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Feed My Sheep Soup Kitchen director fired

After a heated meeting and public forum two weeks ago, the Feed My Sheep Soup Kitchen Board of Directors has decided not to offer Evelyn Four Souls an employment contract, news that has come as a disappointment to those that supported her in the board meeting.

Four Souls’ employment with Feed My Sheep appeared to be in question two weeks ago as the organization’s board of directors held a meeting that included a chance for the public to submit comments as to Four Souls’ performance.

Most speakers at the forum, including a number of volunteers, were supportive of Four Souls, saying she was making good changes at the kitchen and working to improve food quality and overall making it a better place. Her critics, though, including former Feed My Sheep Acting Director Doris Hanson, said Four Souls was not performing her job duties.

The board did not take action after that meeting.

Four Souls said she received a letter Friday informing her that she would no longer be employed at the kitchen, which she said was surprisingly quick.

“I knew it was coming but I didn’t know it would be this fast,” she said.

She said she’s been told that because the board made this decision within her 90-day probation period, they are able to let her go without any obligation to provide a reason

Former state Rep. Bruce Meyers, who offered to mediate on behalf of Four Souls at the meeting two weeks ago, said given the nature of the situation he believes she’s within her rights to formally request a reason for being let go.

He said he offered the board a chance to let him mediate the issue but that offer appears to have been rejected.

After board member Sarah McKinney said Monday the board would not comment on the issue, Havre Daily received a statement from the board later Monday saying the soup kitchen is still looking for a director that will maintain the kitchen at the level the community expects, and lamented the spreading of rumors regarding the decision.

“With the departure of the former cook in January, the Board of Directors has been searching for a new cook to continue the ministry with the same level of expertise the community has come to expect,” the statement reads. “It is unfortunate that at times of change and restructuring, rumors or other disparaging attitudes seem to arise. But the city of Havre can rest assured that Feed My Sheep intends to continue to bless our town as it always has.”

Four Souls said she did her best to make the food kitchen better in her time there, trying to implement a better system of tracking the age of food and making sure it got to people as quickly as possible, changes which she said seem to have caused some tension among some of the veteran volunteers.

She said she’s been told the reason for being let go was because she couldn’t handle the groceries part of the kitchen’s operation, but she’s looking for a more substantial and official justification, and she is considering legal action.

Four Souls’ departure has been met with disappointment by many of her supporters, including First Lutheran Church Pastor Megan Hoewisch, who spoke in favor of Four Souls at the meeting two weeks ago, saying Four Souls had been building connections with local churches and she was excited to see how that developed.

Hoewisch said Monday that she was surprised by the news of Four Souls’ being let go and she wishes she’d been given more of an opportunity.

“I really wish that Evelyn could have had a chance to grow into the job,” she said.

Another who lamented Four Souls’ departure was Betty Billmayer, who’s been volunteering since January.

Billmayer said she thought the changes implemented by Four Souls were sensible and made it easier for her as a new volunteer to keep up with everything, and her story as a recovering addict turning her life around is inspiring.

She also questioned whether Four Souls’ was provided enough guidance by leadership to handle all the duties she was given.

“Each time I’ve been there, I’ve seen more responsibilities that the director has to take care of,” Billmayer said in an email to the Havre Daily News Monday. “I don’t know how much help she was given as far as things in writing with details of what to do. I hope that whoever is hired next will be given more help as far as a detailed job description and handbooks for volunteers.”

Four Souls has not been without critics.

Some at the meeting two weeks ago were critical of Four Souls’ performance, including Hanson, who said, “Evelyn is not doing her job.”

She said she “gets reports” that Four Souls spent too much time on her phone, took longer-than-appropriate breaks and talked with the kitchens users when she should have been working with volunteers.

The Havre Daily News was not able to find contact information for Hanson by print deadline this morning for her reaction to Four Souls’ departure.

 

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