'It's really prestigious for me': Truro Legion member and veteran receives rare honour

TRURO – Murray Dawson’s volunteerism took root when he and his wife joined the Truro Legion in 1994.

“That’s really where the volunteer work started for me,” said Dawson. “It was something we really got into here.”

In October, Colchester Branch 26 presented Dawson with the Palm Leaf to the Meritorious Service Medal.

The Palm Leaf recognizes Dawson’s continuous meritorious service to the cause of the Royal Canadian Legion since he was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal in 2017.

The Meritorious Service Medal is the highest Legion award that can be granted to an ordinary, life, or associate-voting member.

“Comrade Murray Dawson was chosen to receive the Palm Leaf for his exceptional volunteerism, community support, and his self-giving time as a member of the Royal Canadian Legion,” said branch president James McEachren.

In the Truro Legion’s near-century-long history, only 18 of its members have received the Palm Leaf, including Dawson.

“It’s really prestigious for me, and it’s something I’ve never worked for, or worked towards,” said Dawson. “But I certainly do appreciate that the membership here recognizes it.”

Dawson’s service with the branch is widespread.

He is a member of the branch’s Poppy and Wreath Committee and chaired the poppy campaign for over a decade.

He is also chairman of the Audio/Visual Committee and a member of the Grave Decorating Committee.

For 14 years, he has chaired the Nova Scotia/Nunavut Command Crib Tournament, which is a major event.

He has been involved with the branch’s Colour Party for eight years, where he parades the Canadian flag.

Dawson is currently the secretary for Zone 10, which is a group of six local branches in Colchester County and East Hants.

He also volunteers at the Truro Legion’s monthly fish and chips dinner where he emcees and provides musical entertainment.

Previously, Dawson chaired the branch’s Bylaws and Resolutions Committee, and was a member of both the Finance Committee and the Poppy Trust Fund Committee. He was also a trustee of the Truro Legion for six years and a past deputy zone commander.

Dawson’s volunteerism also reaches beyond the Legion, for example, at Immanuel Baptist Church and the Colchester Food Network.

In 2009, the branch recognized Dawson as Member of the Year with the Rev. G. R. Thompson Trophy. He was was given a Life Membership Award in 2008.

Dawson served as the president of the Truro Legion from 2011 to 2012.

Dawson served 12 years in the Canadian Armed Forces. His service eventually brought him to the Maritimes. The veteran said he didn’t do much volunteering before 1993, when he moved to Truro for work.

“I’ve been very fortunate over my lifetime,” Dawson said.

“I think the biggest thing is having the opportunity; and the Legion is a mechanism to be able to give back to a community and a country, basically, that’s given so much to me and to all of us when you look at our freedoms compared to everybody else.”