150th Anniversary Planning is Ramping Up!
The Organizing Committee continues to make good progress on plans for the 150th. Our dedicated website is now live (www.ggfg150.ca) and I encourage everyone to visit it often to find out more about the Regiment, our history, upcoming events and 150th merchandise for sale that will be posted in the coming weeks. Since the last Guards Star we are announcing a change in date for the Fall Reunion activities.
The Canada Army Run has firmed up their 2022 date, and it will occur on Sunday, September 18th next year, leaving the weekend of 23- 25 September available for our activities. It was agreed holding our event a week earlier would be better all around, and so the Reunion Weekend will now be Friday, September 23rd – Sunday, September 25th, 2022. In addition, it is now confirmed that the Guards’ Homecoming Gala Ball will be held in the magnificent Ballroom of the Chateau Laurier Hotel on Saturday, September 24th, 2022! We will be partnering with both the Lord Elgin and the Chateau Laurier Hotels to provide hotel rooms at a discounted rate. A link will be provided from the 150th website to these hotels to book rooms for the Reunion weekend, and with the Lord Elgin to book rooms for the June Freedom of the City Parade weekend as well.
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In the coming weeks 150th merchandise for sale will start to appear on the CANEX website. We are excited to be offering many items of interest and articles of clothing. You will find a link from the 150th website directly to the CANEX site that will contain all of the items they will be selling on our behalf. Items will continue to be added throughout the year so make sure you check back regularly. Currently, the Association Kit Shop has both 5- and 10-year-old Guard's 150th Anniversary Whiskey for sale. Other items will be added to this kit shop site as well over the coming months.
Another page on the 150 website hosts information about submitting hi res photos for the Guards 150th Coffee Table book which will essentially be a visual history of the life of the Regiment - “150 images for 150 years”. We need high-quality photos that are at least 1 mb, 300 dpi. The photos will portray the life of the Regiment and its members and will be arranged into topics such as Training, Operations, Public Duties, the Band, Mess Life, Recruiting, the Drill Hall, Community Involvement, Cadets, Museum, the Guards’ Chapel and the Regimental Association. Everyone is encouraged to submit your photos for consideration to be used in the book. Submissions should be sent to our positional mailbox at ggfg150th@gmail.com. See the website for more information and to download a “Photo Submission and Release Form” that needs to be submitted with your photo(s). 150th Anniversary merchandise prizes will be awarded for the top submissions!
Lastly, the 150th donation portal on the website is now operational and we are seeking your support to raise funds for both the Charitable and Celebratory campaigns. A Regimental Family Individual Donation goal of $20,000 has been set. Please consider making a monthly contribution from now until December 2022. What about a friendly rivalry between the companies, the band, the Association or alumni groups to see who can raise the most? I will be continuing to update you throughout the year as we all look forward to marking this important milestone in the history of our Regiment. Mark your calendars! See you in ’22!
From the Executive Director, 150th Anniversary Organizing Committee
LCol Fran Chilton-Mackay, OMM, MSM, CD (Ret’d)