Lts. Matthew and Virginia DeGonia are settling in as the Salvation Army of Cape Girardeau's new directors.

The couple replaced previous directors Ronnie and Bridgette Amick on June 28.

Matthew and Virginia are from Granite City, Illinois, and Owensville, Missouri, respectively, and said they are eager to continue the Salvation Army's ministry in Cape Girardeau.

"The Salvation Army was in my church my whole life. ... This is our first assignment straight out of the training college," Matthew said. "We found out we were coming to Cape on June 11."

In the past month, they've hit the ground running.

Virginia DeGonia

"It's a lot of learning because we don't know the area very well, so it's a lot of meeting folks in the community," Matthew said. "Seeing what the community really needs, seeing what the [Salvation] Army does in the community currently and what we could be doing better or more of in the community to help serve it better and show the love of Jesus to our community. That's been most of this month."

He said his first impressions of the area have been positive.

"I think the [Salvation] Army is doing a good job of addressing the poverty in the area addressing the needs of people in the area. The population that we service in south Cape is generally pretty poor; we also serve a lot of homeless folks, but I think the [Salvation] Army is in the right place," he said. "I think they're doing it the right way. That's generally been our first impression."

He describes himself as a "people person," which he said has served him well so far.

"I like being around people. Extroverted, I guess you could say," he said. "So that part of the ministry really excites me."

"I'm a little more of an introvert than Matt," Virginia said. "But I like the people."

She said she also enjoys craft activities, but much of her and her husband's time is devoted to raising their 6-year-old son Gabriel. "That's pretty much what we're doing when we're outside the office is him," she said.

He said they're glad to have been assigned to a community they said they feel has been warm to them thus far.

"Cape in general, the folks that we've met, have been very welcoming," he said. "It doesn't seem like you have to be part of an 'in' crowd or anything to be here or be accepted here by people."

Plus as a sports fan, Matthew said he's looking forward to cheering on the Southeast Missouri State University Redhawks.

"I'm excited to be part of a college town that has sports teams," Matthew said. "That kind of thing is nice to me."

And key to their work in the coming months, he said, are volunteers.

"We are always in need of volunteers," he said. "Our feeding program, especially, on the last two or three weeks of the month we could use help with that. ... And (Christmas-season) kettles is coming up before you know it."

tgraef@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3627