Supporting veterans is so important, Branch 139 Legion president Bonnie O’Neill said as she invited the community to a fundraising barbecue Sunday in Williams Lake.
The event will be in support of Communities for Veterans Foundation Ride Across Canada being led by veteran Paul Nichols and his wife Terry of Quesnel.
The official ride will begin in Victoria on April 13 and is anticipated to take 200 days.
“Paul said he’s taking a leap of faith and wants to change the face of veterans in this country,” O’Neill said.
On the ride, Nichols will be inviting veterans to join in.
“He wants communities to understand how veterans have helped them and he wants to gather their stories,” O’Neill said, adding at one time someone from Bosnia came and thanked Nichols personally for changing his life.
The event in Williams Lake will kick off at noon with a ride from the Stampede Grounds leaving at 12:30 p.m.
“We’ve invited all of our veterans that we have on our books to ride with him. It will be a tiny parade. Ron Mulvahill is bringing his horse and wagon for our First World War veterans.”
The parade will end at the legion where there will be a silent auction, hamburger dinner, and a little bit of music.
“We will do the things that we do well and I think it will be a lot of fun,” O’Neill said. “Because he’s a Cariboo boy, every legion along Highway 97 is holding fundraisers.”