by Craig Dirkes
Gary and Stacie Albertson have spent much of their lives planting seeds at their Christmas tree farm in Fergus Falls, Minn.
The father-daughter team also plants seeds of goodness in their community.
Together, as adherents, they volunteer at the Fergus Falls Corps, organizing and distributing food donations every week. Gary, 78, has been volunteering for two decades. He started helping out after he began attending the corps in the early 2000s.
“I’d been to a few churches in town—but when I came here, I fell in love with it,” he recalled. “The Salvation Army does a lot of good in the community, and I was interested in that.”
Over the years, Gary has volunteered his expertise in small engine repair.
“I’ve fixed The Salvation Army’s snowblowers and worked on their cars and trucks,” said Gary, who spent years as the owner/operator of a local auto shop.
Gary also supports the corps’ ministry financially, donating two dollars from the sale of every tree at his family’s tree farm every holiday season. The proceeds generally add up to about $200 for the corps.
“I’ve been doing that for 20 years,” he said.
Gary donates five to six Christmas trees each holiday season to families at the corps who might not be able to afford to buy one.
“It’s always a good fuzzy feeling to make a family’s holiday special,” Gary said. “We want to make sure they have a tree for Christmas.”
His daughter, Stacie, 52, works at the tree farm and also as a piler operator at a local agriculture company. She got hooked on The Salvation Army because of Gary.
“He raised me on helping others,” Stacie said.
In addition to distributing food at the corps, Stacie volunteers at The Salvation Army thrift store in the nearby city of Henning, where she stocks and sorts donations.
“It makes me feel good to help people,” she said. “I love to meet people and hear their stories.”
With help from Gary and Stacie, the Fergus Falls Corps distributes dozens of food boxes every week and serves about 50 hot meals every weekday.
Lt. Joshua Bowyer, who began leading the corps with his wife Lt. Darby Bowyer in July, said Gary and Stacie have taken over the food donation process at the corps.
“They are connected to food providers. They know how it works,” Lt. Joshua said. “They run it flawlessly.”
