Mississauga, Ontario
Mr. Keith Michael Lawrence is a 30-year Veteran of the Canadian Armed Forces who also served as a civilian member with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. He served overseas with NATO in Europe and Southwest Asia and with the United Nations in Cyprus, the Middle East and the Congo. Mr. Lawrence has been active in the community for over 20 years in various capacities for the betterment of Veterans and all Canadians. He has been an active member of The Royal Canadian Legion for 22 years, where his efforts have centered on remembrance and assisting Veterans take part in services at municipal locations, cenotaphs, Legion branches and Sunnybrook Hospital. At the Veterans Wing at Sunnybrook Hospital, Mr. Lawrence was directly involved with the annual Christmas celebration for Veterans that included a military concert, gifts for Veterans and collecting donations of musical instruments for use in the therapy programs. Dans l’aile des vétérans de l’hôpital Sunnybrook, M. Lawrence a contribué directement à l’organisation annuelle de la fête de Noël pour les vétérans, soit un concert militaire, la remise de cadeaux aux vétérans, ainsi qu’une collecte de dons d’instruments de musique à utiliser dans le cadre des programmes de thérapie.
For years, he assisted the late Brigadier Ted Brown and the late Naval Lieutenant Owen Williams in conducting their duties at Soldiers’ Tower at the University of Toronto. He also collected medals for the small museum that is part of the heritage of Soldiers’ Tower and he worked on several projects of remembrance with the late Lieutenant Colonel Bert Pinnington, a Korean War Veteran.
While a manager at Coca-Cola, Mr. Lawrence quietly, without fanfare, hired seven Veterans or soon-to-be Veterans. He knew the skills that former service personnel possessed and he assisted them in gaining successful employment in leadership roles with a world-class company. This tangible demonstration of commitment to fellow Veterans speaks to his loyalty and commitment. In his new role as manager of a bus company, he provides buses to the Legion for use on Remembrance Day at no cost.