Long awaited city visit for HMCS Regina sailors

Left to right: Chief Petty Officer First Class Goulding and Commander Matthews present a cheque for $5,011.10 on behalf of HMCS Regina to the Chris Knox Foundation. Photos by Brent Fisher

SLt Mike Harris, HMCS Regina ~

Potato harvesting, veterans visit, and a home-opener hockey game, these are some of the activity highlights 15 HMCS Regina crew members took part in during their namesake city visit from Sept. 22 to 27.

At the Club du Souvenir at École St Andrew, crew members attended a swearing-in ceremony and then surprised students with a visit from ship mascot Gunner the Gopher, as well as the unfurling of the world’s largest Saskatchewan Roughriders flag.

The Roughriders also invited the ship’s representatives to be guests at one of their games, which included the crew marching onto the field prior to the national anthem.

The Regina Pats, a Western Hockey League (WHL) team having a century-old affiliation with the military, also hosted the crew. Sailors attended the team’s home opener where Commander Colin Matthews, Regina’s Commanding Officer, dropped the puck to commence their first home game of the season.

During a meet and greet at HMCS Queen with members of the unit and Friends of the Navy, Cdr Matthews presented a cheque for more than $5,000 to the Chris Knox Foundation as a sign of the ship’s commitment to the charity and their support of the sick children and youth in the city.

Regina holds a strong connection to past military members who have given so much for this country; so crew members spent time getting to know some of the city’s distinguished veterans. They visited the Wascana Rehabilitation Centre to listen to vivid stories from seniors, and were given a lesson in crib by members of the veterans program.

They were also given an exclusive tour of the soon-to-open war museum by veterans of Royal Canadian Legion Branch 1.

Crew members likewise got down and dirty, lending a helping hand to the Grow Regina community garden. Potatoes were harvested and other crops were groomed by the sailors to help feed those in need throughout the community. Grow Regina’s volunteers hold the queenly mission of providing fresh produce for the Regina Food Bank.

The 2016 namesake city visit benefits the city, the ship, and the Royal Canadian Navy at large. The City of Regina and the ship’s crew continue to put forth effort and appreciation for one another through these annual visits and other partnership programs, fortifying a long-standing bond that promises a prosperous future.