The leaders of our local Salvation Army have decided that it is time for them to move on to retirement after serving our community for five years.
Majors Robert and Laura Burrell were assigned to Drumheller back in July of 2021 to lead the Salvation Army in Drumheller. For Robert, he felt it was just time to move on. “For myself personally, I did a 25 year stint in the business world, prior to going into the (Salvation) Army, and spent 20 years within the Army itself. I guess it is just that time, along with my age.”
Even though they may be retiring, this does not mean that they plan to slow down too much according to Robert. “We do have a plan. Celebrate Recovery is a program that we had worked on establishing upon our arrival here, and it has been very, very successful. A couple of Salvation Army churches have reached out to us and help them establish that program within their churches. We are very excited and looking forward to that.”
Last Sunday, the Salvation Army hosted a send off event for the Burrells and both Robert and Laura were impressed on the number of people that took the time to thank them for their service in our community. “We didn’t know what to anticipate. Colonel William Ratcliffe, out of Linden, put this whole thing together. He brought the band in from the Glenmore Temple in Calgary and it has been many years since this building had heard (Salvation) Army music. We were overwhelmed with the number of people and had to keep setting up additional chairs. We had representatives from Celebrate Recovery Alberta, along with representatives from other agencies from across the province. It was just wonderful.
The plan is for Robert and Laura to move to Calgary and reside with their daughter. A new pair of Captains have been assigned to Drumheller and are to be in the community next month. Captains Brian and June Bobolo are coming to our community from Etobicoke, Ontario.
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