Military pomp and ceremony are set for the gym at Iroquois Falls Secondary School Tuesday night. Maj. Andréa Villeneuve will hand over command of the Maj. W. McCarthy 792 Air Cadet Squadron to Lt. Duane Bell.
Villeneuve has held the post for more than seven years.
“I’m happy that I’ve accomplished my goal, to rebuild the staff of the squadron, but I am going to be sad to leave,” she comments. “The staff and the cadets in that squadron have always been a very fun group to work with. It’s just a pleasant atmosphere. They’re always willing to do everything they want to work on and everything they can with the cadets.”
Villeneuve says the ceremony features a formal march by the cadets ahead of her handing the squadron flag over to presiding officer Maj. Dwight Eide of Timmins.
“I will be handing over command to him and then he will be handing over command to Duane,” she explains. And then there’s some change of command certificates that have to be signed to make it official.”
Villeneuve says Bell has a calm demeanour and can assess situations and discuss with staff before a decision.
The ceremony is at 8:00pm.