Times Observer photo by Josh Cotton Captains Shane and Dorothy Budd have been appointed to lead the Salvation Army in Warren. The couple moved here in July with their three children. “Everyone has been so welcome,” Dorothy said.

There’s been a changing of the guard at the Warren Salvation Army.

Captains Shane and Dorothy Budd assumed the post in July. They come to Warren County with 15 years experience in both upstate New York and Ohio.

“We are a church who serves our community,” Budd said, striving to meet community needs. “Everybody has been really friendly. (Warren is) one of the most friendly communities we’ve been in.”

“We really love the downtown food,” Mrs. Budd said. “It’s nice to go into places and have conversations with people and businesses and remember who you are…. Everyone has been so welcoming.”

Much of the work of the Salvation Army is relational. And coming out of three years where much of that relational work could not be face-to-face, the work is evolving.

“It’s definitely work smarter, not work harder,” Budd said, explaining that the COVID-19 pandemic caused them to review all programs and ask “Were we just doing these programs because we’ve always done them?”

The outgrowth of that, he said, is looking at programs as “need-based. This is what our community is desiring (and) needs. We can do things better and more efficient. It caused us to take a step back, examine things as a whole.”

“The way that we meet is different,” Mrs. Budd added. “The services as a whole, we put a lot more effort into the services that we have.”

They’ve acknowledged, she said, that someone might come for one service and not come back so an emphasis has been placed on encouraging people spiritually regardless of the service.

During the pandemic while working in Ohio, that took on new forms.

“We switched to drive-through, to-go everything,” Budd said. “Hot meals became to-go. We just had to learn to dance with technology.”

“As much as the pandemic went on and has gone on, people are still in need,” Mrs. Budd added. “We can’t stop what we’re doing because of the pandemic…. We got as creative as we could get…. It showed us more than ever we need that connection, yearn for that connection.”

“It’s about our community, our people,” Budd added.

As the Budds get settled in Warren, they’re learning the strengths and weaknesses of the community.

Mrs. Budd said she’s observed the effects of the relative isolation of Warren County.

“It’s a blessing and a bit of a challenge,” she said. “(You) got this beautiful community. It’s not attached to anything. I think there’s also a beautiful blessing in that. The relationships that you have are more rich. (You) truly learn to know your neighbor and depend on your neighbor.”

Bridging gaps is at the heart of what they’re looking to accomplish here.

But that isn’t just in a physical sense.

“Bridge the gap between feeling hopeless and feeling hope,” Mrs. Budd said. “(We) want them to have hope (and) want to make sure we’re bridging that.”