A few years ago, I had the privilege to serve as Chairman of the Board and President of the International TelecomPioneers. Although I had been a member for many years, it was during this time that I really learned about the pioneering spirit and history of giving that defines this great organization.

The Pioneer association served primarily as a fraternity of telephone industry employees, it was not long before the Pioneers became active in volunteer community service, refining the founding purpose of the organization.

In 1953, for example, the Canadian Pioneers built a switchboard for disabled children, the first of many devices they developed before other accommodations were made to meet special needs.  Also, to meet the special needs of stroke victims and bedridden patients who cannot speak, a Canadian Pioneer produced a remarkable device known as the PAMC (Pioneers of America Mississauga Council). The device, an 18-inch long board that is placed at the patient’s bedside, is equipped with pictures that light up when buttons are pressed, indicating that the person is in pain, is thirsty, or needs to be raised or lowered.  And it was Pioneers who originally designed the wheelchair trainer to help Canadian athlete Rick Hansen prepare for marathons, an invention that today eliminates many of the barriers to indoor exercise for wheelchair-bound athletes.

Since its first chapter was formed in Canada in 1923, the TelecomPioneers have given selflessly to their fellow Canadians and today I want to offer each and every one of them our sincere congratulations and thanks for their invaluable service.

On a final note, since Sunday marks Remembrance Day in Canada, I thought it quite interesting that along with all their accomplishments and contributions in peacetime, the Pioneer organization also played an important role during wartime. Having been formed in 1911, the Pioneers went through the two great wars.  During WWI, the Pioneer organization literally came to a standstill between 1917 and 1919. During the Second World War, Pioneering became much more of a social and community based organization, and membership grew in leaps and bounds. One project in particular in Canada and the United States was called “Visiting Hospital Servicemen”.  In both countries, the Pioneer organization set out to visit every telephone employee (Pioneer or not) in military service who was hospitalized in either Canada or the United States of America.  It was a very heartwarming project that also allowed US Pioneers to visit Canadian service people who landed in US hospitals and vice versa.  That was perhaps more meaningful because although these service people were away from their own families, they were still connected through their “Pioneer Family”.

Some other wartime activities included hosting “Pioneer Nights” at local blood banks, collecting books for service people, selling savings stamps on payday in company buildings in aid of the war efforts, and certain groups of Pioneers worked with the Red Cross in both countries preparing bandages and dressings that were packed and shipped overseas.

So on Sunday, I encourage you to wear your poppy with pride; participate in ceremonies to honour and remember the proud men and women who serve, and have served, in Canada’s military.

All the best,

Frank    

Illustration: Spirit of Service is the name of a painting that we use in the Pioneer world.  The lineman in painting is Angus MacDonald who was born in Antigonish Nova Scotia and moved in the United States to become a lineman more than a hundred years ago. He became one of the first members of Pioneers alongside Alexander Graham Bell himself.