The 15th Honourary Member of the Princess Pats

Don Cherry has just been welcomed in as the 15th honorary member of the Princess Patricia Canadian Light Infantry, an honour the hockey legend has called "humbling". Retired Brig.-Gen. J. E. L. Gollner said that members of all units of the Princess Pats had been polled about making Cherry the 15th honorary member of the unit, founded in 1914 at the beginning of the Great War.
"(T)he results were clear — make Don Cherry an Honorary Patricia," Gollner said. "I asked Don and he agreed to join our Regimental family. We are all pleased and proud of having him as a member." Cherry tole a Kingston Whig Standard reporter "This ranks as No. 1. You don't get a better honour, especially when it comes from the troops."
The recognition is going to a man who is so unabashedly proud to be Canadian, and so unswerving in his support of the troops, it's great to see him get this. Anyone who is a regular fan of HNIC knows, for instance, that Don always uses time on Coach's Corner for a tribute to every soldier who falls in Afghanistan. Every regular fan has heard his voice raw with emotion so many times; heard him send prayers out to the fallen soldiers' families. This is indeed the right choice for the 15th honorary member.
I'd like to ask when Cherry is going to be admitted to the ranks of the Order of Canada. Canada's highest civilian honour, the Order of Canada is given to recognize a lifetime of outstanding achievement, dedication to the community and service to the nation. If you're looking for service and dedication to the community, you don't have to look much further than his involvement with a list of charities. Perhaps the most important to him would be "Rose Cherry's Home for Kids", a hospice for terminally ill children in Milton, Ontario. Rose, his beloved wife of 40 years, died of liver cancer in 1997. In 2003 he began his fundraising and the centre, expected to serve 350 families a year, had its grand opening in September 2004. As far as achievement, Cherry is an absolute Canadian icon. For any doubters, just look at his taking seventh place in the top ten of the CBC's Greatest Canadian list.
The Princess Pats have it right. Cherry deserves recognition.