We're Social
Get Email Updates
Majors Ronald and Dorine Foreman have been named the new Divisional leaders for the Empire State Division. They’ll be joining the division in July, after spending the last four years at The Salvation Army Eastern Territory’s College for Office Training in Suffern, New York. They returned to the college for their second assignment with Major Ronald serving as Training Principal and Major Dorine as Assistant Training Principal for Spiritual Formation. Prior to being appointed to the school, they served as the Divisional leaders in the Southwest Ohio Northeast Kentucky Division.
They haven’t had much time to anticipate their new assignment and a move to Syracuse, as they are in the midst of student final exams and the Commissioning Ceremony for new officers on Sunday, June 14th.
“I’m sure that after that Sunday, reality will set in,” Major Dorine. They are both planning to attend the Salvation Army Congress in London, England, in early July to celebrate the 150th global anniversary of the Army.
“We have never been assigned in the Empire Division (which covers all of upstate New York), and we have seen every other camp in the Territory, so we were most interested in taking a look at Empire Division’s Long Point Camp when we made our initial visit earlier this month. It is certainly in a beautiful setting on the lake,” said Major Ronald.
“As we are both trained social workers, we’re focused on the social services that the Army provides that help people improve their lives; serving the public and keeping faith with our donors,” said Major Ronald.
Both Majors Foreman said one of their first initiatives will be encouraging the officers to become invested in their community, “to get all corps officers reaching out into the community, not asking for money, as we do at Christmas time. In many instances at the red kettle, it’s the only time the general public sees an officer.”
Major Dorine added that “we want to keep faith with our mission statement.”
“Our buildings should be a resource to the community,” he added.
While at the College for Officer Training, they have incorporated into the curriculum and encouraged the cadets to embrace an “integrated mission” to go “out on the streets and build a relevant community, training the cadets to look out for opportunities to reach out into the community.”
They have been Salvation Army officers and ministers for 37 years.
Before their divisional appointment in the Southwest Ohio Northeast Kentucky Division, they served at National Salvation Army Headquarters as National Social Services Secretaries. They have served in both the Massachusetts and Greater New York Divisions. Their first appointment to the College for Officer Training was as Assistant Training Principal and Personnel Director. In the Massachusetts Division, they were General and Personnel Secretaries and as Territorial Social Services Secretaries for the Eastern Territory.
Major Ronald Foreman is a third generation Salvationist and Philadelphia is his hometown. He received a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the University of New Hampshire and obtained his Master’s degree in Social Work from Adelphi University. He also earned an Executive Juris Doctorate degree from Concord Law School in California.
Major Dorine is a second-generation Salvationist and a native of Pottsville, PA. She became active in the Army as a child in the Sunbeam program. She also attended Adelphi University earning both a Bachelor and Master’s degree in Social Work.
They have three adult children and five grandchildren.
Major Dorine concluded the interview noting that “Youth programs have a special place in our hearts. The Army has so much to offer youth - life skills, after school programs, music. It also builds a core of potential candidates for this college.”
I asked the foremost question on everyone’s mind which is “what about all the snow we receive in our division and it’s a big geographic region.” Major Ronald quickly answered that while assigned to the school, they do spend a lot of time in the car, they just don’t travel far, and he’s used to snow, “I went to college in New Hampshire!”
Tags: Faces of The Army