11 Sept 2023
Fellow Highlanders/Members of the Association,
As many of you are aware, the 48th Highlanders Regimental Association held its first Annual General Meeting in June. The meeting resulted in several important milestones being met, including the election of our first Executive Committee, and the adoption of our Constitution.
One of the challenges being faced recently by many associations is participation. It is understandable that the pandemic stunted the momentum we were attempting to generate through our efforts, but that time is now in the rearview mirror and we can now work toward our future goals.
The AGM was not well attended, despite our efforts. We have created an extensive database of our members, along with a social media presence, and we have used these platforms to communicate with you, our members. We did not receive any responses to our request for nominees to the Executive Committee this time around.
Over the past couple of years, during the pandemic, the association was led by an Interim Executive Committee that was appointed by the stand up group. This Interim Executive Committee consisted of the following individuals:
WO(ret) Peter Ross, CD
Sgt.(Ret) Guy Bowie, CD
Sgt.(ret) Adam Bernard, CD
Cpl. George Boast, CD
Over this time frame, and behind the scenes, the Interim Committee worked with dedicated members of the association to bring several important initiatives to completion. To name a few:
Creation of a centralized database of the membership. This will greatly enhance our communications in the future. This has allowed us to effectively support and promote a number of important events.
Creation of a 48th Highlanders Regimental Association Facebook group.
Creation of a new 48th Highlanders Regimental Association website. This website brings together all facets of the regimental family including tie ins to important components. For example, the 15th Battalion CEF Memorial Project and the 48th Highlanders Regimental Museum digital/searchable records)
Creation of a 48th Regimental Association Veterans Liaison to assist members with requests for information and to ensure members are aware of the assistance measures available to them via Veterans Affairs and other organizations.
Continued support for our Regimental Association Drill Team. This group has consistently represented the regiment at many regimental and community events over the years as part of the OCA. It is made up of some truly dedicated individuals and we hope to see their numbers bolstered in the future.
The core mission for the 48th Regimental Association, is to provide a platform to support the various groups who make up the “Regimental Family” and to assist them in their efforts to communicate their activities to the membership. The “Regimental Family” is the umbrella under which we all exist, and our common goal is to uphold the traditions and culture of the 48th Highlanders of Canada and always bear witness to, and honour, the legacy of those who sacrificed, suffered, and died in service of Canada.
To this end, we have created a Regimental Association Liaison. This person will be responsible for communications with other branches of the regimental family. Currently, this role has been primarily connected with the Active WO’s and Sgts. Mess but will be expanded to provide coordination with the other groups.
I will take a moment to thank the following individuals for their significant contribution in the creation of this new association:
BGen(ret) Greg Young, OMM, MSM, CD
Col.(ret) Geordie Elms, MSM, CD
Col.(ret) Bill Jensen, CD
Lt. Col.(ret) Ron Alkema, CD
Captain(ret) Bill Darling, MMM, CD
Hon.Col. John McIntyre
Hon. Col(ret) Tom Birchall
Hon. Lt. Col. Sasha Darling
WO(ret) Peter Ross, CD
Sgt.(ret) Guy Bowie, CD
Sgt.(ret) Adam Bernard, CD
Cpl. George Boast
***My apologies to anyone I inadvertently failed to mention.
Moving ahead, we are excited about continuing to build the association into an organization we can be proud of, and one which belongs to us all. The future of our association is in our hands, and we encourage you to step up and help us to shape it so that it reflects the wishes of the membership.
Currently, we are looking for someone to take on the role of Secretary on the association executive committee. This will help us in keeping track of important initiatives and events that we will be undertaking in the future. The time commitment is relatively small, and most of our meetings/discussions will be taking place via Zoom or similar.
As we head into the busy fall season, a few important dates need to be highlighted:
WOs and Sgts mess dinner will take place on 14 Oct 2023 in the messes at MPA. Details to follow. Keep checking our Facebook/Website and email communications for this.
Our Remembrance Day service at the regimental monument will be a special one this year. We are celebrating the Centenary of the monument and this celebration will take place on November 11th (Saturday). There will be special presentations at the monument with the regiment on full display, followed by a reception at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM). Watch for more information on our Facebook/Website and email communications.
Finally, in closing, I can introduce you to your new Executive Committee:
Sgt(ret) Guy Bowie, CD – President
WO(ret) Peter Ross, CD – Vice President
Cpl George Boast – Treasurer
Thank you again to all those who have supported us during these last few years in difficult times and thank you all for your patience.
Dileas Gu Brath,
Sgt. Guy Bowie, CD
President, 48th Highlanders Regimental Association
