November 19, 2025 • 11 mins
Shelby Sichta, Senior Director of Guest Services at Mel Trotter Ministries joins us to discuss the guests served by Mel Trotter Ministries.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
This microphone is now on.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
I see Laurence Smith, Brett Bakita, Justin Barclay is in
as well. Thank you all for a little bonus couple
of hours as our twenty second annual Turkey Drop for
Meltrodter Ministries continues in earnest.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
I think it's the sports world they call this what
Brett bonus coverage.
Speaker 4 (00:21):
Yeah, overtime over time, that's right.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Oh man, listen, we'll get you a total here in
just a couple of minutes.
Speaker 5 (00:29):
I think we're out there on the salary cap too.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
Salary cap. I never thought about it. We usually run
pretty lean.
Speaker 4 (00:36):
That's what I thought we were working for food.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
Well, we are working.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
That food, as you correctly point out, we'll get numbers
for the Turkey Drop in just a couple of minutes.
Our goal is five thousand, which is as we mentioned,
and as you heard on Justin's program just moments ago,
it's going to be kind of hard to attain because
of all of that confusion about snap benefits and food pantries.
(01:00):
And let's just focus on the positive of today. Wood
Radio dot com will get you to Turkey Drop dot
org and throughout the next couple of hours, and later
on this afternoon evening when we broadcast live from Celebration
Cinema North, we'll be talking to some friends of ours
at Meltrotter Ministries and look a little deeper into what
(01:22):
it is that they do along with providing this great
Thanksgiving meal and giving these turkeys to families that might
not be at that meal but at their own. Senior
Director of Guest Services at Meltrotter Ministries joins us on
the liveline, Shelby Sick to Shelby, thanks for doing this today.
Speaker 6 (01:39):
Yeah, thank you for having me.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
We are always amazed at how in lockstep the staff
is at Meltrotter with the mission statement, with what it is.
And you know, mission statement is a term. You are
a mission a mission talk to us a little bit
about your job description, what it is, what is it
that you do as the scene the director of guest Services.
Speaker 6 (02:02):
Sure, so I support all of our front facing teams
that are really walking alongside every single person before they
enter our doors and our prevention and our diversion work.
If they do happen to enter our building, then we
want to circle around them and work with them so
(02:23):
that their journey and homelessness as quick as possible, So
I also work support those teams that are working in
the building, and then we have housing as like a
next step for our guests, and I helped support that
team too, So I have the privilege of being able
to see someone's full journey into our shelter and then
(02:47):
being able to exit into whatever stable housing looks like
for them.
Speaker 3 (02:51):
Shelby. We talk a lot about the dignity in which
Meltrotter Ministries serves, and I love that you are the
director of guest services and you help your guests. How
much of a difference does it make when you're meeting
these individuals in their journey to that successful point to
be viewed as a guest and to be given that
(03:11):
kind of dignity, Yeah.
Speaker 6 (03:14):
It's important. So they know that they're not just a
number that we're helping. They come in and they feel
immediately loved and supported and know that they are a
guest in our building because it is not long term.
The goal is not to have them be there permanently.
We're welcoming them in and we're caring for them just
(03:34):
as you would a guest in your home or anything
like that. So they feel that love and support right
away as soon as they walk in through the doors.
Speaker 4 (03:44):
When you look at your journey with Mel Trotter, and
I hear this from people all the time, especially maybe
as they get older with their career and they want
to do something different getting involved. There's different ways to
get involved. We mentioned Turkey drive dot org and when
you go there, one of the things I love at
the top is there's a button's just get involved, volunteer
(04:06):
or find out more. What would you suggest to someone
that maybe is changing their career path, want to do
a nonprofit or just for the first time, maybe as
a family or as a group, getting involved with what
you do.
Speaker 6 (04:18):
Yeah. Absolutely, we have lots of ways that you can
be involved. So one thing that we do with our
guests in our programmings is we provide classes for them
and that can look really like anything. Some we have
a financial class to work on budgeting. We also have
a sewing class right now to teach the guys how
(04:41):
to sew just basic pitches. But so individuals come to
us with this passion that they really care about and
they believe will make a difference in someone's life, and
they bring those and say, hey, is there a way
that I can volunteer using this skill that I have
in this passion, and we are more than happy to
find a way to make that work, whether it's a
(05:03):
class or just a small group setting to build relationships.
