Longtime West Haven resident, Colleen St.Clair Weatherspoon of 187 White St. was elected as the first female Commander at American Legion Post 196, located at 25 Merwin Avenue, Milford.
Weatherspoon graduated West Haven High School in 1982 and joined the U.S. Navy a year later, serving until 1990. After an honorable discharge, she returned home, raising her family (daughter Jordyn, son Donovan and daughter Morgan Weatherspoon).
In 2017 she joined East Shore Post 196 – Milford American Legion, and during the past six years has served as Historian, Jr. Vice-Commander and now Sr. Vice-Commander. During her time as Sr. Vice Commander, which is responsible for membership – Post 196 exceeded its membership target and had the highest number of members for this Post. During her time as Jr. Vice-Commander, which is responsible for fundraising events, Weatherspoon initiated the Polar Plunge event, which has been their largest fundraising effort consecutively for three years with the donations for this year (February 2023) amounting to $16,000 for “Tunnels to Towers.”
She works for Yale-New Haven Health Systems in the Facilities Design and Engineering Department and spends much of her free time on veteran-related charity events, or with her family including a brand-new granddaughter.