The Salvation Army posts in Lenoir, Green and Duplin Counties will soon be under new authority.
After four years of service, Majors Robin and Pamela Starr will be moving out of Kinston and heading the organization in Buford, S.C.
In a letter to the editor of The Free Press in Sunday’s edition, the Starrs expressed their gratitude to the counties they supervised, along with the volunteers, Lenoir-Greene United Way, agencies, donors and advisory board for assistance given to the Salvation Army.
“The Starrs were very instrumental in many of the activities we have here and were very active in the community,” Kinston Community Center Director Brian Manuel said. “They were also active in the church and made plenty of improvements to our area.”
The leadership duties will be given to Captains Curtis and Sara Kratz, who had been previously stationed as officers in Asheboro. Before that, the Kratzs were officers for three years in McKinney, Texas, then a year in Plainview, Texas before moving to North Carolina.
“We were appointed by the army to come here, so we made our move,” Curtis Kratz said. “We knew what we were getting into when it came to switching locations and we salute it. We’re here to continue to teach the community in the way of Jesus Christ and holiness.”
Curtis Kratz has been working with the Salvation Army since 1998, but had been a part of it for most of his life. As a child, he grew up in Altus, Okla., but spent time with his grandparents in Panama City, Fla. His grandparents took him to a Salvation Army church, which he enjoyed during his visits.
Kratz didn’t get saved until he was 17 and attended Emmanuel College in Franklin Springs, Ga. At the time, his uncle was an officer at the Salvation Army in Greenville, S.C., and was able to get Kratz his first job within the organization as a children’s counselor in Welling, Okla. After college, Kratz received a job as a community counselor director in Danville, Va., and realized his destiny in the organization.
“I felt like God was just telling me that I need to continue to work with the Salvation Army,” Kratz said. “I’ve been around it since I was 5 and it just seemed right.”
Sara Kratz didn’t have as extensive of a history with the Salvation Army as her husband, but she was heavily involved in her church growing up. She is the daughter of a Southern Baptist minister growing up in Fayetteville, Ga. She went to Point University in East Point, Ga., met her husband through mutual friends in college and was married in June 2003. Both went to the Salvation Army Evangeline Booth College in Atlanta in August 2003 for two years of training.
Soon after graduation in 2005, the Kratzs were stationed in McKinney, Texas as officers.
“We’re very excited to start working here and seeing the things God has in store for us,” Sara Kratz said.”
The Kratzs will begin their first day in Kinston on Monday.
Right now, the Salvation Army’s summer camp is in full swing for children ages 4-13. The camp is open enrollment and runs through August 23. There is a $15 registration fee and the camp costs are $45 per week, which will cover lunch and snacks.
Children will be able to have fun in a safe and educational environment with fun activities included such as swimming, skating, bowling and movies. Field trips are also planned for the summer to the N.C. Aquarium in Pine Knoll Shores, Adventure Landing in Raleigh and the Cape Fear Serpentarium and Tregembo Animal Park in Wilmington.
Junious Smith III can be reached at 252-559-1077 and Junious.Smith@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JuniousSmithIII.