Last year, the Royal Canadian Legion was honoured to be selected as a partner organization for the distribution of the King Charles III Coronation Medal. Nationwide, the medal was awarded to thousands of outstanding individuals who have made a significant difference in their communities. From the total of medals offered, 51 were allocated to BC/Yukon Command of the Royal Canadian Legion. Among those recipients, Branch 140 Sechelt Legion past president Bill McLean was presented with his medal on Feb. 22, by BC/Yukon command president Craig Thomson.
Bill’s citation read: “Bill is a Canadian Forces veteran with over 35 years of service, a 28 year Legion member, and Branch President since 2020. Under his leadership, the Branch has been transformed from its tenuous financial situation into a positive business model for this community.
His dedication and vision for this legion, throughout the uncertainty of this Legion’s survival during the Covid years, combined with the monumental task of overseeing renovations of our new building, is testament to his unwavering belief in the Legion and its necessity to this community. From authoring the Sechelt Branch Strategy in 2019 through completion of our new building in 2024, he worked tirelessly obtaining funding and overcoming hurdles to bring this project to fruition.
Our community has benefited greatly from the increased Legion donations from both Poppy Fund and Gaming Funds, both of which have escalated under his leadership. He has enhanced community awareness of the Legion by cultivating relationships with community leaders, local businesses, and the shíshálh Nation; thereby cementing the future of the Legion within the community.”
Upon retiring in 2018, Colonel (retired) Bill McLean’s military decorations included the Canadian Forces Decoration with two Bars, (denoting a minimum of 32 years of service in the Canadian Armed Forces), the Canada 125 Medal in 1992 as the top Lieutenant at 18 Wing Edmonton for two years in a row, the Special Service Medal with Alert Bar for his ‘93/‘94 tour at Canadian Forces Station Alert, (the most northerly, permanently inhabited point in Canada), the Afghanistan General Campaign Star, with Bar, for his service as Director of Staff at NATO’s four star Command Headquarters in Kabul from May 2009 to February 2010, the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee medal for his dedication to Air Force personnel support programs, in his role as director personnel management, on the staff of the Commander of the Royal Canadian Air Force. In 2014, while Commandant of Canadian Forces Support Unit Ottawa, he was awarded the Chief of the Defence Staff Commendation for his role in planning and supporting the National Day of Honour for those who served and those who died in Afghanistan, and their families. In 2016 he was awarded the General Operations Service Medal for his role as Deputy Commander Operation Proteus in Jerusalem from July 2015 through July 2016. He was also awarded the US Army Meritorious Service Medal for his accomplishments as Director of Logistics serving under the United States Security Coordinator at the US Consulate.
