Charlottesville Kiwanians at Salvation Army Thrift Store

by Jim Hart

Twenty Charlottesville Kiwanians were joined by five members of the Blue Ridge Mountains Rotary Club and by the Lt Gov of Key Club District 5-A in a robust major tree and bush trimming and general landscape refurbishing on the grounds of the Salvation Army Thrift Store on Monday evening, August 22. This regular "Fourth Monday Service Work Night" was dedicated to the memory of PLG Dick Fowler, who passed away recently after a short illness. Dick was a former chairman of the Salvation Army Advisory Board. Current Kiwanis Club Membership Chair, Bob Pflugfelder, who is also a long-time member of the Salvation Army Advisory Board, organized the Kiwanians and supervised the volunteers in this spirited outburst of volunteer fervor for one of Charlottesville's most important social service agencies. Major Allen Johnson, Corps Commander, worked vigorously alongside the Kiwanians and was personally responsible for eliciting the help from local Rotary Club members, who also happen to serve on the Salvation Army's Advisory Board, including its current chairman, Wade Tremblay. Thrift Store manager, Linda Weller, noted how effectively the Kiwanians refreshed the area in front of the store, increasing its visibility to the public and making it a more attractive place both to shop and to donate. New Kiwanis member, Ed Schmitz, supplied his own personal line painting machine so that the Kiwanians could professionally re-stripe the spaces in the store's parking area. As is their custom, the K-Family members, and their new friends from Rotary, sat down with Salvation Army staff to a delicious meal provided by BreadWorks, a bakery and deli operated by WorkSource Enterprises, another of Charlottesville's fine agencies serving those in need in the community.


Pictured are (from left) Rotarian Wade Tremblay, Major Allen Johnson, Linda Weller, and Kiwanian Bob Pflugfelder, planning the scope of the work.


Also pictured, Kiwanian Ed Schmitz putting the finishing touches on the parking spaces under the direction of Bob Pflugfelder and Bob Ribando.