New officers at the helm at local Salvation Army

The N.E.W. Salvation Army, which is based in Rocky Mount and serves Nash, Edgecombe and Wilson counties, has new officers leading the local agency. Captains Devin and Lara Sassano moved to the area in June to begin their term of service in the local area.

The Sassanos bring a fresh perspective as well as a wealth of experience to their roles in this community. Each has served as officers for The Salvation Army five years, earning the rank of captain just prior to moving to this area. During the course of their training and early service for The Salvation Army, they have collectively served in several communities in North Carolina and South Carolina, including Morehead City, Durham, Smithfield, Greenville, S.C., Wilson, Sumter, S.C., and most recently, Concord.

Now, they are working to embrace this community while learning more about its unique opportunities and needs.

“Everybody we have met has been so warm and welcoming,” Capt. Devin Sassano said in a recent interview. “It’s been great to find the kind of people who are willing to come alongside us and help with this work. We have gotten to speak to a couple donors and are impressed by how committed people here are to this community and the work of The Salvation Army. It is a very community-driven area.”

Sassano said he is pleased to be serving closer to his home. Though he was born in New York, he moved with his family to North Carolina when he was about 8 years old and spent most of his childhood growing up in the Crystal Coast area of the state.

“Moving to this area is exciting for me,” he said. “This is as close as I’ve been to home in a long time.”

Capt. Lara Sassano had a different life path to her current ministry. She grew up in the mountains of Pennsylvania not far from Pittsburgh. She then attended Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio, where she earned her Bachelor of Science degree in biology with a minor in marine science. She then worked at times with the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration as well as with Duke University’s Marine Lab and the University of North Carolina’s Institute of Marine Sciences. It was an internship in this field that brought her to the Crystal Coast where she met her future husband through a local church in that area.

It was shortly after their wedding that the couple chose to begin working with The Salvation Army.

“When we first got married, and we were looking for a church to call home, The Salvation Army treated us like family from day one,” Capt. Lara Sassano said. “What we really appreciated was their impact in the community and the fact that they just loved on people in very practical ways.”

Capt. Devin Sassano had already been exploring The Salvation Army as a ministry option after he came back from serving with a mission organization in North Africa while he was in his early 20s.

“A friend suggested that The Salvation Army might be a good fit for me because I like to be involved in hands-on ministry. The Salvation Army practically combines ministry and evangelism and has very Gospel-driven physical ministries. I think that what you believe should affect what you do, and The Salvation Army really lives that out,” he said.

Before training to become officers, Capt. Devin served in several other capacities for The Salvation Army, serving first as a volunteer during relief efforts in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, then as a paid bellringer before working several years as a truck driver for The Salvation Army Family store in another area. This wide range of experience gives him an insider perspective on aspects of The Salvation Army operations that some officers never see from a volunteer or employee point of view.

The Sassanos also like working as a team to serve people through their work at The Salvation Army. While some officers prefer to divide responsibilities, the Sassanos share an office space and their ministry work for The Salvation Army.

“Working as a team is very important to us. We are equal in our calling, equal in our commission, and equal in our appointment here in this place,” they said.

The Sassanos are taking up the mantle of leadership from former officers Captains Wayne and Claudia Meads, who are now serving at The Salvation Army Adult Rehabilitation Center in Hampton Roads, Va. This transition in leadership is a result of normal operations within the ranks of The Salvation Army.