Words of support
Shelley Lipke, Staff writer
Fifty-eight year old Keith Picard of Delmeny, SK, thrives on sending homemade postcards to deployed Canadian Forces members. Each card starts with a photograph of the Canadian prairies and then he recruits signatures from people in his small town.
Nestled in the small prairie community of Dalmeny, SK, 58-year-old Keith Picard spends a lot of time well-wishing and touching the hearts of our Canadian deployed troops overseas.
It really doesn't matter where they are from, or where they are deployed.
Army, navy and air force as far as the West Bank in Jerusalem, Afghanistan, Haiti, Bosnia and Herzegovina, to deployed naval ships HMCS Calgary and Protecteur have all received his cards and felt the vibes of support from his small farming community.
For Picard, it's his hobby.
"People go out on the ships and on deployments for a long time and I think receiving a card is a nice reminder of home," he says. "I started sending them cards because it brings up their morale and I want them to know that Canadians support them."
Each card starts with a photo. Picard takes a picture of something truly Canadian - a grain elevator, beaver dam, prairie sunset, or another reminder of home, and then turns it into a postcard by getting people in his community to sign the back of it.
In a town so small that the annual parade circles twice, everyone knows him.
He's the guy with the cards for the troops.
"It's not hard to fill a card," says Picard. "I go into restaurants and get piles of them signed.
"What makes the cards worth a million dollars are the names of the people that sign them.
"The first time I asked people to sign I was asked what kind of scam is this. I told them that it was the best scam they will ever get in on and it was free," laughs Picard. "Now people ask me if I have any cards for them to sign. The Canadian Forces are very well respected throughout Canada."
An avid writer, he often sends a story he wrote about Canadian life, a personal anecdote, or something he remembers from his childhood along with the card.
"Once in a while I'll send choke cherry jam and Saskatoon berry jam to give them a taste of home," he says. At Christmas time he likes to send Tim Horton's coffee and hot chocolate.
Cards to the ships are addressed: To any Canadian ship on station, or out on the ocean.
When he receives a reply from someone, he proudly posts the response in the local Country Press newspaper out of nearby Warman, Saskatchewan.
"I'm excited when I receive a reply from the military people that receive them."
CPO2 Kuyper was on board HMCS Calgary during Southploy when he received Picard's postcard.
"I take great pride in acknowledging letters and cards from the Canadian public. They are so curious with regards to our commitment and dedication abroad and they are concerned about our welfare in Afghanistan and Haiti. There seems to be a growing passion towards our soldiers, sailors and air personnel. With 28 years of dedicated service, I feel it's our responsibility to ensure the youth and seniors understand that we are still carrying the torch," said CPO2 Kuyper in response to the support he has seen over the years.
Picard first began sending the cards nearly three years ago.
"My nephew Russell Picard is in the navy, and I used to write him. He would go to a port in Holland and send me all the letters he wrote me back. This really started my writing to the ships and I said to myself maybe I could write more people, so I went to the website and found all these addresses."
Picard sends about 14 cards a month to all the places where Canadians are serving, and figures he has sent over 420 to date.
Picard always encourages the people in his community to go on the website: www.forces.gc.ca/site/commun/message/index-eng.asp, and write to the troops themselves. "Writing is the one thing that will cheer them up and let them know that we support what they are doing for our country," he says.
