BY JEFF CHUDZINSKI
North Country This Week
NORFOLK — Norfolk Town Supervisor Charlie Pernice has been in his current role for 14 years but he says it’s not just his experience in public office that make him a strong candidate.
A 1979 graduate of Norwood-Norfolk Central School, Pernice spent three years in the Navy on a front line destroyer, the USS Caron DD-970.
“At 19, I was working as an Electrician on a Navy ship that literally went all over the world with a crew of every ethnicity and every culture on board. The military teaches leadership and responsibility like no other job I could have had as a young adult,” Pernice said.
Following his service, Pernice served as a paid firefighter and driver for the Village of Massena Fire Department for 21 years, from 1985 until his retirement in 2006.
Pernice said working in high stress situations to assist the community day and night was an invaluable experience.
During his time as a firefighter, Pernice said he worked within local government, negotiating salary and benefits and working with the public on a daily basis. Those skills have translated to working as town supervisor in Norfolk.
Service to the community is a core tenet for Pernice, ranging from his multiple roles with Local 2220 Massena Permanent Firefighters union, to managing the U-19 American Legion baseball team for 7 years and coaching youth soccer and baseball. Pernice said he also coached 11 years with the Norfolk-Norwood Minor Hockey program, serving on the board of directors in that time and as president for three years.
Pernice said he continues to volunteer time to the hockey program, helping lay down ice and lines this fall in preparation for the season ahead.
Community events have also been a focus for Pernice, having served on the Bicentennial Committee as well as assisting with Norfolk’s Fall Festival.
It’s the combination of these experiences, along with his 14 years as town supervisor, that are valuable in navigating the…
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