Although some Royal Canadian Legion branches across Canada are at risk of closing because of the effects of COVID-19, the president of the Guelph branch said they are weathering the storm for now.
“We are certainly waiting for the day we can reopen safely to help our members and a lot of people want to rent our halls for weddings and whatever, of course we can’t do that now,” said Roy Fagel, president of the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 234 in Guelph.
“That’s not to say we aren’t eager to reopen and having some revenue coming in, because we are,” he added.
Like many branches in Ontario, the Guelph branch was closed to the public as of March 17 due to an order by the Ontario government in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Because it is mortgage free and run entirely with volunteers, Fagel said the Guelph branch is in pretty good shape financially and he does not anticipate it closing entirely before it is allowed to reopen, as is feared in some other communities.
“There are some of the smaller legions who are suffering and a lot of them are in the smaller communities where everybody goes there,” said Fagel.
As it waits for permission to reopen, the branch’s utility bills still need to be paid, he said.
“Luckily we put LED lights in about a year and a half ago, so that saves us a bit on electricity,” said Fagel.
Premier Doug Ford recently told media that legion branches are on his list of things to look into as the province moves toward Phase 3 or the economic reopening.
In the meantime, Fagel said the local branch has been installing plexiglass shields and sanitizing stations to prepare for reopening.
The local branch will not be opening its patio in the short term, said Fagel, because of its small size and the small parking lot does not make it feasible to expand into it.
“We don’t have a very big parking lot and our patio in the back is only maybe 10 feet out, so it’s hard to do social distancing,” said Fagel. “It’s in the sun all day long so it just doesn’t make sense for us to serve 15 or 20 people with the volunteers needed to do it and everything else.”
A lot of legion members are eager for a return, but Fagel said they will only open the doors when it is safe for everybody.
“We know a lot of things we have to do. We have a lot of seniors as members and we have to make sure everything is perfect before they step in the door — or anybody else,” said Fagel.
He knows the legion will have to operate differently once it is allowed to reopen.
“How are we going to rent our halls with the social distancing and everything? There’s going to be a lot of changes,” said Fagel. “When we do open up our bingos are going to suffer because we don’t know how we are going to do them with social distancing.”
“I know a lot of our members are waiting for the day they can come back in and socialize,” he added.
The bar still brings in some money for the legion, said Fagel, but it’s the functions like weddings and funeral receptions that bring in the lion’s share of revenue.
“That’s what we are missing the most,” said Fagel.
