Thanks, farewells mark annual Salvation Army dinner

Heartfelt thanks and bittersweet farewells were on the table alongside the meal for about 70 guests at the Salvation Army’s annual dinner celebrating volunteers and donors.

Capt. Ronnie Amick, director of the Salvation Army in Cape Girardeau, said he and his wife, Bridgette, were not expecting to be transferred to Omaha, Nebraska, in June.

Before their assignment in Cape Girardeau, Amick said he and Bridgette didn’t know anything about the community beyond two facts: It’s the hometown of Rush Limbaugh, and it’s near the Mississippi River.

“Be very, very proud of your community,” Ronnie Amick said. “We fell in love with this place.”

Ronnie Amick described Cape Girardeau as a welcoming community, laid-back but challenging, and a wonderful place to raise children.

Isle Capri Casino of Cape Girardeau was awarded the Volunteer Star for its contributions to the 2016 red-kettle campaign. It contributed over 100 hours to the 2016 campaign, Amick said, and in 2016, Isle Capri was honored for its contribution to the Thanksgiving meal.

The Rising Star award went to Andrew Hyatt II, who conducted his Eagle Scout project, Scouting for Shoes, last year in coordination with the Salvation Army. Hyatt collected donated shoes.

The recipient of the Shining Star award was not present, Amick said, because he died May 1.

Harold Yancy had been the Salvation Army thrift-store manager until his death at age 53.

Yancy, who also had been a radio host, would turn on his “radio-host voice,” and “I couldn’t help but smile and laugh when he did,” Ronnie Amick said.

The Enduring Star award was given in absentia to the mayors of Jackson and Cape Girardeau, Dwain Hahs and Harry Rediger, respectively.

“We appreciate their support and generosity,” Amick said, adding the mayors had been generous and welcoming from the start.

Special recognition was given to Charlotte Cervantes and Joel Ramdial, instructors at Southeast Missouri State University, who supervised meal preparation and were instrumental during the Empty Bowls luncheon in March, Amick said.

The Enduring Star award went to Dennis Marchi, general manager of Schnucks in Cape Girardeau, for his over 25 years of Salvation Army board membership and work with the community.

Ronnie Amick thanked the guests again for his family’s experience in Cape Girardeau.

“Other communities will benefit because of what you taught us here,” Ronnie Amick said.

He asked the guests to greet the incoming officers with open hearts and arms when they arrive in June.

mniederkorn@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3630

Pertinent address: 701 Good Hope St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.