We know that it's super important for individuals to have
a community and have strong relationships outside of Melchotter. So
to be able to lead a group like that or
have one on one mentoring with individuals and then also
(05:26):
serving meals is always a great opportunity to be able
to connect one on one with individuals coming through to
get the meals every day, and then as always prayer
and financially giving our huge ways to be able to
get connected to Malchotter.
Speaker 5 (05:43):
You know, Shelby, as you mentioned at the top of
this conversation, one of the things that you do as
someone in guest services helping people get into the homes.
They're just there for a temporary moment. I want to
talk about what that's like and maybe each and every
one of them, because I think with the numbers it's
kind of it can get daunting. We're on the twenty
(06:04):
second year here, we need five thousand turkeys. But I
guess if we think about behind those numbers, each one
of those numbers represents a person or a family. As
we think about what it's like for those people that
you help get into a home, what are you experiencing
that impact that you see and maybe you feel yourself
(06:27):
in that moment.
Speaker 6 (06:28):
Yeah, it's truly amazing. So we often see, really when
individuals come into our shelter pretty defeated and a lot
of lots of hope. But as we work through and
somebody moved into their housing, we just see their circumstances
(06:50):
are changing so dramatically that their whole demeanor changes. They're
overwhelmed as gratitude and excitement, and to be able to
walk along inside them is such a blessing and just
an amazing feeling to know that this person overcame whatever
barrier they were facing. Everybody has different barriers, but to
(07:14):
see them be able to overcome that and move into
what stable housing, whatever that looks like for them, and
just see the success that they feel and they're so
proud of what they've overcome, and to be able to
just flog alongside them with that is it truly is
a blessing and it is very moving.
Speaker 2 (07:36):
The twenty second Annual Turkey Drop for Meltrotter Ministries continues.
Our guest is Shelby Sick. She's the senior director of
guest Services. I guess in closing with you, we're going
to talk to Chris Pulski again. In just a couple
of minutes. We'll get an update on the number of turkeys.
As our broadcast continues in a goal of five thousand,
Let's talk a little bit about your boss. We don't
(07:57):
need a haul pass to talk about Jesus here and
would radio though you could call us a secular radio station.
What's it like to walk alongside this ministry and the
grace that you, through Him are able to give.
Speaker 6 (08:12):
Yeah, we couldn't do it without the grace and the
love of Jesus. That's who we try to be like
every single day. It can be, like you mentioned, daunting
a little bit. Can there are hard days, but just
to know that we're given grace upon grace and to
be able to extend that that really keeps us feeling
(08:35):
like we can do this again and again. And it's
just an incredible environment to know that we are all
walking along in the same faith journey, all different parts
of it, but to be able to support each other
in that way too.
Speaker 1 (08:50):
Lastly, I guess.
Speaker 2 (08:51):
Lastly, lastly, as I said that, I took it back,
is there somebody that you can think of a first name,
maybe in a story hard case, a man or a
woman or a family that you got to help along
and you're so proud to tell the story about how
how they're doing.
Speaker 1 (09:09):
Now.
Speaker 6 (09:11):
Yeah, absolutely, there's lots to choose from, but one that
just kind of sticks out to me. I'll call him John.
Don was in our shelter for quite a long time.
He really was an interesting individual to work with because
he didn't actually meet the income limit for vouchers and
(09:33):
he really was kind of like that missing middle group
that we have, and we ended up being able to
get him into stable housing, which he thought was almost impossible.
He didn't think that was going to be able to
happen for him. He just kind of, like I said,
lost that hope and thought that shelter was just what
(09:56):
he that's just what he needed to get used to
and that was his new or. We were able to
get him into housing, got him all the furniture that
he needed, and when we handed when he got the keys,
he came back through the mission and he just walks
through holding the keys up, smiling and grinning at all
of us, and he was like, I couldn't do it
(10:18):
without you guys. Thank you so much. And to see
the smile and to know that he didn't think that
independent living was an option for him anymore, and then
to see the keys in his hand and know that
it was he had a place was really a cool experience.
