Brings Message of ‘Service First’ in Madison County Visit
Pictured Luanne Hollingsworth of Munnsville American Legion Auxiliary receives Department Commander’s Award of Excellence from Department Commander Kenneth Governor.
Department Commander Kenneth Governor presents his Award of Excellence to Clear Path for Veterans co-founders Melissa Spicer and Melinda Sorrentino.
(Submitted photos by Doug Malin)
(Oneida, NY – Nov. 20, 2013) New York State American Legion Commander Kenneth Governor brought a message of “Service First” to the Legion Family in Madison County Wednesday, and honored a Munnsville woman and a Central New York veterans service organization.
Governor presented the Department Commander’s Award of Excellence to Luanne Hollingsworth, president of the American Legion Auxiliary at Munnsville American Legion Post 54, and to Clear Path for Veterans of Chittenango.
“Luanne is an outstanding volunteer at the Munnsville Post,” Governor said. “She not only has led the Auxiliary Unit for the past two years, but also cooks and cleans for most of the family functions at the post.”
Clear Path for Veterans helps military veterans reconnect with their families and communities through a variety of support services, Governor noted in presenting the award to co-founders Melissa Spicer and Melinda Sorrentino.
“Service First” is about reinvigorating the core mission to serve men and women in uniform, veterans and families, community and nation, Governor said during dinner at Oneida American Legion Post 169.
A sign that the Department of New York is on the right track in putting “service first,” Governor noted, is the Americanism trophy that New York walked away with at the Legion’s national convention this past summer. “We were honored for having the best Children and Youth, and Family Assistance Programs in the entire American Legion.”
The commander’s visit was a joint visitation with New York Auxiliary President Barbara Corker and New York Sons of the American Legion (SAL) Detachment Commander John Chang. The trio enjoyed lunch at Munnsville Post 54 before visiting the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota and then speaking at the dinner in their honor at Oneida Post 169.
Chang noted that, like the department commander, his personal project this year is to collect donations for the National Emergency Fund, especially since the fund helped so many New York families in the devastating wake of Hurricane Sandy.
Corker said her project is to support the American Legion’s Operation Comfort Warriors, and for two reasons. First, unlike other charities, 100 percent of donations go directly to helping wounded warriors. Second, it’s important to “show our warriors our love.”