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Unpaid but not unhappy: Volunteers recognized at 19 Wing
By Capt Jeff Manney, Air Force Reserve Public Affairs Officer, 19 Wing Comox, 250-339-8211-8895, manney.ja@forces.gc.ca
19 Wing wasn’t overly concerned that a cheque for $154,653.06 presented by Wing volunteers would bounce higher than the control tower. The money doesn’t exist, but fortunately more than 400 military and civilian volunteers at the Wing do. In 2005 they put in over 15,000 hours of unpaid time – time that at $10 an hour would equal over $150,000.00 in labour.
The mock cheque was just one of the highlights for the organizers, MFRC and FS&R staff, as they held the 19 Wing SISIP Financial Services (SISIP FS) Volunteer Recognition Program celebration at the Officers’ Mess June 14. Nationally renowned comedian/musician Todd Butler and superb food from Plates Catering rounded out the afternoon festivities, aimed at thanking volunteers and promoting their efforts to the Wing at large.
“I cannot imagine the base without volunteers,” says Danielle Bernier, the MFRC’s volunteer manager. “It’s almost impossible to think what 19 Wing would be like. We just wouldn’t be able to support military members and their families without volunteer help.”
Volunteers fill an enormous variety of roles at 19 Wing. They sit on the MFRC Board of Directors, support deployed families, help at the Comox Air Force Museum, instruct classes, organise clubs and special events like Rexspo, the Career Fair, Snow-to-Surf and the Terry Fox run, supervise teens and even clean up TeePee Park.
This is the fourth year the MFRC and FS&R staffs have joined to recognize volunteers, something that now occurs at bases across the country, thanks to the generosity of SISIP FS. Here at 19 Wing that generosity translated into a $3,000 cheque to cover the cost of the event. Bernier says the volunteers deserve a first class ‘thank you’ although, she adds, such recognition is not the reason they keep returning to help out.
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| When it comes to handing out cheques that can’t possibly be cashed, it’s best to bring along a few hundred good friends. |
