The Norwich Hometown Heroes banner program committee. Pictured is Retired Army Veteran Jim Cushman, CCHS Archives and Collections Coordinator Zachary Greenfield, Chenango County Veterans Services Director and Retired Air Force Veteran Joe Coe, Deputy County Historian John Antonowicz, Retired Air Force Veteran Tom Ryan, Chenango County Historian Henry Drexler, Hospice of Chenango County Director of Volunteers and Outreach and member of the We Honor Veterans Program Sarah Green, community member and family member of local veterans Nancy Sawyer, and local historian and author Sharon Donahe. Not pictured is BID Administrator and Air Force Veteran Tracy Chawgo. (Photo by Sarah Genter)

NORWICH — A local committee made up of members of the Chenango County Veteran Services Office, the Chenango County Historian's Office, the Chenango County Historical Society, veterans, and community members are launching the "Hometown Heroes" program, which will honor local veterans with banners displayed in downtown Norwich.

The 30-inch by seven-foot banners will feature current or former service members both living and deceased, who are current or former residents of the Norwich City School District, and will include their name, branch of service, and photo on the front and back.

Banners will be displayed on every other pole down South and North Broad Street, from McDonald's to the north city limits, along East and West Main Street from the VFW to Guernsey Memorial Library, and in the historic district from the North Broad and Rexford Street intersection down to Silver Street.

Director of Veteran Services Joe Coe said the idea for the banners came about nearly five years ago, when he was approached by City of Norwich Mayor Brian Doliver's father, a local veteran, who had seen similar displays in other towns.

"They had seen them in other communities and they thought it would be an interesting project here for the city of Norwich," Coe explained. "I had gone before the common council about two years ago, and the issue was money and time and the project in itself."

Since then, the committee has secured funding through a private donor to cover the cost of hardware to hang the banners, as well as the banners themselves, and have room to hang up to 70 banners at one time.

"So with the offerings we’ve received, and going forward, I don’t see this ever to fail. I don’t see this ever to dwindle. If anything, it’s going to expand. So that’s how it started was just the approach and idea from a veteran who had seen them in other communities," Coe continued. "So it’s an interest within those communities to represent and distinguish those veterans in the community. So here we are with that. I look forward to this for many years to come."

The committee is currently accepting applications for Norwich veterans to be featured on the banners. Veterans themselves may apply, or friends and family of a veteran may nominate them. The nominated or applying veteran must be a current or former resident of the Norwich City School District, and either honorably discharged from a branch of service or currently serving on active duty.

Proof of service is also required, and may include a DD-214, Certificate of Service, death certificate, or obituary. The committee also requires biographical information such as name, rank, awards, branch and years of service, and a photo of the veteran, preferably in uniform. If no such photo is available, formal photos of the veteran or their branch of service's logo may be used instead at the committee's discretion.

The Hometown Heroes banner program is completely free to apply and participate. Applications are available on the Norwich Hometown Heroes Program, Norwich, NY Facebook page; at the Norwich VFW Post 2782; the Norwich American Legion Post 189; and the Chenango County Office of Veterans Services.

Applications can be emailed to norwichnyhometownheroes@gmail.com or mailed to the Chenango County Historian's Office c/o Norwich Hometown Heroes, 43 Rexford Street, Norwich, NY, 13815.

The deadline to apply or nominate a veteran for the first round of banners is April 12. A recognition ceremony and unveiling of the banners will be held on Memorial Day, May 29.

Should the committee receive more than 70 acceptable applications, Coe said the banners will be rotated approximately once a year. Additionally, the committee will work to ensure there is an even mix of men and women, branches of service, wars, and families represented on the banners hung at any one time.

"We have some families that have nine brothers. We can’t put all nine banners up, because then it takes away from other opportunities for other families," Coe explained. "We’ll spread the wealth, I guess, going forward. So if we do get a family that has six brothers and two daughters, it’ll be up to the committee as to what we’re going to put up."

The banners will be placed and maintained by the Norwich Business Improvement District (BID). Applications and extra banners will be preserved in the Chenango County Historian's Office for future use.

The Norwich Hometown Heroes Committee is made up of Director of Veterans Services and Retired Air Force Veteran Joe Coe, CCHS Archives and Collections Coordinator Zachary Greenfield, Hospice of Chenango County Director of Volunteers and Outreach and member of the We Honor Veterans Program Sarah Green, Deputy County Historian John Antonowicz, community member and relative of local veterans Nancy Sawyer, local historian and author Sharon Donahe, Retired Air Force Veteran Tom Ryan, Chenango County Historian Henry Drexler, Retired Army Veteran Jim Cushman, and BID Administrator and Air Force Veteran Tracy Chawgo.

"This is about us doing this for our veterans of the community," said Coe. "A lot of different things have occurred over the last five years, and this is just one of them that’s another stepping stone that we have put together, and I’m excited about it."

Questions about the Hometown Heroes program can be sent to norwichnyhometownheroes@gmail.com. For more information and digital applications, visit the Norwich Hometown Heroes Program, Norwich, NY Facebook page.