Dennis W Charlesworth, Neighbor
- Covington, LA
Dennis Charlesworth is originally from Latrobe, Pennsylvania, hometown of Arnold Palmer and the birthplace of the banana split. Ask him and he, as the self-appointed, unofficial and international Ambassador of Latrobe, will gladly enumerate on the many things the small town of 8000 is known for!
Dennis graduated from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in its ROTC program. In 1973, he was commissioned as an officer in the Medical Service Corps, then served during the Vietnam War era with the 101st Airborne Division (Airmobile) at Ft Campbell KY.
Utilizing the GI Bill, he graduated from The University of Alabama with an MBA. His military experience led him to pursue a career in Human Resources Management with several large companies, among them International Paper Company, Wang Laboratories and GTE Government Systems. His community involvement received recognition as the 1992 Corporate Volunteer of the Year and 2016 Retired Volunteer of the Year for the Montgomery Alabama River Region.
Dennis and his wife, Janice, moved to Covington in 2018 to live closer to their son and his family in New Orleans. Their daughter and her family live in Artesia, New Mexico. They are the proud grandparents of five granddaughters.
Dennis joined the Robert H. Burns American Legion Post 16 in 2018 and has served as a Past Commander and is currently its First Vice Commander. In those roles, his major responsibilities have been recruiting new members, events planning and creating partnerships with the community. Dennis introduced the Great American Legion Banana Split Celebration to Covington as a fundraiser for the Northshore Food Bank, seeing it grow significantly in popularity into its 6th year. The American Legion in conjunction with Project Blessing All Year Round will hold its 3rd Annual Sleepout for Homeless Veterans to support the only shelter for homeless veterans in St Tammany Parish. His goal is to create partnerships that enable Post 16 to fulfill its mission of serving veterans, their families and the community.