FAITHFUL OBSERVATIONS

By BOB SHILLINGSTAD

Special to The Press

The Salvation Army is certainly familiar to everyone in the United States. We see the kettles out starting in November and of course they are famous for their bands and we watch them in the Rose Bowl parade.

More than anything, we know them because they minister to those who need help the most. They began in England in 1865 when William Booth reached out to the poor and disadvantaged and in 1880 their work began in the United States. Now the Army is in nearly 130 countries around the world.

Modeled after the military — with its own flag, uniforms, hymns and ranks — the organization sought to bring salvation to the poor, hungry and the destitute. As we approach that time when we see the bell ringers manning the kettles and we are aware of those in need during the holidays, I thought it would be a good time to reacquaint ourselves with the Army and that we will be having a change of leadership here in Coeur d’Alene. Majs. Ben Markham and his wife, JoAnn, will be retiring the first of October and Maj. Don and Ronda Gilger will be taking their place.

I interviewed Maj. Markham recently in an effort to know more about the mission of the Army in our area;

Maj. Ben, how long have you been with The Salvation Army and what is your background?

I have been with the Army for over 40 years and in fact my parents were Salvation Army officers. Much of my career with the Army has been in administration and when they needed someone to be here with the Kroc Center I was assigned in 2011 and have been here ever since.

In Coeur d’Alene the Kroc Center seems to be the face of The Salvation Army. What is the background behind that?

Yes, it is what people see when they drive down Ramsey Road. In some ways we have to jokingly say it is a blessing and a curse. It is a blessing when the heiress to McDonald’s, Joan Kroc, bequeathed $1.5 billion to The Salvation Army to fund community centers around the country. Ninety-nine cities applied. Coeur d’Alene was among the 27 whose applications were approved. It has been a blessing to the community and wonderful but perhaps overshadows our other missions. This is our 10th anniversary of the Kroc Center here in Coeur d’Alene.

The Kroc Center is part of our ministry in that we partner with other agencies such as St. Vincent de Paul, Union Gospel Mission and others to assist their clients and many other community members. If people can’t afford a Kroc membership we offer scholarships but in almost every case we ask those receiving help to also make a part of their budget some cost of the membership. The Kroc is also a place for community gatherings and it is a busy place for all activities.

The friendliness and welcoming atmosphere of the Kroc staff is evident as soon as you walk through the door. How do you do that?

Part of our mission is to train our staff to reflect the love of Jesus and concentrate on showing that each day. We work at keeping the foundation of all that we do from one of integrity and civility plus a caring spirit. I have to admit that this training works against us also! We have lost good people to local employers who are so impressed with an individual they hire them away! Although we hate to lose anyone, that is a high compliment to our people.

Maj. Ben, getting back to the mission of the Salvation Army outside of the Kroc Center, can you explain what you do?

Well, first we are a church and we meet here each Sunday for services at 10 a.m. and that includes Sunday School and other activities. Our mission is based on the Bible. We are motivated by the love of God and to do that we preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in our community and around the world without discrimination. We have summer camps here at the Kroc and a summer residential camp. Many of the campers received scholarships to attend. We reach out to the community with classes, assistance with food, shelter wherever we are needed locally or in the midst of disasters.

You mentioned working with other agencies and ministries in the community. Could you expand on that?

Yes. Coeur d’Alene has been a wonderful place to cooperate with other churches and ministries. We have a close relationship with the food bank, Children’s Village, Union Gospel, Family Promise and so many others. We all share the same purpose and goals. This area is a very giving community and the support for those that need help has been amazing.

When we see the kettles come out this fall I am assuming this is where the funds are going to help others?

Exactly. All of the funds we collect stay for local programs. We typically raise about $225,000 each holiday period. These funds are very important for our yearly operation. We have many retail partners that welcome us and some stores even have a match up to several thousand dollars. Although not all retailers allow a kettle to be placed at their store, overall the community has been most gracious and the people most giving.

One change we are making this year is that we will not have our normal food drive in November along with cash donations. We will do this in February and are calling it “Share the Love Food Drive.” After talking to our Food Bank partners, they said they normally get enough food donations in November and December but the cupboards are often bare in February and March.

When we see the bell ringers and many at the Kroc Center, it looks like a lot of volunteers?

We couldn’t operate without volunteers! Although we have some paid bell ringers, many of those need some holiday employment and this is something that they are able to do. Otherwise we depend on dozens of volunteers who ring the bell, teach classes, assist at the Kroc Center. In fact, we have over 500 volunteers that help in some capacity during the year. On top of that we have a volunteer advisory council of 36 people from the community that oversee all of our activities and spending.

I served on an advisory council in another city and was amazed at the frugality and tight operation of the Army. You have a reputation among charity watchers of a low overhead with the vast majority of dollars going to ministry.

Thanks. We take pride in that effort. We take care of the people in ministry but as you may know from your experiences, salaries are low and the CEO of The Salvation Army gets paid at the same low level as everyone else!

Finally, you are retiring. Tell us a little bit about your replacement and the future plans for Major Ben Markham?

As I mentioned, Major Don and Ronda Gilger will be arriving from their last assignment which was in Moldova, a country between Romania and the Ukraine. When they get settled an interview with them for your column would be very interesting.

We have four children, three of whom live in the area along with six grandchildren. We have purchased a home in Spokane and our first order of business in retirement is to relax and enjoy our family. After that, if Joann can adjust to having me around all the time I am sure we will look forward to some travel and being part of other ministries.