVID 19 restrictions is the time to start looking for volunteers from the millennials or local businesses who would like to prime the creation of the next generation Legion: a Legion Ambassador program of on-line volunteer network.

Also critical is building the digital platform to drive the digital transformation and modernization program necessary for integration into the digital economy.  This includes;

1. digital media marketing (with modern website) to provide meaningful content offering a digital experience the market seeks,
2. social media marketing of content to connect and be discovered by the market in a fashion that drives SEO,
3. digital modernization of the Legion with ecommerce, online fund raising, online services to ensure a satisfactory digital experience for consumers,
4. Digital displays / technology utilizing digital screens to meet the needs of a younger generation for a more relevant Legion; screens for entertainment (sports), education (history/culture), inform, advertise, promote, market community content (digital bulletin board) and so much more.

With the transformation and modernization in place, the Legions will be able to leverage the power of digital media marketing to connect with the younger audience and get them involved to collaborate on the development of and support a new Legion, a new model, a new future and a new life and grow a new generation of members – Legion Ambassadors and of course, growth in traffic.

The new model will align with today’s digital reality, drive discovery of community content (SEO) and motivate people to get out to explore, discover and experience everything rural communities and local Legions have to offer.  A model that will stay current with the New Normal yet ensure the tradition of “lest we forget” is carried on for future generations, but in a new and meaningful way.

Part 1 – Is there a Future for the Legions – Current Situation

The answer is yes! But to have a future, we need to create a new model, a next generation Legion. Part 1 of this blog will talk about the current situation with Legions. Part 11 will discuss a new “proposed” approach to growing membership, participation and revenues.

For almost 100 years the nonprofit Legions have been providing wonderful support to their community, helping seniors, charities, youth development programs, community projects, children’ sports programs, school projects, health care, hospitals, community events, veterans, people in need and carrying on the message of Lest We Forget.

Over the past decade, many legions have been struggling just to survive. The local markets they serve have been getting smaller, their customers aging, membership has been in decline and attracting younger patrons has not been successful. Urbanization has shrunk rural population to less than 15% of the market and unfortunately, rural communities and the Legions are inextricably linked in their decline.

The perception today of the Legion brand by the younger generation, especially the millennials, is that the Legion is just for old people, veterans, and members. They feel that the Legions are dated, no longer relevant and offer a product that has no appeal to younger audiences. And in most cases, they are right.

And now the impact of COVID 19. The restrictions of the pandemic such as social distancing, isolation, stay home, wear a mask, small gatherings, lock downs and virtual meetings have been tough on all of us and financially disastrous for many small local businesses, the Legions, and rural communities. 

Making matters worse is the rapid pace of change in the market.  We are now in an era where consumer behavior is shifting away from bricks & mortar. The global pandemic has dramatically increased the speed of digital transformation as throngs of consumers are going digital for the first time to do things like online banking, grocery shopping, drive thru services, and on-line fund raising. Consumer expectations for speed of service, security and safety, and on-line customer experience is exploding.

Customers and expectations have drastically shifted in this brave new digital world at a speed that we have all talked about, but no one saw coming. Most non-profits were forced to move from predominantly in-person service delivery models to digital models overnight. This shift necessitated increased urgency to adopt innovative models, new skills, and new ways of working.

This has proven to be an exceedingly difficult time for the Legions.

The time is now to chart a new course to recover from the pandemic and help build a resilient and sustainable future. The Legions now need to find new ways of growing membership and fundraising so that they can continue to help their community and ensure future generations will continue to support Lest We Forget.

Post COVID 19 recovery and future growth for the Legions will only be possible by reaching and engaging a much younger audience. And the only way to be discovered by younger audiences is through integrated digital media marketing and providing consumers a digital experience aligned with their expectations.

The big question now is: how can the Legion endear itself to the new audience such as the millennials, that it needs to keep its doors open, and thrive in a post-pandemic world? Can the Legions adopt and implement a digital transformation to align with the new world realities?  Can the Legions play a more prominent role in supporting their local community in new ways for economic development?

Planning for the Future – The Legion Post COVID 19

Mt. Brydges Legion Br251 – Pilot Project

As we all know, many Legions have been struggling financially for some time now. The COVID pandemic has made a bad situation worse by depriving the Legions of the opportunity to drive revenues in their traditional fashion.

It is now time to rethink the future of the Legions; a time to be creative and innovative in helping the Legions to recover and rebuild from the hardships of the pandemic. It is time to create a Legion that will last well into the 21^st century; one that will ensure the value of Lest we Forget is carried on for future generations while driving growth and resilience for Legions and the community they support.

Legions Community Value

While the majority of people know about the work the Legion does to ensure we “never forget” our veterans, most people have no idea about all the great work the volunteers behind the nonprofit Legion do in supporting their local community. Their ongoing fundraising helps seniors, multiple charities, youth development programs, community projects, children’ sports programs, school projects, health care, hospitals, community events, veterans and people in need.  This is obviously needed now more than ever before.

Changing Market

The market has also been undergoing dramatic and radical change because of digital technology. COVID 19 has accelerated this change as throngs of consumers are now going digital for the first time to do things like online banking, grocery shopping, drive thru services, and on-line fund raising.  The world today looks vastly different than it did even at the start of 2020.

For post COVID 19 recovery and rebuilding, the Legions need to be able to engage with the digital consumer and this is only possible through the effective use of digital technology, have a digital presence and being able to provide a digital experience that will attract new customers.

Pilot Project – Community Based Legion

Mt. Brydges Legion is planning to create and pilot an innovative template of a next generation Community Gateway Legion; a “Community Social Center” for people of all ages to be involved with. The Legion is making a submission to the Ontario Trillium Foundation, Resilient Community Fund for a grant to implement a digital transformation and modernization program. This will help the Legion to reach, connect and engage with a younger audience and through discovery, collaborate on the creation of a new Legion model, one that is relevant to today’s market, one that will be resilient  and one that will motivate people to explore, discover and experience everything that the Legion and community has to offer.

The Socially Distant Comedy Tour

Welcome Jeff Leeson and his Socially Distant Comedy Tour. An evening of laugher at a time when we need it most. Saturday 3 October, two shows, 7:00 pm and 9:30 pm. Tickets $20 in advance, $25 at the door.

The Meat Draw & 50 / 50 Draw are now back.

Every Saturday at 3:30 p.m., the popular meat draw and 50 / 50 draw are back. Bring out your friends and family and have some fun, and a chance to win. The more people you get to the Legion, the bigger the 50 / 50 pot.