Brad and Gina Harris said the opportunity to be closer to family in Ohio is a welcome one, but they will miss Pottsville.

“It’s been an absolute blessing to serve here. Never forget Pottsville,” he said.

The couple, who have a 15-year-old daughter, have orders to report to the Cincinnati Center Hill Corps June 30.

Lt. Gavin and Holly Yeatts, who also have a daughter, will transfer to Pottsville from the Salvation Army in Pittston. They will start June 30.

Brad and Gina learned in April they were being given a new assignment.

“I started crying and offered to stay,” Gina said, although both said they are happy to live close to family.

“I didn’t cry, but I left saddened because I knew that we would leave folks that we love,” Brad said.

The Harrises started in Pottsville on June 30, 2017. Originally from Portsmouth, Ohio, he was a hospice chaplain and the pastor of a small church there. She was the director of a day care. A member of the Salvation Army took his children there. That’s how the Harrises were introduced to the organization. They were first stationed in Levittown.

Prior to the Harrises arriving in Pottsville, Capt. Kevin Polito was in charge. He left in 2017 for personal reasons, having arrived in 2015.

Both said they are proud of the work the organization does in the community. Early on during the pandemic, about 200 meals were distributed twice a week to those in need.

Gina said she is proud of the youth programs. Other clubs were also started under their leadership.

The 2020 Red Kettle campaign had a successful year, bringing in $87,000 from the generous people in Schuylkill County. The territorial headquarters of the Salvation Army matched donations, Brad said.

Looking back on their time in Pottsville, the Harrises said they would have been more relaxed when they arrived by realizing they didn’t need to find everything out all at once.