NORWICH — The Norwich American Legion Post 189, located at 29 Sheldon Street in Norwich, elected their new Commander Robert Root in May.

Root is a United States Navy Veteran who held the role of Electrician's Mate (EM) to the rank of E-4, or 3rd Class Petty Officer. He served on a Tank Landing Ship from 1992 to 1996, and has seen ports in South America, Sicily, South Africa, Germany, and many more.

During his service, Root earned several medals and ribbons, including the Battle "E" Ribbon, a coveted annual award given by the U.S. Navy to ships, submarines, and aviation squadrons "that demonstrate the highest overall readiness and excellence in warfighting and mission accomplishment over a year-long evaluation. It signifies a command's superior performance and ability to carry out its assigned wartime tasks effectively."

After his time in the Navy, Root attended EMA school for electrician's maintenance. He later became a local electrician and owned his own business for 20 years.

He also has an extensive history serving in American Legions in several different roles, including Membership Chair, Sergeant at Arms with the Chenango County Legion, First Vice Commander at the New Berlin Legion, First Vice Commander at the Norwich Legion, and he is now serving as the Norwich Legion Commander and Vice Director of the Norwich American Legion Riders.

Root said the role of the Commander involves being a leader for the Post and its members, being a representative for the veterans in the community, serving on committees, presiding over meetings, doing outreach and networking with local businesses and organizations, and attending local, county, and state meetings, which help with programs such as the Boy Scouts, Boys State, youth baseball, school events, scholarships, and more.

After being elected Commander, Root hit the ground running and has been working hard to continue the Legion's events and community service, while also pushing to improve events and spread the word about the Legion and what they do.

One of his first goals as Commander was to bring back the Memorial Day Parade, which hasn't been held in five-plus years.

"One of the first things that upset me the most is the Memorial Day Parade. We haven’t had one in over five years," said Root. "But we had the parade. It went off not as big as I had hoped, but we had a decent amount."

He said the Norwich VFW Post 2782 got involved, as well as the Boy Scouts, the Legion baseball team, the Norwich Fire Department, several local politicians, a choir, trumpeters Joey Hall and Avery Fink, local cheerleaders, and the Mountain Top Golf Course and CNY Custom Carts donated golf carts for the parade.

That same day Legion members, the Boy Scouts, and the Legion baseball team went to the Norwich cemeteries to replace American flags marking the graves of veterans.

"Memorial Day we set flags out at the cemeteries in Norwich and we go through almost 1,000 flags, or more. It’s a lot of flags to be putting out, and then there’s a lot of flags to dispose of. So Flag Day being shortly after, we do a flag burning ceremony here," Root explained.

"The 7th and 8th grade school has a project that they actually go to the cemetery with a sheet and they do a project. So we worked with the school on that. I show up with all the flags and we give a description of the flag, and the proper disposal of it, and the dos and the don’ts, and they love it."

Another of Root's big goals is to get more information out about the Norwich American Legion and what they do. Community service is a big part of the Legion, and members as well as the Legion Auxiliary, the Sons of the American Legion, and the American Legion Riders do as much as they can to support the local community.

"You’d be amazed how many Legion or Auxiliary members are your volunteers at your churches and your food banks and hospice. You just don’t realize how involved the Legion really is out there," said Root. "We do scholarships, we do donations to scholarships, we do the YMCA Open Door Scholarship. The Riders actually kick off their Open Door Scholarship program."

The Norwich Legion also donated $1,000 to the Norwich Boy Scout Troop 62 earlier this year, and Root is hoping to emphasize and grow the Be The One Ride, a charity event that focuses on suicide prevention for veterans.

Some of their other community service efforts and events include $1,500 in scholarships, blood drives, donations to various local nonprofits, job fairs, and Christmas parties, providing resources to members in need, and Give Back Nights at local restaurants, among many others. The Norwich Legion Auxiliary also gives out $500 scholarships to Legion members or their relatives who are going to college.

Root emphasized that the Norwich Legion is more than just a bar, and you don't have to be a member to stop by. The Legion opens at 3 p.m. from Sunday through Friday, and offers bar service, food, dinners every Friday, barbecue events, hosting fundraisers and pool tournaments, offering a venue for weddings and funerals, and more.

Root said the American Legion also offers a sense of camaraderie and support for local veterans.

"So it’s the camaraderie part of it too. It’s the, hey, I’m having a bad night. I’m sitting at home alone. I'm going to go there and have a soda. You don’t have to have a beer, I’m just going to go sit down and have a soda," said Root. "Well, next thing you know you’ve got all these friends talking to you, and it’s like, you know what, my day is not so bad."

There are several membership options at the Norwich American Legion. Veterans can become "Legionnaires;" spouses of veterans can join the Legion Auxiliary; men whose fathers, grandfathers, great-grandfathers, and so on back to World War I can join the Sons of the American Legion; and any members of these groups who ride a motorcycle can join the American Legion Riders.

Root encouraged anyone interested in becoming a member to reach out to a Norwich Legion officer or member to learn more. Applications can be picked up at the Norwich American Legion, or online at Legion.org.

"To become a member, I would say stop by and ask. Fill out an application. The worst you’re going to be told is, ‘sorry, you’re not eligible.’ But reach out to me, reach out to one of the other heads, or even a member," said Root.

Although Root has served as an American Legion officer in many capacities, he said being Commander is new to him and has been a learning experience. However, he said it's been made easier thanks to the support from Legion members.

"I’ve done different chairs but I’ve never done the seat. Now I'm the guy sitting at the end of the table saying, 'okay call the meeting to order, let’s go.' So it’s a different thing for me to learn, and I’m learning it. But we’re getting there, and we’re making things happen," Root said.

"I can’t do this without the support system I have, and that's the fellow veterans before me that have served in this position, and/or sounding boards. My officers are amazing sounding boards, and usually ones that step up onto committees," he added. "Without great support, you don’t have a great leader, and they're helping me become a good leader. At the end of the day I can’t do it without them."

For more information on the Norwich American Legion, visit the Norwich American Legion Post 189 Facebook page.