M’CHIGEENG—The #348 Manitoulin Royal Canadian Sea Cadet Corps annual ceremonial review last Saturday was historic as it also marked their 20th anniversary.
“The Corps began as a division of #134 Admiral Mountbatten Sea Cadet Corps at Sudbury, in the year 2000,” said Denis Blake, currently a civilian instructor, previously a commanding officer for the Corps, who was master of ceremonies for the special ceremony. “The founding members Ed Kift and Jeff Marshall, two Canadian Navy Veterans from Little Current, drive a small group of cadets to Sudbury for parade nights weekly for their training. This required dedication from everyone involved due to the four hours of driving on school nights. Assistance was also received from members of the Manitoulin and North Shore Navy Veterans Association.”
“As previously indicated, Carmen Laidley joined as an officer in 2002,” said Mr. Blake. “By 2003, the cadets were parading almost exclusively at Little Current and by 2004, they became a stand-alone Corps after receiving their charter and designated name of #348 Manitoulin Royal Canadian Sea Cadet Corps.”
Mr. Blake said, “at this time, I would like to introduce the Commanding Officers for the Corps since 2004, who have joined us here today. First, today’s Reviewing Officer, Lieutenant (Navy) retired Carmen Laidley, from 2002-2008. Next, Lieutenant Commander Deb Goode, 2008-2009, myself, Lieutenant (Navy) (retired) Denis Blake, 2009-2012, Lieutenant (Navy) retired Maggie King, 2012-2017, and Lieutenant (Navy) Sylvain Boucher, 2017 to present day.”
“In addition, several officers and civilian instructors and volunteers have served with the Corps and helped make it what it is today,” said Mr. Blake. “To my colleagues, and on behalf of the current staff and everyone here today and the wider community, I say thank you for your service. As you look around, I am sure you can take pride in seeing the results of your investment and commitment in the development of young people from the communities of Manitoulin.”
As part of the opening of the ceremony, Mr. Blake acknowledged and thanked the First Nations of Manitoulin Mnidoo-Mnising. “We acknowledge that we are in the Robinson-Huron Treaty Territory, and that the land on which we are gathered is in the traditional territory of the Anishnaabe people of Mnidoo Mnising.”
The Corps was then marched on by its Regulating Petty Officer, Chief Petty Officer 2nd class, Lydia Pennings.
The Coxswain, Chief Petty Officer 1st Class Savannah Crack prepared the Corps for opening colours.
Petty Officer 2nd Class Liam McLean accompanied guest Geraldine Ense-McGregor. “We are honoured to have Geraldine Ense-McGregor with us, who will lead us in an opening prayer and song. Afterwards, our Coxswain, Chief Petty Officer 1st Class Savannah Crack will make a traditional gift of tobacco to our guest,” explained Mr. Blake.
The large group of people in attendance then stood for the national anthem, followed by one minute of silence for all members of the Canadian Armed Force’s veterans past and present.
“We are very honoured to have Carmen Laidley, 348 Manitoulin Sea Cadets very first commanding officer, here as today’s reviewing officer,” said Mr. Blake. He noted the reviewing party was comprised of Reviewing Officer Carmen Laidley, the current Commanding Officer of RCSCC 348 Manitoulin, Lieutenant (Navy) Sylvain Boucher, Lieutenant Commander Nadine Leblond, of the North Bay detachment, and Manitoulin Navy League Branch President Bob Jewell.”
After the arrival of the reviewing party of the playing of the general salute, the guard was then inspected by the reviewing officer accompanied by Guard Commander Chief Petty officer 2nd class Landon Aelick, followed by an inspection of the remainder of the Corps by the entire reviewing party.
Mr. Blake explained that Ms. Laidley was born and raised in southwestern Ontario, near Owen Sound. In 1978, she joined the Grey and Simcoe Foresters which is a Canadian Forces Infantry Unit. A year and a half later, she joined the Royal Canadian Air Force as an administration clerk. She served at CFB North Bay, National Defence Headquarters at Ottawa, the Recruiting Centre at Hamilton and a Service Battalion and finally at the Recruiting Centre at London. She left the Canadian Forces at the Rank of Sergeant.
In 1991 Ms. Laidley and her husband Bruce, and son Jonathan moved to Manitoulin Island. In 2002, she was approached by Ed Kift and Jeff Marshall to help form a Sea Cadet Corps on Manitoulin. She agreed and enrolled in the Cadet Instructor cadre and competed the required training as quickly as possible, said Mr. Blake.
After the inspection was completed, as well as the march past and march off, the cadets demonstrated two different forms of drill. The first was the drill without arms demonstration team, this year represented by 15 cadets and the Drill Commander, CPO 1st Class Savannah Crack.
