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Penticton Legion

Posted: Jan 11th, 2013, 11:04 am
by fluffy
Boy this place cannot stay out of the news.

Re: Penticton Legion

Posted: Jan 11th, 2013, 4:19 pm
by southy
....and the reason is?

Re: Penticton Legion

Posted: Jan 11th, 2013, 4:56 pm
by fluffy
Your guess is as good as mine, little "clubs" like that can be a boiling pot of petty politics, who knows what is at the root of it. It just seems to make the paper with frequency disproportionate to the size of the operation.

Re: Penticton Legion

Posted: Jan 11th, 2013, 7:11 pm
by southy
I've often wondered what the real issues are facing not only the Penticton Legion, but Legion's across Canada. Came across the following which gives a fairly good overview of the struggles.

http://news.ca.msn.com/canada/cp-articl ... d=23832119

Re: Penticton Legion

Posted: Jan 11th, 2013, 11:47 pm
by qdbrian
My roommate works there and I heard some news from her today :9923:

Re: Penticton Legion

Posted: Jan 12th, 2013, 8:15 am
by fluffy
southy wrote:I've often wondered what the real issues are facing not only the Penticton Legion, but Legion's across Canada. Came across the following which gives a fairly good overview of the struggles.

http://news.ca.msn.com/canada/cp-articl ... d=23832119


I think that article nails the root of the problem, we're running out of old soldiers and there doesn't seem to be any initiative in place for the Legion to attract a newer membership. In fact, if you rank them in with other mainstream "service clubs" like Kiwanis, Rotary, Elks, Eagles and all the rest, the whole works of them seem to be getting away from the community works that was their signature product in years past. If the local Legion does anything beside sell poppies in November and run a bar for old folks I've never heard about it. Maybe P.R. is their problem? Or are they just missing the boat into the future?

Re: Penticton Legion

Posted: Jan 12th, 2013, 9:54 am
by Piecemaker
The Legion used to also serve as a community meeting place/club. So many either were in the war or related to someone who had been, plus they could invite someone to attend the Legion as a guest. Today there are a myriad of ways to socialize and also the Legion has not attracted new membership, in part because war service is not part of today's culture.

Re: Penticton Legion

Posted: Jan 12th, 2013, 10:03 am
by fluffy
Yeah, that's a big part of it. For the longest time membership was restricted to veterans and their immediate families, and opened to the general public only after the downward trend in membership numbers became a threat to their financial well-being. It took the appearance of more like a reluctant move in desperation rather than a progressive step forward. The big challenge for them at this point is finding a new purpose while still staying true to their veteran focused heritage. This tends to become a problem when the reins are still in the hands of the "old guard" and said old guard is resistant to stepping away from tradition even when those traditions are supported only by a dwindling minority.

Re: Penticton Legion

Posted: Jan 12th, 2013, 11:31 am
by southy
When I view the marketing and advertising efforts of the Penticton Legion, it is easy to see that the old guard is still in charge. Give them credit ... they've hung in for what they believe and are promoting the Legion to the best of their ability. There is a major demographic problem here though. The current executive is trying to market to the crowd they had 10 - 20 - 30 years ago. Where are those people? Who are those people? WIth all due respect to the entertainment that is booked in the Legion .. they are well ... dated too shall I say. The Penticton Legion simply will not and cannot attract a younger demo with the entertainment they are booking. And yes, it goes beyond just the entertainment aspect of this facility. The current structure as I see it from the outside tells me there is alot of old guard political issues occurring. As Fluffy has referred ... plenty of negative press on this one. If the internal structure is such that it projects a negative image .. nothing is going to attract a new younger demographic to this venue. It is a very competive business and let's face it folks ... the Legion is simply not at the top of the "LETS GO TO" list. No I haven't even been into this Legion since moving here many years ago. And you know .. after reading the issues of what's occuring internally and simply driving by and seeing uniformed or elderly men and women dressed in suits standing outside the main door smoking ... I kinda go ..."nahhh really not my kind of place".
IMAGE ... IMAGE ... IMAGE ... Image is everything. From the looks of the building to advertising to smoking on the street. The Penticton Legion really needs a make over. Internally and externally.