Members of Charles E. Sherman American Legion Post # 36 have elected Newcastle’s Robin Ford Commander of the 145-member post beginning in June. She was unopposed in voting that took place at the Legion Hall on Monday, May 9. Ford has recently been serving as 2nd Vice Commander and will become the first female Commander of Post #36.

Ford served in the Marine Corps in Okinawa in 1993 and at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina until 1997. She is also a member of the Legion Auxiliary and her grandfathers served in the Army and Army Air Corps.

Active in other area service organizations, Ford is a member of Daughters of the American Revolution which works with and for veterans. She has been involved with Scouting, first with Girl Scouts then Cub and Boy Scouts for 17 years.

Her search for a local scout unit brought her to current Post Commander David Patch’s attention and she became a member of Post #36 four years ago. Ford was proposed for the position by the post’s five-member nominating committee because she demonstrated “A huge amount of leadership with Scouting,” Patch said. 

“She was selected because she was the right person at the right time,” he added. Patch has served as Post Commander for the past five years.

Commenting on Ford’s election as the first female Commander of Post #36, the American Legion’s State Adjutant for Maine, Paul L’Heureux, said, “We currently have 173 Legion Posts in Maine. Some of those posts have female Commanders that have been very progressive leaders and are supported by their male counterparts.”

L’Heureux added that Maine’s Legion has one of the first all-female advisory committees in the U.S. Debra Couture currently serves as the Maine Commander.

“The Legion is important to me because of how much veterans help others,” Ford said.  “There are services at Togus that may have been denied and we help get those services. We also let veterans know what’s available to them.”

Asked about future plans for the post, Ford said there won’t be any changes to existing programs. She looks forward to “Getting more people involved in the veterans program. I appreciate all the help everyone’s given and look forward to their help in the future.”

Others elected Monday evening to the post’s officer team for 2022-2023 are:

Joel Morley, who will continue as the Post 1st Vice Commander; Chris Goodwin will become 2nd Vice Commander; Chris Armstead will continue as Americanism Officer; Cathy Moroney will become Finance Officer; Erik Hobson will become Adjutant; Ed Harmon will continue as Post Service Officer; Bob Curtis will become Chaplain; Ron Edwards will continue as Sergeant-At-Arms; Fran Nicoletta will continue as Post Historian; and Al Sirois will hold a newly created position of Ambassador.

All terms are for one year. The meeting to install incoming officers will be held in June.