And that just sticks out in my mind often when
(10:40):
I'm having kind of a hard day, I'm like, no,
you know what, John had those keys in his hand,
and that's what we're here for.
Speaker 2 (10:48):
That's what you're here for today, to help folks like
Shelby and walk along, excite them as best you can.
Just get online what radio dot com will get you
the link to turkey drop dot org. Senior director of
Guest Services, Shelby Sick God bless you.
Speaker 1 (11:04):
Thanks for your time this morning.
Speaker 6 (11:06):
Thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (11:07):
Yeah, we're going to talk.
Speaker 2 (11:08):
To more in the next hour and a half or
so and get caught up with where all of this
stuff is going and how you're helping today.
Speaker 1 (11:16):
I love it.
Speaker 4 (11:16):
Smile Power.
Speaker 2 (11:18):
Chris Puluski's the new CEO. He jumped in head first
last year at the start of his tenure at Meltrotter Ministries.
We'll get caught up with where we stand with the
total and how you can help and how once you
do it's used at Meltrotter. Laurence Smith, Justin Barklay, Brett Bakeita,
(11:40):
I'm Steve Kelly. Adam Arocho's in the producers booth too.
Leave us a talkback response. If you dropped off a turkey,
we want to hear about it. Find the little microphone
on the iHeartRadio app. We continue as the live broadcast
continues on Wood Radio
This microphone is now on.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
I see Laurence Smith, Brett Bakita, Justin Barclay is in
as well. Thank you all for a little bonus couple
of hours as our twenty second annual Turkey Drop for
Meltrodter Ministries continues in earnest.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
I think it's the sports world they call this what
Brett bonus coverage.
Speaker 4 (00:21):
Yeah, overtime over time, that's right.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Oh man, listen, we'll get you a total here in
just a couple of minutes.
Speaker 5 (00:29):
I think we're out there on the salary cap too.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
Salary cap. I never thought about it. We usually run
pretty lean.
Speaker 4 (00:36):
That's what I thought we were working for food.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
Well, we are working.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
That food, as you correctly point out, we'll get numbers
for the Turkey Drop in just a couple of minutes.
Our goal is five thousand, which is as we mentioned,
and as you heard on Justin's program just moments ago,
it's going to be kind of hard to attain because
of all of that confusion about snap benefits and food pantries.
(01:00):
And let's just focus on the positive of today. Wood
Radio dot com will get you to Turkey Drop dot
org and throughout the next couple of hours, and later
on this afternoon evening when we broadcast live from Celebration
Cinema North, we'll be talking to some friends of ours
at Meltrotter Ministries and look a little deeper into what
(01:22):
it is that they do along with providing this great
Thanksgiving meal and giving these turkeys to families that might
not be at that meal but at their own. Senior
Director of Guest Services at Meltrotter Ministries joins us on
the liveline, Shelby Sick to Shelby, thanks for doing this today.
Speaker 6 (01:39):
Yeah, thank you for having me.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
We are always amazed at how in lockstep the staff
is at Meltrotter with the mission statement, with what it is.
And you know, mission statement is a term. You are
a mission a mission talk to us a little bit
about your job description, what it is, what is it
that you do as the scene the director of guest Services.
Speaker 6 (02:02):
Sure, so I support all of our front facing teams
that are really walking alongside every single person before they
enter our doors and our prevention and our diversion work.
If they do happen to enter our building, then we
want to circle around them and work with them so
(02:23):
that their journey and homelessness as quick as possible, So
I also work support those teams that are working in
the building, and then we have housing as like a
next step for our guests, and I helped support that
team too, So I have the privilege of being able
to see someone's full journey into our shelter and then
(02:47):
being able to exit into whatever stable housing looks like
for them.
Speaker 3 (02:51):
Shelby. We talk a lot about the dignity in which
Meltrotter Ministries serves, and I love that you are the
director of guest services and you help your guests. How
much of a difference does it make when you're meeting
these individuals in their journey to that successful point to
be viewed as a guest and to be given that
(03:11):
kind of dignity, Yeah.
