Published: July 24, 2008 06:22 am         

Co-captains leave Salvation Army

DANVILLE — Leave it better than you found it.

That’s what Salvation Army co-captains Rob and Tammy Whitney accomplished during their two-year tenure at the Danville corps.

On Sunday, the co-captains will bid farewell to their congregation and corps at 855 E. Fairchild St.

Only a few weeks ago the co-captains found out they were being reassigned to the corps in Waterloo, Iowa.

Usually, if Salvation Army captains are to be reassigned to another corps, they learn about it in May.

“You typically find out in May and move in June,” Captain Tammy said. “You usually get six weeks to move, but we only got three weeks.”

When May came and went, the Whitneys thought they were safe and would be staying in Danville another year.

But about three weeks ago, the co-captains received a call that they were needed in Waterloo, Iowa. This Sunday is their last day at the Danville corps.

Ironically, Captain Tammy had been part of the flood relief efforts in Waterloo, Iowa, last month, but had no idea she and her family would soon be calling the city home.

“I was there for a week,” she said. “I worked for the relief effort as incident commander.

“There was lots of water. I had never seen anything like it,” she said of the devastation.

“We were handing out cleaning kits and feeding (flood victims),” she said.

Captain Tammy described the Waterloo corps as “a big operation,” with 31 employees, four shelters, a feeding center and family center.

But the Danville corps always will have a special place in the couple’s hearts.

“The Danville assignment was our first assignment,” Captain Rob said.

Captain Tammy interjected, “I couldn’t imagine a better first appointment for us.”

In their second year of seminary, the couple, who were Salvation Army cadets in training, spent several weeks in Danville to help with the red kettle campaign at Christmastime in 2005.

Six months later they were permanently assigned as captains in Danville.

In a little more than two years’ time, the co-captains have made some notable changes at the local corps.

“We jumped in and could do whatever we wanted to because it was a blank slate,” Captain Rob said.

“We got the thrift store profitable again,” he said.

“The corps was in debt when we got there, but through our fiscal management of the thrift store and the corps, the Divisional Headquarters granted us the money to get out of debt.”

Captain Tammy said the Salvation Army’s church in Danville has grown from 12 members to 30 or even 40 on some Sundays.

She said she preaches “holy living and relational evangelism” that people can apply to everyday life.

“Pastoring here has been great,” she said.

The co-captains said they also are proud of the partnership they forged last winter with the Marines and their Toys for Tots campaign.

Captain Judy Lowder, who is currently the Salvation Army captain in Kankakee, will be in charge of the Danville corps, starting Aug. 8.

Lowder’s parents, who are Salvation Army majors, will officially install her as the Danville captain.

“She’s a strong officer,” Captain Tammy said. “I feel good about leaving things to her.

“She’s amazing with young people,” she said, adding that a youth pastor was something she had been praying for to fill a need at the Danville corps.

Coincidentally, hiring a youth pastor is one of Captain Tammy’s first tasks when she gets to Waterloo.

“We focused on stabilizing the adults and the congregation,” Captain Tammy said of their tenure in Danville.

“God has done great things in Danville, and it makes me excited to think how things have evolved (at the corps),” she said.

But Captain Rob lamented about having to leave Danville so soon, even though that is part of Salvation Army life.

“We had so many projects we had slated,” he said. “We’re very much believers in being where we’re at.”

Captain Tammy said there are many things she will miss about Danville, such as the corps’ loyal crew of bell ringers, Price-Less chicken and the Center for Children’s Services’ Café on the Lawn.

But most of all, the Whitneys said they will miss the people here.

Salvation Army caseworker Sharon Sawka and her sister, Karen Kirby, volunteer coordinator, said they are sad the co-captains have to leave so soon.

“It is their line of work,” Kirby said. “We knew this would happen, but we thought we would get to keep the Whitneys another year.

“I love those guys like they’re family,” she said.

Sawka said she is thankful for the Whitneys and their work at the Danville corps.

“They came at a very good time,” she said.

“It’s the Lord’s work, and they (Salvation Army) wanted them to go on.

“It’s hard losing people we love,” Sawka said. “As far as I’m concerned, it was too soon.”

FYI

The last worship service with co-captains Rob and Tammy Whitney will be at 11 a.m. Sunday at the Salvation Army, 855 E. Fairchild St.