Skip to content

Rossland Legion reopens after renovation

The Rossland Royal Canadian Legion celebrated the grand re-opening of its upstairs lounge.
8468698_web1_170914-TRL-M-Legion2
Drystek and LaFonde cut the ribbon. (Chelsea Novak/Rossland News)

The Rossland Royal Canadian Legion celebrated the grand re-opening of its upstairs lounge on Saturday during Golden City Days.

Legion members were joined by South Okanagan-West Kootenay MP Richard Cannings, Kootenay West MLA Katrina Conroy, Rossland city council member Lloyd McLellan and other members of the community to celebrate the opening.

“The latest renovation was all new carpets, all new painted walls,” explained Kim LaFond, Legion president.

They also redid the walls at the front of the halls, both of which now feature large murals, and did some rewiring as well — much of which was done by LaFond himself.

“When Kim said he did some electrical work, I’d say he did well beyond anything we would have anticipated,” said Joanne Drystek, Legion treasurer. “He went up to those ceilings and took out tons and tons of old wiring, he brought things up to code, which was way beyond our original scope of the project.”

Both Drystek and LaFond where grateful to all of the volunteers who helped make the renovation possible, and members of the community who made donations.

The renovation was also made possible by a New Horizons for Seniors grant.

Cannings, Conroy and McLellan all congratulated the Legion members for their accomplishment.

“I can see that [the Rossland Legion] will be a great place to come for many years, so thanks for all your work and I’m happy that the New Horizons grant played a small role in it,” said Cannings. “So congratulations.”

“I congratulate you all on a job well done. It always impresses me when I’m up in Rossland, you’re always around — the Legion is always around and you’re volunteering. You’re so much more than just the Legion here, you’re out in the community,” said Conroy.

“On behalf of the City Council, I’d like to express my thanks and gratitude to the people that were involved in this project. It’s something to be proud of,” said McLellan.

Following speeches, LaFond and Drystek cut the ribbon to officially re-open the upstairs lounge.