The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
Leaders honored at Testimonial Dinner
Local leaders of the Legionnaires, Auxiliary and Sons were recognized in Oneida County.
NEW HARTFORD » On behalf of the Oneida County Department of New York American Legion, the New Hartford American Legion Post 1376 held a Testimonial Dinner for the state leadership of the Legionnaires, Auxiliary and Sons on Saturday, Oct. 1. Honored at the dinner were John B. Sampson, Department Commander, American Legion; Debbie Kryczkowski, Department President, American Legion Auxiliary; and J. Bruce Ruthven, Detachment Commander, Sons of the American Legion.
“The visit to Oneida County was part of a statewide visitation that the Legion leadership team conducts with all of the New York State American Legion county commanders during their year of service,” said George Dorn, Commander of the Oneida County Department of New York American Legion. “Members fromAmerican Legion posts in Oneida County attended the Testimonial Dinner, which was very inspiring.”
Sampson is a Vietnamera veteran who served in the U.S. Navy from August 1967 to February 1972 with assignments on the U.S.S. Freemont attack transport and at Randolph Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, as part of a joint military command. He served as an amphibious squadron coxswain and then as a personnel man. Sampson is the Commander of the New York State American Legion, which consists of more than 113,000 members and some 900 posts spread throughout 62 counties. He is a 40-year member of the Hughes-Skiba Legion Post 535 in Salamanca, N.Y., serving in many capacities, including post commander in 1986 and 1987. Prior to becoming Department Commander, Sampson held several leadership positions at the County and District levels. Sampson was inducted into the New York State Senate’s Veterans Hall of Fame in May 2016.
“My mission is to get younger service veterans involved in the Amer- ican Legion,” Sampson said. “We need to communicate with these men and women on their level, especially through popular online news and social media channels. There are so many ways that they can get involved and contribute to the overall good of the communities where they live.”
Kryczkowski is a 33-year member of the Lee Unit 1794 in Lee Center, N.Y., and is a past president and a life member. In addition to being Department President of the American Legion Auxiliary, she continues to actively serve her home post in a number of capacities. Kryczkowski has chaired many committees on both the County and District levels and has received numerous awards for her leadership and service. A number of Kryczkowki’s family members have served in the military, including her father who was aWWII Army veteran of the European Theater. Her five brothers are all Vietnam veterans, and her son, Tech Sgt. Rob- ert Kryczkowski Jr., retired from the U.S. Air Force.
“For me, it’s all about the American Legion family,” said Kryczkowski. “I’m an advocate for Legion membership of all ages. It’s not just about veterans with graying temples, we need to appeal to the entire family, including young mothers of school age children. We have programs for junior auxiliary members to learn about patriotism, along with scholarship opportunities for higher education.”
Ruthven is a 37-year Honorary Life member of the Seeley B. Parish Squadron 457 in Phelps, N.Y. His eligibility to become a member of the Sons of the American Legion came from his late father, John Ruthven, who enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1941. He served in the European Theater with the 359th Bomb Squad of the 8th Army.
Ruthven has served his squadron in numerous capacities, including commander, and received its “Son of the Year Award” in 2000 and was named “Post 457 Family Member of the Year” in 2010. Hehas served the Sons of the American Legion in many capacities at the County, District and Detachment levels, and received the District “Son of the Year Award” in 2004. For 11 years he was the chairman and editor of the Detachment newsletter, The Liberty, which won a first place award from the National and 11 first place awards from the New York State American Legion press associations. Ruthven is a member of both the National and New York State press associations.
“We have a great opportunity to increase ourmembership in Sons’ organizations at every
American Legion post and squadron in the United States,” said Ruthven.
“The American Legion is about vets helping vets and their families, and we need to do a better job of communicating about what being a part of the American Legion family is all about.”