Mr. Blake noted that several members of the Corps were in attendance, and they were asked to stand in order to be acknowledged. “I would like to thank them for travelling to join us in this celebration.” They were then invited on deck with Chief Petty Officer Lydia Pennings leading them in a short drill session, and they obviously did very well. “Cadets, you still have it,” stated Mr. Blake.
The cadets then presented their next drill, Drill with Arms, which was presented by the cadets from the honour guard, along with some of the senior cadets.
“Continuing with the history of our corps, I would like to share the slate of Corps Coxswains who achieved the rank of Chief Petty Officer First Class since the Corps inception,” said Mr. Blake. “First was Jeremy Cosby, presently a member of the Royal Canadian Navy; next Teresa Shain, in Toronto working in movie production design, including the series ‘Handmaid’s Tale,’ as well as having been awarded an Oscar along with her colleagues on the movie ‘Nightmare Alley.’ Followed by Nick Macaluso, presently an educational assistant for the Catholic School Board at Sudbury; Jess Wilkin, who works in retail; Chrissy Benoit, a former member of the Royal Canadian Navy, living in Halifax; Andrew Blake, protection services, Vale Mining company in Sudbury; Matthew White, retail, Sault Ste. Marie; Courtney Kanasawe, of Wiikwemkoong; Mason Dugas, member of the Canadian Forces, Royal Canadian Engineers; Cindy Hu, a chartered professional accountant in Waterloo; Brad Sayyae, information technology specialist, in Sudbury; Becky MacDonald, music teacher, Miranda Mackay, presently a nurse at Manitoulin Health Centre, a sub-lieutenant with the Corps in the role of training officer and marksmanship coach; followed by Abby Harper, nursing student, Sault Ste. Marie; Rhys Allison, officer cadet, presently completing his first year at Royal Military College, and lastly, our current coxswain, Savannah Crack.”
Mr. Blake explained, “In 2012, the corps hosted new cadets from the Espanola area and once their numbers of cadets was sufficient, the Corps, #357 Hero then achieved their charter, led by Lieutenant Commander Deb Goode.”
“In April 2018, after a successful fundraising effort, six cadets along with staff members flew to France for the 100th anniversary of the battle of Vimy Ridge, along with 25,000 other Canadians and spent a week touring northern France and the City of Paris,” continued Mr. Blake.
Mr. Blake also shared some of the activities that the Corps engaged in the past year. The Manitoulin Navy League acquired two inflatable boats, outboard motors, as well as several VHF radios, which allowed for on-water and radio training for the cadets. The corps took part in biathlon training, Remembrance Day ceremoniesJ19
and winter training where the cadets took first place in the marksmanship portion of the training. They also took part in seamanship training at Sault Ste. Marie with sea cadets from other communities in Northern Ontario.
“In February, our corps marksmanship team, led by coach S(Lt) Miranda Mackay took second place in the zone level marksmanship competition at Sudbury,” said Mr. Blake. Team members included team captain petty officer 1st class Elizabeth Hazlitt, Master Cadet Austin Flikweert, Master Cadet Laszlo Vernarsky, Leading Cadet Liam McLean, Leading Cadet Elinah Peltier. In addition, a first place junior and first place open medals were earned by Master Cadet Vernarsky, which resulted in him being awarded the top shooter of the entire competition.”
“It has been a very busy, fun-filled and successful year for our Corps,” said Mr. Blake. “The (RCSCC) has always been a youth movement that encourages citizenship, self-discipline, teamwork, physical activity, leadership, and personal deportment. All the officers of this corps were once cadets, and this corps is very proud to have seen many cadets pursue careers in the Canadian Armed Forces.”
Mr. Blake noted one of the notable achievements of the corps over the past 20 years has been the success of the marksmanship teams, thanking the executive of the Branch #177 Little Current Legion for allowing the corps to use their space for training purposes.
Between 2009-2024, the Manitoulin Sea Cadets have achieved nine first place finishes at the Sudbury Zone Shoot, three second place finishes and one third place finish in the team category as well as countless individual medals.
“In 2015, the team qualified to attend the provincial competition at CFB Trenton. “This year, one of our cadets achieved an individual score high enough at the zone shoot to earn a spot at the provincial competition,” said Mr. Blake. “Cadet Vernarsky came home with a third-place medal in the junior category in prone shooting and third-place medal in the junior category in the standing shooting competition, making him the third best junior shooter in the province. All this in his first year as a cadet. We can’t wait to see what he can achieve in the next four years. We congratulate Cadet Vernarsky for this memorable achievement.”
The Cadet awards ceremony then took place. The Lieutenant Commander Roger Szydziak Outstanding first year cadet award was presented by Lt(Navy) Sylvain Boucher on behalf of the Szydziak family to leading cadet Laszlo Vernarsky.
