Jules Xavier
Shilo Stag

How do you make a service club started in 1968 more inclusive for everyone?
Simple, you let everyone join.
Shilo and Area Service Club – formerly known as the Shilo and Area Men’s Club – has made big strides during the past decade, including changing the name of the half-century-old club, and officially rewriting the rules to add all genders can join.
“Half of the volunteers are spouses, girlfriends or friends anyways,” re-elected president Larry Weisgerber told the Stag. “It only makes sense they get a voice and vote, too.”
With another 10 ladies joining the organization working out of L25, the new vice-president is Maj Lindsay Jackson.
In the same step with similar aging organizations, the Shilo and Area Service Club is focused on being more inclusive, increasing membership, and wants to find more people and organizations to assist.
The club motto is “to make our community a better place in which to live by positively contributing to the overall well-being of the Shilo community and surrounding region.”
The club members focus on making Shilo and surrounding area a better place by volunteering their time and services at events, or by fundraising throughout the year with all the monies going towards community organizations, individuals, and charity causes in need.
“You get to have fun, working activities with the other volunteers, and our club is very open and transparent. It’s a great place to come and socialize and meet people,” explained Weisgerber, who quarterbacked the volunteers serving breakfast at the most recent event in early December, Candy Cane Christmas run by PSP.
For those who don’t know who is involved with the club, you’d likely recognize their faces at several Base events where the members often volunteer their time and culinary skills, including the annual Lobsterfest, Canada Day, and Candy Cane Christmas – to name a few.
“If you ask people to volunteer, they are there but it is getting harder to find members,” Weisgerber offered.
The club has three different membership levels; an active member, who lives on the Base, volunteers and attends regular meetings; an associate member, someone who used to be involved with the club but has since moved, who can come back, volunteer, and vote at meetings if they are present; and a life member, someone who has put a significant amount of time with the club, who no longer has to pay membership fees.
The meetings are once a month with the exception of June, July and August. Nominations for the 2023 executive were held last November, with voting held in December.
But it is not about being a member of the club which brings a sense of pride to Weisgerber, who retired a few years ago after working with RPOU-W Det Shilo. It is the bringing together of community and the importance of giving back.
“It’s a way to build community spirit – that is great for Shilo,” he said. “You have to give something back to society and community, the tighter you hold to yourself, the less community there is.”
While Weisgerber said he is grateful for the current volunteers of the club, he would love to see more new faces, and also get more applications from community organizations, individuals and charity causes in 2023.
“We are a very welcoming group … and volunteering isn’t hard, people are very appreciative,” he said.
The club raises money for deserving causes by organizing or participating in various community events such as Lobsterfest, Winterfest and the annual Special Olympics charity golf tournament to name a few.
Money is paid out to many deserving causes in the Shilo and Brandon areas, ranging from assisting community members in distress to supporting local schools and recreational activities. In addition to direct financial assistance, the club also offers assistance to the community in other ways.
For instance, the club provides a medi-chair for use on a temporary basis until more permanent arrangements can be made by those in need. The club also built a wheelchair ramp in 2012 for a member of the community in need.
For more information on how to get involved with the Shilo and Area Service Club, or to get an application for help, contact organizers at 204-765-3000 ext 3353.

Retired from his former CE job here on the Base, the avid CFL fan — he cheers for the Green Riders — and first-time Brandon Wheat Kings season ticket holder Larry Weisgerber is the newly elected president of the Shilo and Area Service Club. The first major event for the club is the June 10 BComd’s Downhomer Lobsterfest, where volunteers are key to ensuring the event is another sellout. Weisgerber and new vice-president Maj Lindsay Jackson met with Santa Claus at L25 when they were not serving breakfast with PSP’s annual Candy Cane Christmas in early December. Up next for both and their fellow club members is the June 10 BComd’s Downhomer Lobsterfest scheduled for June 10. Photos Jules Xavier/Shilo Stag