By Stephen Smoot
“Thank you for the blessings of this community that allows us to continue this ministry and . . . the generosity of folks who continue to support us.”
Those sentiments came from the prayer that opened the 2023 annual meeting of the Christian Assistance Network last week. Meeting topics focused on accomplishments of 2022 while looking ahead to projects and work in the coming year.
One of the first orders of business lay in approving a slate of officers and board members for 2023. The board approved the continuance of the Reverend Jason Felici as president, Carol Windett as vice president, Sherry Crigler as secretary, and Sheila Davis as treasurer.
The 2023 board of directors will be composed of Eve Firor, Shirley Shank, Betty Horan, Tom DeByl, Edna Mullenax, Sheila Rexrode, Sandy O’Gorek, Debbie Thompson, Judy Grimm, Robin Kile, and Fran DeByl.
Next, the officers and board members heard a presentation on their food operations in the previous year. According to Rev. Felici, “our mission is to assist residents of Pendleton County with food insecurity by distributing food that has been donated and purchased from Mountaineer Food Bank.
Windett shared that C. A. N. received 47,000 pounds of food. Grimm added that almost 1,100 families received assistance in 2021, but that 1,284 were served in 2022. Overall, the reports indicated that “a lot of things are going good.”
Typically, C. A. N. receives food donations locally from local churches, the county school system, T&K Markets, civic organizations, scouting groups, 4-H, Pendleton Manor employees, generous local individuals, local businesses, and Walmart. Unfortunately, donations from Walmart dropped somewhat. The school system runs a “12 Days of Christmas” drive where students bring in donations for each day.
One of the issues in donations from large scale sources lay in inconsistency and miscommunication. Volunteers bring their own vehicles to pick up donations, but sometimes “not knowing if they are getting four cases or 14.” Also, C. A. N. cannot donate produce that was fresh in the store, but frozen after purchase for safety reasons.
Next, discussion centered on the organization’s facility. The board agreed to renew the lease with the Pendleton County Board of Education that will come up this summer. It was explained that the board is restricted by law from making more long-term agreements and that the board of education would wait until the summer to take up the agreement.
Following a short discussion on the lease came a longer examination of how to work around needed construction over the next year, especially the replacement of the floor. Rev. Felici stated that the school system “is paying everything for construction.”
One of the chief challenges of the floor remodeling will be moving shelves and other items before and after construction. With some of the shelves possibly needing to be “tweaked and shored up,” the group discussed the purchase of new shelving. Many of the shelves remain in good shape and only need to be disassembled, moved, and reassembled. Rev. Felici estimated that four new shelving units could cost up to $1,400. The board approved a motion to allow up to $5,000 for construction related costs so that it did not have to reassemble to approve unexpected cost overruns.
Afterwards, the board turned to an offer from Elizabeth Scott, executive director of the Pendleton County Chamber of Commerce. When asked about the possibility of social media exposure through the chamber, it was shared that Scott said “all we have to do is pick up the phone and call. She’d be glad to do that.” That gesture included events, requests for special food items, “or anything else needed.”
Finally, the board heard about an estate gift from James Simpson totaling $15,000. Simpson was a regular donor and a Clarksburg native who owned land in the area and shared his generosity with C. A. N. for many years.
- A. N. distributes food on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. They do not ask for proof of income, but require that recipients be a resident of West Virginia. Operations are run by volunteers who pick up food, organize it onto shelves, and distribute it.
