LITTLE CURRENT—When Royal Canadian Legion Branch 177 Little Current held its annual awards and honours night, there was one important individual missing from the mix. Comrade Norris Valiquette was in the hospital, having fallen and broken his hip resulting in a trip to Sudbury for an operation. Undaunted, Legion Secretary Christy Deschamps and President Leslie Burnett visited the Manitoulin Health Centre in Little Current to present Mr. Valiquette with his Lifetime Membership Award.
The Expositor caught up with Mr. Valiquette to chat about the award and how it came about. Mr. Valiquette joked about concerns that he might not be around following his accident. “I do plan to get to 100,” he quipped.
Mr. Valiquette has long been a valued volunteer at the Legion, organizing pool tournaments and other events, but it was his recent efforts to raise funds for service dogs for the Fallen Warrior Foundation that attracted the most recent attention—a faux 100th birthday party that raised over a thousand dollars for the foundation.
The volunteer noted that he has not been able to do much in the way of the kind of volunteer work he usually performs since being assailed by arthritis in his leg.
He recalled first learning about the service dogs after seeing one with a full body brace, but it was a presentation to the Legion by a man from Sault Ste. Marie on the need for service dogs for veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress that got him really thinking—and the idea of the faux 100th birthday fundraiser was born.
“It was our communications guy, Roy Eaton, that brought the story of the service dogs forward to us,” he said, explaining how a presentation in Sault Ste. Marie was turned down. The gentleman making the presentation in the Sault was invited to do the same in Little Current. Mr. Valiquette was so moved he decided to do something to help.
“I couldn’t believe how the community stepped up to help with (the birthday),” said Mr. Valiquette. He noted that everyone he approached was more than willing to help. “The Legion gave me the hall, the Lions (of which he is also a member) helped with a donation. The Expositor provided me with an advertising deal I couldn’t turn down. Everything came together thanks to the community.”
“There’s a lot of decent people,” he said. “This kind of event brings people together.”
Mr. Valiquette decided to make admission to the event a free will offering. “I didn’t want to put $20 or whatever to get in, it was whatever you can afford. Because everybody has a different balance in their pocket, you know.”
“There are so many servicemen who have come back with PTSD and other sicknesses that people don’t know about,” he said.
While perhaps best known for his efforts on behalf of the Legion, Mr. Valiquette is also a founding member of the Manitoulin Fitness Club, which has grown by leaps and bounds since its inception 22 years ago. Mr. Valiquette plans to utilize the equipment there as part of his recovery from hip surgery.
As for his reaction to receiving his life membership award, Mr. Valiquette was clearly touched, taking a moment to gather his composure. “You don’t do these things for the recognition,” he said, but expressed his gratitude to his Legion family for their kind attention.
In the meantime, with not a lot else to do while lying in a hospital bed, Mr. Valiquette said he is already planning next year’s event.
