Listen to this article
Photo courtesy of Salvation Army Chattanooga
Many guests donated to the Army for each service year.
The Salvation Army of Greater Chattanooga, Tenn., celebrated a milestone of 120 years of service.
Hosted at the Hamilton Place Mall on St. Patrick’s Day weekend, the birthday bash featured an eight-foot-long birthday cookie cake, caricatures in costume and music from several artists on the mall’s center stage. Inman Street Coffeehouse, a ministry of the nearby Cleveland Salvation Army, also provided free samples of its “120-year blend.”
“The most special thing was just having all of our friends, and even what I’d call family, coming out to celebrate,” said Kimberly George, director of marketing and development for the Army in Greater Chattanooga. “We’ve had some people that have been here 30, 40 years. There’s even a soldier who came out that’s been with us 60 years so it was great to see the generational support.”
Major Algerome Newsome, Chattanooga corps officer, later shared history of the Army’s work in the area, telling the crowd that District Officer J. C. Smith arrived in Chattanooga on March 16, 1893, and greeted Chattanoogans the next day with, “We (come) with peace, charity and goodwill toward everyone, and we trust we shall succeed in doing good.“
George was pleased with the event’s turnout and lauded those who helped to make it a success.
“We had several folks donating a dollar for every service year, some friends of the Army donating $5 or $10 [per year],” George said. “We’re going to continue to celebrate this.”
