Mr. Travis Lanoway is a retired Medical Technician of the Canadian Armed Forces. Upon returning from Afghanistan in 2008, Mr. Lanoway felt it was important to share what he had done and seen during his tours overseas so he volunteered at the Museum of the Regiments in Calgary. During his four years at the museum he taught the Landmine Awareness Program as well as the Meet a Veteran program, until its cancellation in 2011. He would talk to children that were part of school groups, presenting photos and sharing experiences from his deployments. His focus was for the youth to know that Remembrance Day was not just another day. In 2011, he began volunteering with the Memory Project, which focuses on educating the entire community and local schools.
Beyond the Memory Project, Mr. Lanoway has been asked by friends and fellow paramedics to speak at schools and church groups. In 2015, as a result of his work with the Memory Project, he was asked to take part in the show War Stories Afghanistan on the History Channel.
Mr. Lanoway also served in the past as an Officer with the Airdrie Royal Canadian Army Cadet Corps. At the Cadet Corps, he assisted with a Holocaust trip the youth took to Europe in 2015 and did what he could to ensure they understood the effects of the Holocaust on people today. They had not yet returned from that trip when he began fundraising and planning for a trip to Vimy in 2017 and the battlefields of France and Italy. His desire was for the cadets to see the impact of war and to witness first-hand the hardships and effects of war. He also wanted to move beyond the popular battlefield tours in France and show these young Canadians other areas affected by the war.
Mr. Lanoway works extremely hard to strengthen the image of Veterans in his community and those residing in the Calgary area.