A memory by Lois Beddard
As a member of the Southport Oak Island Interchurch Fellowship (SOIIF), Saint Peter is involved in a variety of activities. One of these is the SOIIF Food Pantry. As the SOIIF Treasurer, I was privileged to see how it evolved to the building you see today.
I became treasurer in 1998, and we welcomed Bill Hogue to Southport in 2002 when he moved down from Ohio. Bill was an active member of Saint Peter as well as a frequent participant in SOIIF activities. When he arrived, the Food Pantry was run out of a closet at Trinity United Methodist Church.
Now, Bill was experienced with running a food pantry when he lived in Ohio, so it was natural for him to take over operations. It wasn’t long before he started campaigning SOIIF leaders for the pantry to become a larger operation, with its own building.
The pantry moved a couple of times before the current building was built, which wasn’t until 2012. After we moved to the new building, Bill worked hard to raise the money to pay off the mortgage as quick as possible. As you can see from the photo, I was there for the mortgage burning, which was a really great day.
After serving as treasurer for 22 years, I decided it was time to move back to Ohio which I did in 2021. Bill remained as the Pantry Director until he became ill and passed away in 2023. I’m glad to share this memory about Bill and the food pantry. He made so many improvements in the functioning and supporting of the pantry. The community as a whole lost a super guy when he died.
To learn more about working at the food pantry, fill out this contact form and mention Food Pantry in the message field. Also consider giving a donation to help support this wonderful and impactful institution.
