COMING UP ACES
Ashby legion unveils renovations paid for by Chase the Ace.
The Ashby legion’s extensive renovations were in the cards thanks to the success of last year’s Chase the Ace saga.
The popular lottery ran in 2015 and 2016, raising close to $8.3 million. Of that, Kathy McPherson of Sydney won $2.9 million and there were a host of other smaller winners as well. The Horizon Achievement Centre received $775,000 and the legion branch received $1.6 million, some of which went towards the renovations and some went toward helping Fort McMurray fire victims, Sydney flood victims and paying the 2017 memberships for close to 280 people as a thank you for their support and volunteerism during Chase the Ace.
On Saturday, the public got to see just where the renovation money went when the Royal Canadian Legion branch 138 held its grand reopening.
“It was worth the wait,” said first vice-president Tommy Young. “We want the public to see what we’ve done.”
It was money well spent, according to branch president
John MacInnis. During the renovations, problems were found so the money came in
handy.
“We found major problems in our walls and everywhere
else because the building is quite old,” said MacInnis. “We had major problems with our sewer, our walls had mold. Once you opened the wall, we had to tear it down completely to the base.
“It was fairly costly —- we modernized everything, mechanical, electrical, we did the kitchen over,” he added. “We did our siding outside the building. Everything’s up to code. It was quite an operation. We feel proud of it.”
MacInnis gives the public’s participation in Chase the Ace full credit for allowing the legion to make the necessary upgrades. Having a newly renovated location allows them to give the community another venue and it gives members of the legion a nice place to visit whenever they want. Having the money to do this puts them in a unique position, for which they’re grateful.
“Legions are closing down across Canada a lot and there’s been a drop in membership,” said MacInnis. “We want to make this more of a community spot. We’re open for weddings, showers, different things like that. Just come here, sit down and relax.
“We just want people to come.”