National League Member of The Year – 2023
Rick Brown- President of The Army Cadet League of Canada (Ontario) , was selected as National League Member of the Year for outstanding leadership, dedication, and support to the Army Cadet Program in Ontario.
Rick become our President in 2021 and has risen to the leader he is today.
During Rick’s tenure as 1st vice he attended a meeting in Winnipeg in March 2020, where he was thrust into a leading position of change and change management. While many believe that he may have been “along for the ride”, Rick has come to demonstrate that he is no simply a change participant, he is a change leader.
In April 2022, while we were in Moncton, Rick spent the weekend networking and observing, in hopes of gaining knowledge and experience as he and the Ontario Branch would emerge from the shadow of a pandemic. He attended with opened eyes and began to notice that there was much around him that was evolving. While he may not have understood everything that was quietly occurring, he did what many refuse to do: He asked questions and learned.
Since those days, Rick has lead the Ontario Branch through a challenging yet much needed period of transformational change. Rick challenged the status quo recognizing that there are many things that can be done easier and more efficiently. He challenged and asked why things are done, and let the Ontario Board know that it could do better, and it can be better. He know and realized that the Ontario Board needed to better supports its volunteers, members, and Support Committees. If volunteers, members and Support Committees were not getting what they needed from the Ontario Branch, they would get it from elsewhere are he was witnessing that.
Over the course of 2022 and 2023, Rick has been instrumental in improving inter-Branch relations. As a true leader, he has empowered those around him to lead and innovate. While he may appear quiet, he is a thinker, a listener, and analytical. When required, he is not afraid to act, just like any police officer. He is no longer afraid to ask for help. Most importantly, he recognizes that in order to stimulate change, we must individually change. Rick is the leader that Ontario needed and his leadership is what we all want.
Rick received the League Member of the Year from National President Cathy Bach
From left to right Senator Bernadette Clement, Charlene Orrell – 1st VP Ontario, Rick Brown – Ontario President, Cathy Bach – National President, and Bill Adcock – 2nd VP Ontario