Underneath the row of seated teenagers is a blue tarp. And for good reason.
"In the lid of the polish tin, place warm water," Lt. Angela Sargent tells the Squamish Air Cadets.
With the shammies wrapped around their fingers, the youth busily work tiny circles on pairs of black boots.
It took a while for the cadets to settle into the Squamish Adventure Centre's theatre. First they were given the important task of selecting the movie to watch while they worked. Monty Python and the Holy Grail won their vote.
"This is why we watch movies while polishing boots," Sargent says from in front of the seated crowd. "Because it is boring."
Cadets itself is far from boring, she tells The Chief while the teenagers laugh and chatter at "the witch" skit on screen. A lot of what the cadets do is about building respect - for oneself and the community, Sargent says. And it's fun, she adds.
"We are off to do a field trip in a couple of weeks," Sargent says, noting cadets will learn survival techniques while staying overnight in the forest.
The Squamish-based 835 Air Cadets Griffin Squadron has 23 members. It's one of the newest communities to join the Canadian program, which formed in 1940. David Timms helped get it started in 2000. At the time, his son was one of eight youths travelling to North and West Vancouver for cadets.
"There are slightly more cadets than last year," Sargent says of the pack.
Sargent stepped into the role of Lieutenant last October. Since then there has been a lot of action, she says. Sgt. Teo Verdicchio and Corp. Samuel Sherlock passed a difficult exam en route to receiving scholarships toward getting their pilots' licences. They're up against hundreds of Air Cadets all vying for a summer course at CFB Comox. Verdicchio is going after a plane scholarship, while Sherlock seeks his glider's licence.
The squadron also said goodbye to Officer Terry Gillespie, who moved north to take up a new position with the RCMP. Cst. Gillespie was with 835 Griffin Squadron for seven years.
"We are going to miss him terribly," Sargent says.
A lot of the youth who join the squadron have dreams of becoming commercial pilots. Many wind up doing just that, she says. Sargent is excited to be a part of their journey.
"I'm working on making a good strong program," she says, adding after boot polishing, it's off to the pool.
