Leadership in Focus at Affirmative Salvation Army Annual Dinner

The evening of Friday, June 13, was critical for the town of Front Royal and the larger Warren County as community figures and the people they lead came together on multiple fronts to defend the institutions that make this locality a wonderful place to live. While those who hold political office, like Supervisor Cheryl Cullers and Commissioner Hugh Henry, gathered at the Government Center to lead an impassioned crowd in protesting the takeover of Samuels Public Library across town, another event was unfolding that emphasized the divine context in which all of this is happening: an annual dinner of the Salvation Army brought even more community leaders into the Fellowship Hall of the First Baptist Church, not only for delicious food, but to remind everyone of the salvation work they are called to do in honor of the ultimate savior.

Keynote speaker Major Michael Harris addresses a VIP audience at the Salvation Army dinner on the evening of Friday, June 13. Royal Examiner Photo Credits: Brenden McHugh.

“The Salvation Army is a church,” keynote speaker Major Michael Harris said as he underlined the history of the organization going back to William Booth in the second half of the nineteenth century who in England served as the spark for what became an international phenomenon, reaching countless people, transforming their lives, and ultimately pointing them to Calvary.

The organization is an all-consuming commitment for the people, like Harris and his wife Christine, who dedicate their lives to meeting needs both physical and spiritual. Travel and sometimes uprooting and moving elsewhere are part of that commitment.

The money that comes from the meals purchased on Friday night as well as a raffle will supplement the money that comes from the red kettles, since the summer season does not see as much action from that source of revenue.

A man who wears many hats in this community, Salvation Army board member Glenn Wood acknowledges a handful of people present who serve the locality in various ways.

The audience was a starry sky of bright lights as Salvation Army board member Glenn Wood stood up prior to the keynote speaker and recognized the people who are the hands and feet of God in Warren County. Among them was Sheriff Crystal Cline, in uniform. Also, the Front Royal Planning Director and Zoning Administrator Lauren Kopishke sat at a table dedicated to members of the Rotary club, which partners with the Salvation Army. “Lauren is the one you hear from when you haven’t mowed your grass,” Wood said humorously. Chairman Connie Marshner of the Town Planning Commission received a nod as well. These are just a few of the people who were recognized as advocates of the universal Christian Church with the great commission of meeting human needs in the Lord’s name without discrimination.

“It’s a team effort,” Wood said in a private conversation at his table. “It has to be.” He shared candidly the Army’s vision for further developing their services at their location on South Street. A food bank is a possibility. They are also dreaming of a shelter.

Above) William Huck and his wife Nina receive the Ann Crem Award for their contributions to Salvation Army while (below far right) Rev. Dr. Christy McMillin-Goodwin receives the Lucy Kephart Award for the ways in which she has served the organization’s evangelical mission.

After the keynote address, awards were given for exceptional contributions to the Army. One of them went to William Huck and his wife, Nina. They are known for C&C Frozen Treats on Main Street and have been a key help to various agencies in the community like the Salvation Army. Another award was given to Rev. Dr. Christy McMillin-Goodwin who pastors the flock at First Baptist Church.

At a time when the community is fighting to preserve its character, despite woundedness from the hostile nature of recent disagreements that have both immediate and far-reaching religious implications, the dinner at the Fellowship Hall brought into tighter focus what is important to so many people who live here: unity, compassion, sacrifice, human flourishing, security, and above all, the total commitment of a savior who pursued his commission to the point of death. That message of universalism resonated with the people gathered there. Despite their highly specific roles and the constant necessity of staying in their lanes, those public servants enjoyed a moment of camaraderie that night in which their mutual goal of service completely overpowered the separate responsibilities that potentially isolated them from one another. It was a foretaste of the day when that isolation would be completely removed.