Mount Forest's Derek Moore joins national Legion leadership team

MOUNT FOREST – Mount Forest resident Derek Moore has clinched one of the top spots at the Royal Canadian Legion nearly a year after gunning for the national position.

“I’m still trying to come down off cloud nine,” Moore said by phone, having just returned from a Legion convention in Winnipeg from Aug. 22 to 26.

Members convened in Manitoba’s capital – where the modern-day Royal Canadian Legion began – to mark the Legion’s centennial and take care of Legion business.

Moore was elected to the role of Dominion Command vice president – one of three beneath the national president and first vice president – along with Trevor Jenvenne and Valerie MacGregor.

“It’s a very important role and I’m quite happy to get it,” he said.

“It’s been a long time and a lot of work,” Moore added, noting his personal sacrifice and time away from family.

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More than 1,000 delegates attended the convention according the Legion.

A new veteran scroll was approved to be used on informal Legion dress, signalling veterans who haven’t been awarded military service medals, and a new $2 anniversary coin with artwork by a Legion National Youth Contest winner was unveiled.

Moore said he winged an acceptance speech from the heart after tossing a pre-written two-page speech, telling the crowd where it all started, “right here in Mount Forest.”

A nearly 50-year Legion member, Moore previously served a three-year role as Ontario president, during which he championed the Legion’s homeless veterans program, Leave the Streets Behind.

He said it has been a 31-year journey rising through the local and provincial executive ranks to the national level while earning the confidence of the Legion’s membership across the country.

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“These people have backed me all the way through,” he said.

Moore said the role will have him travelling across the country – he’s due in BC for a provincial convention in 2027 – while chairing the Poppy and Remembrance Committee.

Moore pinned a poppy on Ontario lieutenant governor Edith Dumont, launching the national Poppy Campaign in 2023.

Moore told the Advertiser last year he’s a true believer in the Legion’s mission to serve veterans despite its struggles to catch up with the 21st century.

“Real changes come at the top,” he previously said, adding he would have more influence at the Dominion level to bring about change.

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Moore stands by that sentiment today as the Legion celebrates 100 years, but he said modernization won’t be easy.

“That 100 years is gone,” he said.

“Now we’re dealing with what we call a modern-day veteran, and that’s where we have to go, and that’s a totally different ballgame.”

Branches also need to find ways to remain financially viable and attract new membership, he added.

“It’s not going to happen overnight ... I’m going to push that as much as I can,” he said.