FARMINGTON — The commander of the Sandy River Young Marines is hoping someone will take over the group so it doesn’t disband.

Gordon Webber, 70, said it’s time for him to step down after 14 years, but he’s willing to help his successor, if one comes forward.

Sandy River Young Marines is for Franklin County youths ages 8 through high school. The organization focuses on character building, leadership and promoting a healthy, drug-free lifestyle, according to its website.

Webber, an Army veteran who served in combat in Vietnam, said he has yet to notify the national organization in Washington of possible disbandment. The annual $20 member registration is scheduled to be submitted by the end of the month.

Webber got involved with a Young Marines group in Waterville in 2000 and brought a part of the organization to Farmington in 2004 after American Legion Post 28 agreed to allow the group to use its hall for free.

He said he has been blessed to see several members go on to careers in the military and college.

“They’ve become good citizens,” he said.

“I often remind them ‘what you do today affects the rest of your life,'” he said. “They may not remember next week, but one day down the road they’ll think, ‘that’s what Commander Webber said.'”

Former Young Marines have returned to tell him how he and the program inspired them, he said.

“We’re doing them some good,” he said.

Sandy River Young Marines meets every other week for four hours to practice marching, repelling down ledges or carrying the flag properly. Members do community service such as stacking wood, clearing the garden at the World War I Memorial or the parking lot at the West Farmington Post Office, he said.

They march in parades, perform a special Fallen Soldier ceremony at memorial events, and attend encampments at West Gardiner and retreats at Bog Brook, a National Guard Training Center, in Gilead.

Their activities involve fundraising, which is overseen by the commander.

Maine has other Young Marines organizations in the Caribou/Presque Isle area and Mount Vernon, he said.

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