NORWICH – The Chenango County Bar Association organized the 52nd National Law Day celebration Friday, which honored Leland G. “Gary” Brookins with the 2010 Liberty Bell Award.
Supreme Court Justices Kevin M. Dowd and Elizabeth Garry, along with Chenango County Court Judge W. Howard Sullivan, presided at the county courthouse in Norwich for the event. The Afton Central School’s team was also recognized as this year’s winner of the County Mock Trial tournament and the Bar Association announced this year’s law school scholarship recipients.
Law Day was established by President Dwight Eisenhower in 1958 as “A day of national dedication to the principle of government under law.” Commemorated annually since that date, Law Day programs are conducted throughout the country by bar associations, courts, schools, and civic groups.
The annual Liberty Bell Award recognizes distinguished contributions to the community by non-lawyers who have fostered public understanding of the importance of law in our community.
A central part of the official legal proceeding involved Brookins’ friends and family speaking about his lifetime of community service and telling amusing personal stories.
Walt Prindle, a cousin and childhood friend of Brookins, said he was told six words by the honoree before speaking to the crowd: “Start funny. End serious. Five minutes,” he joked.
Prindle recalled the two men’s childhood experiences together in the Norwich area, which included antics such as an emergency room trip following a movie reenactment of walking across a bed of nails and Brookins talking five waterskiing friends, Prindle among them, into trying to break the unofficial record at Chenango Lake for most skiers pulled at once.
“It was all going pretty good. The boys were slowly pulled out of the water and for about 30 seconds it was great moment for all ... then the back of the boat came off,” said a stern Prindle, adjusting his glasses toward his friend as the crowd burst into laughter.
Many of the speakers joked of a young man’s unstoppable imagination and motivation and of his adult inspiration and community impact.
“He cares deeply for people. He’s done more for people than anyone else I’ve met in my life. Service above self, that’s always what I think about that when I think of Gary,” said Prindle.
Chenango County Treasurer Willaim Evans also spoke of his life-long experiences with Brookins, recalling a humorous incident while Evans was serving as a town judge and Brookins a sheriff’s deputy.
“Now when you’re a town judge, you get to doing arraignments at some pretty late hours and often I’d do them at the office right from my home,” said Evans.
One night Brookins appeared with a recently arrested defendant at Evans’ house for an arraignment and the man was constantly asking to use the bathroom.
Finally, when the man suddenly threatened to urinate where he stood, Brookins took him outside to use a tree on the judge’s lawn.
“I had to mention it to my wife the next morning – not to go near that tree. And that unfortunately prompted her to ask me to explain further,” laughed Evans, shaking his head at the podium.
“Simply put, he’s one of a kind,” said Brookins’ daughter Stephanie Paden. “Strong morals and beliefs, hard working, dedicated husband, friend and father.”
Brookins currently works for Chenango County Area Agency on Aging where he helps county seniors find solutions for their special needs.
Paden recalled a lonely elderly man her father worked with who was afraid to sleep at night because there was no one in his life.
“He was an old man who just wanted to get to bed knowing that someone was thinking about him,” she said. “My father called him every night for months and had a conversation with the elderly man. That’s what kind of a person my father is.”
Brookins opened his remarks with saying, “I believe anyone who receives such an award as the Liberty Bell Award needs to thank a great many people.”
He thanked many including retired teacher Robert Kirkby who inspired him to become an educator, recalling an instance as a child where he was shown the rings of Saturn through a school telescope.
He thanked former sheriff Joseph Benenati for giving him his first full time job as deputy and teaching him the meaning of a hard day’s work. “That’s eight hours of pay with 10 hours of work,” joked Brookins.
Brookins was born in Norwich in 1949. His paternal grandfather and namesake Leland Brookins was Sheriff of Chenango County. His maternal grandfather owned and operated Prindle’s Corner Cigar Store on the current site of Garfs Deli. His great-uncle Louis Brookins was Norwich Fire Chief. Another great uncle, Horace Prindle, was Chenango County Judge for 14 years.
He earned a Bachelor of Science in Education from the State University of New York at New Paltz. In 1978, Brookins completed a Master of Science in Education Degree at SUNY Oneonta. He was married to his wife, Patsy, on April 17, 1971 in Norwich. He is a graduated from New York State Police Officer Training Academy. During his life time of community service roles he’s been a Chenango County Sheriff’s Deputy, Norwich Town Justice, elementary school teacher at Stanford J. Gibson Elementary School. Later he served as principal in a number of schools including both Perry Browne and Gibson. After retiring a few years ago from the school district Brookins joined the Chenango County Area Agency on Aging.
“It’s a pleasure to work with what I think is the greatest generation ever, maybe it’s because they still call me ‘young man’,” said Brookins.
“I’m very fortunate to have had so many opportunities to serve the community. I think Norwich is a great place to live and I’m happy with the life I’ve had,” he said. “I do believe every day is a good day if you get out of bed and have a positive influence on someone other than yourself.”