Leadership, plans change at Salvation Army

PALMER — They’re on the road again.

After landing in the Valley from Haines in 2011, Mark and Lisa Davey and their two young children are once again on the move.

Regular moves are to be expected, they say, when working for the Salvation Army. Ministers like the Daveys are reassigned at the church’s pleasure every three to five years. So in that way, it wasn’t really a surprise when the news came that they were to pack up and head to Casa Grande, Arizona, to serve that community in six weeks time.

“We’ve loved the past three years in the Valley,” Mark said. “The Valley, to me, is the best place to live in Alaska.”

The Daveys headed for Arizona June 24 and their replacements — Captains Ron and Deb Davis from Wrangell and Lieutenants Jeff and Michelle Josephson from Homer — arrive July 2.

Lisa said the six-week turn around time to complete the move is made easier by the fact that the Salvation Army owns the home, its furnishings and the vehicles the Daveys have used during their time in the Valley. They’ll pack their personal belongings and leave the keys for the incoming ministers, she said.

For Mark, this is home. He grew up in the Valley. In fact, the couple met as campers when they attended Kings Lake Camp as teens, they said.

“That camp has a special place in our hearts,” Lisa said.

Leaving the Valley won’t be easy, the Daveys say. But saying goodbye to their friends will be less difficult because they say they know they are leaving the community in good hands.

“If we got to pick, that’s who we’d pick,” Mark said of the team of incoming ministers.

This is the first time in the Salvation Army’s 29-year history in the Valley that four ministers have been assigned here, he said.

The change reflects the growth in the Valley and shift in the Salvation Army’s plans to serve residents of the vast Matanuska-Susitna Borough.

The Daveys said the church’s plans have changed in the last few months. Now, rather than sell its downtown Palmer site, the Salvation Army plans to remodel the building and continue providing services there and at a future site in the planning off Seldon Road near Kings Lake Camp.

Then, both sites will offer programs throughout the week, and the two locations would come together for church.

A lot of work has been done to the interior of the Palmer building in the last few years. Now a facelift is planned for its exterior, too.

Lisa and Mark say they’ve spent the last four years building a network of contacts they don’t want to see lost. To facilitate a smooth transition, they Daveys have planned an open house to welcome the new ministers to the Valley from 5 to 10 p.m., July 10 at the Palmer Salvation Army.

A new state, community and much warmer climate are big changes, but the Daveys say they are ready.

“We’re excited about what God has in store for us,” Lisa said.

Contact Heather A. Resz at 352-2268 or heather.resz@frontiersman.com.