Watertown Welcome Sergeant Greets Every Visitor with a Smile
Luann Baseler’s self-proclaimed life mission is to put a smile on the face of every person she meets. “I love being the first person people see when they walk through our door,” says Baseler, who serves as Welcome Sergeant on Sunday mornings and as the front desk receptionist weekdays at The Salvation Army corps in Watertown, S.D. “That moment sets the tone for every interaction that follows, so I take my role very seriously.” Just because she’s serious about her work, however, doesn’t mean Baseler doesn’t also have fun on the job. “I do what I do because I love it and because I have a good time doing it,” she says. “I don’t get paid monetarily, but I get paid in a million other ways.”
Baseler’s introduction to The Salvation Army came in the early ’80s, when, after graduating from college, a friend invited her to lunch at The Salvation Army in Huron, S.D.
“At the time I was what we would now call homeless, though I didn’t think of myself that way then,” she recalls. “I didn’t have a place of my own, so I bounced around a lot, staying with different friends. I had a job, but I didn’t manage my money well, so I didn’t have a penny to my name.” The 25-cent lunch offered daily at The Salvation Army helped Baseler make ends meet when her finances were tight.
“There was no judgment there,” she remembers. “Everyone was kind and welcoming. But back then, I didn’t even really know what The Salvation Army was. I didn’t know what they did.”
That changed in 1998 when another friend invited her to attend a Ladies Home League meeting – now known as Women’s Ministries – at The Salvation Army in Aberdeen, S.D., where Baseler had moved. She had recently applied for disability and was unable to work, but when the corps needed a volunteer to answer phones at the front desk, she jumped at the opportunity. Baseler has been volunteering at The Salvation Army, first in Aberdeen and now in Watertown, ever since.
“Luann does absolutely marvelous work,” says Lt. Zachary Zumwalt, corps officer at The Salvation Army in Watertown. “She’s at the corps five days a week, answering phones and helping people get checked in. On Sundays she welcomes everyone with a warm greeting. She makes everyone feel at home, even if it’s their first time visiting.”
When she’s not welcoming and greeting visitors to the corps, Baseler helps compile statistics, posts on the corps’ social media platforms and keeps the office sanitized during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, her favorite role by far among her many responsibilities is inviting people to church. “Most people don’t even realize The Salvation Army is first and foremost a church,” she explains. “I invite people to come to worship on Sunday, and I tell them they’ll see a familiar face – me!”