For Salvation Army Volunteers, To Ring Is The Thing

By JIM LUKSIC

The Progress

In general, not many people move from Hawaii to Minnesota.
But that’s what Mesquite resident Cyndi Baird once did, before ultimately hunkering down in Nevada. The retiree – who worked as a microbiologist in Utah – and mother of two children now spends time volunteering for the Salvation Army and Community Emergency Response Team (CERT).

“I love Mesquite,” said Baird, one of approximately 75 local bell-ringers, courtesy of the Salvation Army Family Service Center, who collect donations for those in need. Members of the nonprofit’s kettle crew take turns standing outside of popular businesses such as Smith’s supermarket and Walmart.

“I do it because Christmas it’s about giving – and it’s fun,” said Baird, whose family has lived in town for three years. “The Salvation Army does a lot for our community.”

The participants have stood their ground since Black Friday (Nov. 24) and will continue ringing hand-held bells until Saturday, Dec. 23.

Baird spent the afternoon of Dec. 12 – alongside fellow CERT volunteer Debra Helgeson – standing outside Walmart while voicing holiday greetings. It was her first day on the joyful job.
“It’s my way of getting involved,” explained Baird, who has served CERT by assisting with Covid-19 vaccinations.

Bill Ennis, director of the Salvation Army of Mesquite, asserted the the process of collecting small cash donations is strictly voluntary; no bell ringers are compensated. “They all do this on their own, taking time out from their personal schedules,” he said, noting that some individuals volunteer multiple times.

Ennis, who has been overseeing the bell ringers for five years, credited a trio of “kettle coordinators” comprising one individual who schedules the rotating shifts plus a pair of assistants who set up tables and kettles.
“I just let them run with it,” he said. “They do a fantastic job.”

Clint Bostwick, another volunteer whose Dec. 12 included collecting donations outside a Walmart entrance, has called Mesquite home since 2008. He’s a selfless resident for many months each year but also a snowbird who doesn’t stay during the Virgin Valley’s scorching summers.

“There is a lot of gratitude and generosity that people here show,” explained Bostwick, who attends Valley Presbyterian Church and has been a member of Veterans of Foreign Wars for a half-century. Now retired, he earned a living as a lineman for a power company.

Bostwick asserted the Mesquite chapter of the Salvation Army is a well-received group for people who need help, and that Ennis is a “very special man.”

The nonprofit’s director and Navy veteran stated he has a “monetary goal in mind,” to the tune of $75,000 toward his organization’s operations, food drives, gas cards, and bus tickets, and so forth.
Ennis and Bostwick both reiterated that 100% of all donations, including contributors’ personal checks, stay in the Mesquite community to help local folks.

When Bostwick isn’t ringing a bell or lending a hand to the local Salvation Army and VFW Post 7385, he enjoys boating on the Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest.
“I’m very blessed to have the life I have,” he said.