He was part of the first cadet group in Collingwood back in 1998, and now, 21 years later, he’s still there helping to mentor youth of the area.
For this week’s edition of People of Collingwood we sat down with Tyler McFarlane, 35, Deputy Commanding Officer of the 1909 Collingwood Royal Canadian Army Cadet Corps.
Q: For how long have you lived in Collingwood?
A: I’ve been here for most of my life. I did move away when I went to Orillia in about 2010 to go to school for Police Foundations.
I went to high school at Jean Vanier.
Q: Did you want to be a police officer?
A: I did at the time, yes. I worked for Saunders Books for six years. Afterwards, I got an opportunity at Little Caesars as general manager for them. I kind of jumped out of one area and stayed in another.
I did initially want to do policing. My biggest thing was, between cadets and how busy my home life was at the time, it wasn’t working out.
Q: Can you tell me a bit about your involvement with cadets locally?
A: So, the cadet corps in Collingwood was started in 1998. I was 14 at the time, and my dad actually tricked me into going. I didn’t know what it was for. They were doing it out of Mountain View School at the time. My dad had taken me there and dropped me off and I had no idea what was going on.
I hated it. Honestly, for the first month, my dad would pick me up and I’d tell him I wasn’t going back.
I had been involved in sports, but I didn’t know how to take it. It was a bunch of stuff about the military and I wasn’t interested in the time as a 14-year-old.
After about a month, I made friends and I had more of an understanding of what the group was about. I got my first community service experience there doing the poppy sales. We were cleaning up local rivers and garbage clean ups, helping out with bike rides for charity and the Terry Fox Run.
I would say that’s part of the reason I decided to stay.
The age limit is 12 to 18.
Q: Do you still have friends today you made back when you were 14 in cadets?
A: I do! One of the other civilian instructors that is working with the cadet corps, he was one of the original cadets along with myself. To have people I met when I was that young that I’m still working with in the same program is pretty impressive.
Q: Has the cadet program changed a lot over the 21 years you’ve taken part in here?
A: Tradition is important, but it has changed.
The curriculum has moved toward adventure-oriented training. It’s more active. More community services. The program has definitely grown a lot since I was a cadet myself. There’s more focus and opportunities.
For us locally, finding a space for a cadet unit isn’t the easiest. We were moving around. We’ve probably paraded in almost every school in Collingwood.
Right now, we’re at the Collingwood legion. They charge us nothing. They have been our supporters for a very long time now.
So, the biggest change is the location. Having permanent space is important when you’re trying to keep consistency in a program.
Q: How many cadets are there now in Collingwood?
A: We have been parading between 25 and 30. That number’s been pretty steady for us. The retention rate for us fluctuates.
Q: Why is it important to have this kind of programming available for youth?
A: I see so much growth between being a 14-year-old who went through a program like this.
The amount of camaraderie, sense of purpose, sense of community and leadership. The skills are so transferable to everything in life. I gained so much knowledge.
We just recently had our mess dinner, and I was talking about being in sixth grade. We had the public speaking assignments. Before I was in cadets, like a lot of kids, I was scared to get up in front of other kids and do public speaking. I would try to find excuses for my mom so I wouldn’t have to go to school that day. (laughs) I was so frightened of public speaking.
But now, speaking in front of groups, it feels like second nature for me.
There are skills, I find, that have improved.
I see cadets who have started at 12 years old and their growth to when they turn 19 and become leaders in the community.
Q: What does the future hold for you? Do you see yourself sticking with cadets?
A: Eventually, the path of succession would see me taking over the cadet corps as the commanding officer and shaping the direction the corps takes.
Cadets has always been such a big part of my life.
I think the reason I never really moved out of this area is because of my attachment to the unit. It’s grown on me. I really enjoy helping the youth in this area and how much I believe in this town.
I see myself continuing the program and taking over once my commanding officer decides she wants to retire.
I’d like to keep the group in Collingwood going and strong.
For our feature People of Collingwood, we’ll be speaking with interesting people who are either from or are contributing to the Collingwood community in some way. This feature will run on CollingwoodToday every Saturday. If you’d like to nominate or suggest someone to be featured in People of Collingwood, email [email protected].