The Manitoulin Navy League branch Outstanding second year cadet award was presented by Manitoulin Navy League President Bob Jewell to master cadet Sawyer Aelick. The Outstanding third year award was presented by S(Lt) Tina Davidson to Petty Officer 2nd class Austin Flikweert; the Outstanding Fourth year cadet award was presented by Lieutenant Commander (retired) Deb Goode, to petty Officer 1st Class Elizabeth Hazlitt; the Commanding Officer Outstanding fifth year cadet award was presented by Lieutenant Navy Sylvain Boucher to Chief Petty Officer second class Landon Aelick.
The Colonel George Bury Memorial Award is presented in memory of retired Air Force Colonel George Bury, who was a veteran of World War II. It is presented to the cadet who exemplifies the Latin phrase “Fidus Amicus” which means “a true friend’ and was presented by his daughter, Sue Morin to Petty Officer 1st Class Samuel Pennings.
The Fred Nesbitt Memorial award is presented to the cadet who has shown the most overall improvement. Lt(Navy) retired Maggie King presented the award to Petty Officer 2nd class Liam McLean.
The Bryan Chapelle Outstanding Citizenship Award, was presented by Lieutenant Commander Nadine Leblond to chief Petty officer 2nd Class Lydia Pennings.
The Ed Kift Memorial Esprit de Corps award is selected by secret ballot by the cadets themselves and is awarded to the cadet that significantly contributes to the feeling of pride, fellowship, and loyalty shared by the cadets at RCSCC Manitoulin. The award was presented to Chief Petty officer 1st class Savannah Crack by Acting Sub-Lieutenant (retired) Carrie McCulloch.
Manitoulin Navy League president Bob Jewell and Navy League long-time member, Brad Mackay presented the four-year service medals to Petty Officer 1st Class Elizabeth Hazlitt and Petty Officer 1st class Samuel Pennings.
Cadets who have served 5-7 years in the Cadet movement are presented with bars that will be added to their previously awarded four year service medals. The bars, presented by new Manitoulin Navy League member, Thomas Aulinger, were presented to cadets Chief Petty Officer Second Class Lydia Pennings, Chief Petty Officer 2nd class Landon Aelick, and Chief Petty Officer 1st Class Savannah Crack.
The Legion Medal of Excellence is donated by RCL #177 Little Current, to a cadet in recognition of their individual endeavours in citizenship. Branch President Leslie Burnett presented the medal to Chief Petty Officer 2nd class Landon Aelick.
The Outstanding Top Cadet award was presented by Reviewing Officer Carmen Laidley to Chief Petty Officer 1st class Savannah Crack. This award is presented to the cadet who best exemplifies the cadet movement, excelled in drill, dress, deportment, and leadership skills and is acknowledged as the outstanding sea cadet in the Manitoulin Corps.
“At this time, a special presentation will be made by our commanding officer,” said Mr. Blake. “The Commonwealth Cadet Officer Medal originates in the United Kingdom. Each medal has been engraved with the name and service number of the recipient. This medal is for recognition of not only years leading the Manitoulin Sea Cadets but also for the years you have served with the Manitoulin Navy League. The awards were presented to Reviewing Officer Carmen Laidley, Lt(Navy) (retired) former commanding officer Maggie King and A/Slt (retired) Carrie McCulloch.
Reviewing Officer Carmen Laidley thanked everyone who has been part of the Corps movement in the past and present, “for all your hard work and dedication,” She told the cadets that they should be proud of their accomplishments, and if they continue to work hard “the cadet corps will help open a lot of doors.”
“Thank you for all your hard work and all the best for your future,” added Reviewing Officer Laidley.
Bob Jewell, president of the Manitoulin Navy League stated, “I would like to thank all of you for a wonderful ceremonial review.” He pointed out he was involved in the cadet program 55 years ago and has a nephew and two grandsons in the corps. “The things you learn in cadets you will never forget in your lifetime.”
Lieutenant Commander Nadine Leblond stated, “Congratulations and good work on your 20th anniversary.”
Carol Hughes, MP for Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing bade, “Thank you to the Sea Cadets for all that you do and accomplish. To the staff thank you, what you do really means a lot to these cadets.”
Commanding Officer Sylvain Boucher said “it is an honour to be the commanding officer of this sea cadets corps. I would like to thank everyone here today for joining us in this special occasion. He acknowledged the efforts of previous commanders of the Manitoulin Sea Cadets, and the parents of the cadets for all their efforts. “It is so nice to see so many past cadets return here today as well as our MPP Carol Hughes. Lastly, great job cadets—give yourselves a pat on the back. For many of the cadets this was their first review ceremony and they did an outstanding job.”
Commanding Officer Boucher then called all staff of the sea cadets forward to be recognized for their tremendous efforts.
“We’re now ready to kick off another 20 years,” stated Commanding Officer Boucher.
