mySalvos

Colonel Richard Munn presents a Certificate of Appreciation to Les Chalmers at the Wagga Wagga Salvation Army. Byron Boots is holding the Army flag.

Les Chalmers is known throughout the NSW town of Wagga Wagga, but you won’t find the 88-year-old on the evening news or smiling down at you from billboards. On Sunday mornings, you will find Les washing dishes and serving in many ways at the local Salvation Army. 

Colonel Richard Munn, Chief Secretary of the Army’s Australia Eastern Territory, recently presented Les with a Certificate of Appreciation for his hard work and faithful service over the last 40 years. 

“Les is a quiet, extremely humble man who reluctantly stood next to Colonel Munn to receive his award,” said Lieutenant Bindy Lupis, Wagga Wagga Corps Officer.  

“Les admitted that if he had known this was happening he would have stayed at home. However, he was also very quick to want the glory to go to God.”  

Washing dishes every Sunday is one example of how Les has served over the last four decades. He has also been collecting for the Red Shield Appeal since its inception in the town, and has collected at hotels every Friday night for many years.  

“Rain, hail or shine, Les collects on the same street [for the Red Shield Appeal] every year, taking hours as he enjoys chatting with the residents,” explained Lieut Lupis.  

“At a rough calculation, Les has collected about 1.5 million dollars over the last 40 years, but more than that, he has faithfully served God by not allowing anything, even his age, to stop him. While he jokes about ‘getting too old for this’, there is certainly no sign of him stopping just yet!”  

This article first appeared in the October edition of Pipeline.