A ceremony was held Thursday in the gazebo at Clarion County Memorial Park that marks a change in the U.S. Army’s Clarion Recruiting Co.
First Sgt. Dustin Denny will be leaving his post in Clarion for San Diego, and First Sgt. Cynthia Pruitt, who had previously served with the 101st Airborne Division, will replace Denny.
In her invocation before the recruiting company’s Change of Responsibility ceremony, Clarion Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Tracy Becker said, “We have been blessed to have the Denny family with us for the past several years and we are forever grateful.”
Denny served as a Chamber director and suggested the theme for this year’s Autumn Leaf Festival.
“The first sergeant is expected to be the most knowledgeable soldier in the company. He is also expected to be a model of everything a soldier should aspire to,” said Captain Jonathan Guelzo, commander of the Clarion Recruiting Co. “First Sergeant Denny is an outstanding soldier and I do not take for granted my good fortune in having his support during the length of my command here.”
Following a moment of silence in memory of the D-Day invasion of Normandy, Denny noted that the first sergeants attending the service from other parts of Pennsylvania were more than recruiters.
“These men did not join the Army as recruiters,” said Denny. “Most of the individuals here before you are combat veterans. Some are Purple Heart recipients and some are Bronze Star recipients. They are the best this country has to offer. It has been my honor to serve with you.”
Pruitt said she is excited to get to know the other first sergeants in the Clarion Recruiting Co. and “enhance the efficiency of the Clarion Recruiting Company.”
The Clarion Recruiting Co. is located in the Clarion Mall.