Cyrille LeBlanc is nominated for his service with The Royal Canadian Legion. He has been a member of Branch 155, Wedgeport, Nova Scotia for many years and given his vast experience in newspaper journalism and management serves as the Legion’s “Public Relations Member”.
He ensures all Legion events are well advertised within the community and that local politicians are invited to participate. He also organizes birthday parties for the Legion’s Veterans.
He has made a commitment to identify, clean and repair all Veteran’s headstones within his area. In all, 400 Veteran graves have been accounted for in 15 different cemeteries. He has identified, cared for, and placed a small maple leaf sticker on all of the graves to make them easily recognizable.
During Veterans’ Week, with students from three local schools, he has coordinated visits to all of the graves. Students and Legion members place a Canadian flag on the graves, salute and recite “Lest We Forget” in honour of the Veteran’s service.
He ensures all of the above-mentioned events are well documented, some being shown live via social media platforms, and that stories and photographs are submitted to local newspapers. This helps gain recognition for both living and deceased Veterans and raises the Legion’s profile in the community.