HONORARY MEMBERSHIP IN THE RMC CLUB OF CANADA
There have been several questions posed by members in the past several weeks relating to honorary membership in the RMC Club of Canada; some also questioned the need for honorary membership.
As Chairperson of the Honours and Awards Committee in the Executive Committee of the Club, I offer the following.
There are two honorary membership categories, as they appear in the Constitution of the RMC Club:
Honorary Life Members
Gentlemen and Ladies who have at any time rendered outstanding and long term service or brought great honour to the Canadian Military Colleges, the Club or the Foundation may be elected to Honorary Life Membership.
Honorary Life Members shall be accorded all privileges of membership and shall be exempt from the payment of annual dues. They shall be granted an honorary college number with the prefix “H”.
Honorary Members
Gentlemen and Ladies who have rendered special service to the Canadian Military Colleges, the Club or the foundation may be offered Honorary Membership in the Club.
If not eligible for other categories of membership, the Chancellor of the Royal Military College of Canada, the Chairpersons of the Board of Governors of the Royal Military College of Canada and the Royal Military College Saint-Jean, and the Commandants of the Royal military College of Canada and the Royal Military College Saint-Jean, shall be offered Honorary Membership in the Club.
Gentlemen and Ladies who have been granted honorary degrees by one of the Canadian Military colleges and who are not eligible for other categories of membership may be offered Honorary Membership in the Club on the recommendation of the Club Executive committee.
Classes that have honorary class members may nominate any of such members to Honorary Membership in the Club. Such nomination shall not be made until at least four years have elapsed since graduation.
Honorary Members shall be accorded all privileges of membership and shall be exempted from the payment of annual dues. They shall be granted a special Club number greater than 100 with the prefix “S”.
The differences lie in the first paragraphs of each category; i.e. for Honorary Life Membership, a person must “have at any time rendered outstanding and long term service or brought great honour to the Canadian Military Colleges, the Club or the Foundation …” For Honorary Membership, a person must “have rendered special service to the Canadian Military Colleges, the Club or the foundation…”
When a person with an existing College Number is considered to have rendered outstanding and long term service, he or she retains the original number, but with the prefix “H”. This is one of the few ways in which the Club can honour its members. In some cases, such as for our Patron, the Governor General of Canada, and notable others, who do not usually have an original College Number, they are awarded a number in the normal sequence of College Numbers, with the prefix “H”.
People on whom the Club wishes to bestow an honour for “special service”, and who do not have a College Number (e.g. they are not, or were not, students at any of Canada’s military or naval colleges), will be awarded a number greater than 100 with the prefix “S”; this was the case in recognizing both S125 Bill Oliver and S150 Peter Dawe for their service to the Club and the Colleges.
The Honours and Awards Committee will be working over the next several months to fine-tune the system of honorary memberships and rationalize some of the inconsistencies we have uncovered. Suggestions from members are welcome and appreciated.
5611 Gerry Stowe
