[Stephen J. Thorne]

With The Royal Canadian Legion’s centennial in 2026 approaching, new national executive director Randy Hayley is hoping that more Canadians will learn about and get to know the organization better.

Hayley, who assumed the position in November 2024, is an Ottawa native who graduated from the city’s Carleton University. With his wife Heidi, they raised two now-adult daughters. Before joining dominion headquarters in 2015, Hayley spent 25 years working with national media, mostly newspapers where he specialized in circulation.

“I was involved in a lot of startups, including a call centre,” he said. “I see myself as a business-to-consumer person.”

His experience has been mostly in administration, specifically customer service.

After 10 years in administration with dominion command, where he started as director of membership, Hayley witnessed and facilitated tangible changes within the organization.

“It was a period of transition as we began using more and more technology to make joining the Legion easier,” he said.

I see the centennial as wonderful [opportunity] to let Canadians know what the Legion is about.

Among the changes he helped implement: allowing members to renew online and the introduction of digital membership cards to replace paper cards, which have to be printed every year. He was also thrilled to see membership, which had been declining for decades, start to grow. He moved up to the director of corporate services and strategic planning in February 2023, where he oversaw the development of programs, as well as the handling and administration of staff and the building itself.

As executive director, Hayley has several ambitions, including the continued modernization of the membership department.

“I have three goals. The first is to continue the excellent work the Legion does in supporting our veterans.”

Secondly, “I see the centennial as wonderful [opportunity] to let Canadians know what the Legion is about. A lot of people do not realize we are a 99 per cent volunteer organization,” said Hayley, noting this objective includes supporting the current membership team, finding new ways to support the work of Legion volunteers and veterans and doing a better job of communicating the type of work the RCL does for local communities.

Hayley’s third goal is to continue to improve the services the organization provides to veterans.

“The demographics are changing. Our members are younger with unique needs,” he said,
highlighting that one of the challenges is that younger members often don’t have the time to volunteer. “It is something of which we have to be cognizant.”

Being an executive director isn’t new to Hayley. In his previous post he was also executive director of the Legion National Foundation. The foundation works with the RCL in supporting initiatives that positively impact the well-being and quality of life of Canadian veterans and their families. Its programs include the Legion National Youth Remembrance poster and literary contests, the Legion National Youth Track and Field Championships and the biennial Pilgrimage of Remembrance to Europe.

“One hundred years is a unique time in any organization,” he said. “It will be an exciting time to be here.”