New team overseeing Salvation Army

An international husband and wife team is now overseeing operations at Clovis' Salvation Army office.

Lt. Diane Shatto is from the United States and Lt. David Shatto is from Canada.

The Shattos replace Capts. Miguel and Maria Ibarra who left Clovis at the end of June and moved to the Pacific Northwest.

"Our stories are very different but then they converge and go off into the sunset together," Diane said. The Shattos are coming up on their 35th wedding anniversary.

David and Diane both say they were called to the Salvation Army by God.

When they were young they had the Salvation Army in their lives. David's parents were in the Salvation Army and Diane was involved in the Salvation Army as a teenager.

The two met in Macomb, Ill., in 1985 during a Salvation Army International Youth Congress where attendees came "from all over the world," according to Diane.

While there Diane said she felt a strong urge to go into a fast-food restaurant. There she saw David who she thought was someone else and they began talking.

They ended up talking for 36 hours non-stop.

They felt a strong connection, they said.

"It was love at first sight," David said.

They married in 1987, have a daughter and now a granddaughter.

Their first assignment was in San Rafael, Calif., where they've been for the past three years.

David and Diane noted that they "just got here" and "we have nothing to give but Christ" but their immediate goal is to "follow the rhythm and structure of the Salvation Army in Clovis."

They've been talking to a number of people in Clovis including Richard Gomez, director of Clovis' Lighthouse Mission, and Clovis' District 3 City Commissioner Helen Casaus.

"We're starting to get a feel for the community," Diane said. She spoke of the need for attention to the city's "unhoused neighbors," a term for those some people may call "homeless."

The Shattos spoke of people who can't afford to pay their electric and gas bills, those who don't have enough money for food.

"We need to understand what other non-profits are doing," Diane said.

"We want to connect with all social service agencies in the city," David said.

The COVID pandemic had an effect on a number of programs the Salvation Army had going in Clovis.

The Shattos want to start opening things back up with such things as an open house soon at the Salvation Army headquarters at 317 E. Second St.; Diane wants to have a movie night and they want to have a 100th birthday celebration of the Salvation Army's century in Clovis, another thing that was put off because of the pandemic.

Now the Shattos have a number of regularly scheduled events at the Salvation Army. There are Sunday services: Sunday school at 10 a.m. and church services at 11 a.m.

Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays there is food distribution from 9 a.m. to noon. Those in need may get food from this plan once a month.

Once a month on the third Wednesday of every month there is a food distribution day for senior citizens.

During those food distribution days people may inquire about assistance to help pay utility bills.

The Shattos call their work in Clovis "a ministry of presence."