PEOPLE / SANDY SPRINGS: Volunteer devoted to Salvation Army work

You may have passed Maryann Gillespie at Lenox Square during the holidays.

The Sandy Springs resident spent some of the season shivering in front of a red Salvation Army kettle, ringing a bell and thanking donors for their contributions.

Being a Salvation Army bell ringer is just a small part of the volunteer work Gillespie does for the organization.

She surfaces frequently in a variety of roles, from distributing toys and chairing special functions to pitching in at a food bank. She devotes about 50 hours a month to the organization that she committed her energy to in 1986.

“I had just retired as the executive director of the Alpha Delta Pi sorority’s national office and was looking for something to do,” said Gillespie, who is from Tennessee and has lived here for 40 years.

“I joined the Army’s women’s auxiliary because I liked that it really gave me an opportunity to be hands-on and to see the results of my efforts.”

Since 1994, Gillespie has held a seat on the Salvation Army’s metro area advisory board. The group helps manage services delivered to needy people in 13 counties and oversees Booth Towers, a retirement community for low-income seniors; the Red Shield Lodge, a rehab center and homeless shelter; and several Boys & Girls Clubs.

In addition, the Salvation Army provides emergency shelters and services for people in need, maintains a food bank, distributes funds to those who can’t pay their electric bills, and even hosts a music conservatory.

Gillespie oversees three committees that are largely responsible for fund-raising and volunteer recruitment. She’s been deeply involved in a plan to revitalize the Salvation Army’s efforts in the community —- a plan that included the unveiling last fall of the Kroc Center, located in the city’s Pittsburgh community.

“It’s equipped so the community can use it,” she said, “with a wonderful gym, track and classrooms.”

In addition, Gillespie still devotes a good deal of time to the Salvation Army’s women’s auxiliary, in which she served as a chairwoman of the group’s coffee fund-raiser in April, collected items for silent auctions and hosted a card party event that raised several thousand dollars.

“Yes, it does involve a lot of meetings,” she said good-naturedly. “But the results have been very positive.”

Along with her contributions to the Salvation Army, the “seventy-something” Gillespie still finds time to squeeze in a few other projects.

“I still get down to the Atlanta History Center a good bit,” said Gillespie, a former president of the History Center guild. “We mainly now raise funds through events such as the Swan House Ball and other events during the year.”

Some of Gillespie’s free time is spent on the advisory board for her alma mater, the University of Tennessee.

“That,” she said with a laugh, “largely involves trying to get football coaches.”

Four fun facts about … Maryann Gillespie

1. She has lived for 40 years in a house she bought with her husband, Jim, when Sandy Springs was out in the boonies. “At the time, not even I-285 was complete,” she said.

2. She has two daughters, four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

3. She likes to play golf and travel.

4. “I’m a murder mystery junkie,” she admits. “It’s pure entertainment.”