Speaker 6 (03:14):
It's important. So they know that they're not just a
number that we're helping. They come in and they feel
immediately loved and supported and know that they are a
guest in our building because it is not long term.
The goal is not to have them be there permanently.
We're welcoming them in and we're caring for them just
(03:34):
as you would a guest in your home or anything
like that. So they feel that love and support right
away as soon as they walk in through the doors.
Speaker 4 (03:44):
When you look at your journey with Mel Trotter, and
I hear this from people all the time, especially maybe
as they get older with their career and they want
to do something different getting involved. There's different ways to
get involved. We mentioned Turkey drive dot org and when
you go there, one of the things I love at
the top is there's a button's just get involved, volunteer
(04:06):
or find out more. What would you suggest to someone
that maybe is changing their career path, want to do
a nonprofit or just for the first time, maybe as
a family or as a group, getting involved with what
you do.
Speaker 6 (04:18):
Yeah. Absolutely, we have lots of ways that you can
be involved. So one thing that we do with our
guests in our programmings is we provide classes for them
and that can look really like anything. Some we have
a financial class to work on budgeting. We also have
a sewing class right now to teach the guys how
(04:41):
to sew just basic pitches. But so individuals come to
us with this passion that they really care about and
they believe will make a difference in someone's life, and
they bring those and say, hey, is there a way
that I can volunteer using this skill that I have
in this passion, and we are more than happy to
find a way to make that work, whether it's a
(05:03):
class or just a small group setting to build relationships.
We know that it's super important for individuals to have
a community and have strong relationships outside of Melchotter. So
to be able to lead a group like that or
have one on one mentoring with individuals and then also
(05:26):
serving meals is always a great opportunity to be able
to connect one on one with individuals coming through to
get the meals every day, and then as always prayer
and financially giving our huge ways to be able to
get connected to Malchotter.
Speaker 5 (05:43):
You know, Shelby, as you mentioned at the top of
this conversation, one of the things that you do as
someone in guest services helping people get into the homes.
They're just there for a temporary moment. I want to
talk about what that's like and maybe each and every
one of them, because I think with the numbers it's
kind of it can get daunting. We're on the twenty
(06:04):
second year here, we need five thousand turkeys. But I
guess if we think about behind those numbers, each one
of those numbers represents a person or a family. As
we think about what it's like for those people that
you help get into a home, what are you experiencing
that impact that you see and maybe you feel yourself
(06:27):
in that moment.
Speaker 6 (06:28):
Yeah, it's truly amazing. So we often see, really when
individuals come into our shelter pretty defeated and a lot
of lots of hope. But as we work through and
somebody moved into their housing, we just see their circumstances
(06:50):
are changing so dramatically that their whole demeanor changes. They're
overwhelmed as gratitude and excitement, and to be able to
walk along inside them is such a blessing and just
an amazing feeling to know that this person overcame whatever
barrier they were facing. Everybody has different barriers, but to
(07:14):
see them be able to overcome that and move into
what stable housing, whatever that looks like for them, and
just see the success that they feel and they're so
proud of what they've overcome, and to be able to
just flog alongside them with that is it truly is
a blessing and it is very moving.
Speaker 2 (07:36):
The twenty second Annual Turkey Drop for Meltrotter Ministries continues.
Our guest is Shelby Sick. She's the senior director of
guest Services. I guess in closing with you, we're going
to talk to Chris Pulski again. In just a couple
of minutes. We'll get an update on the number of turkeys.
As our broadcast continues in a goal of five thousand,
Let's talk a little bit about your boss. We don't
(07:57):
need a haul pass to talk about Jesus here and
would radio though you could call us a secular radio station.
What's it like to walk alongside this ministry and the
grace that you, through Him are able to give.
Speaker 6 (08:12):
Yeah, we couldn't do it without the grace and the
love of Jesus. That's who we try to be like
every single day. It can be, like you mentioned, daunting
a little bit. Can there are hard days, but just
to know that we're given grace upon grace and to
be able to extend that that really keeps us feeling
(08:35):
like we can do this again and again. And it's
just an incredible environment to know that we are all
walking along in the same faith journey, all different parts
of it, but to be able to support each other
in that way too.
Speaker 1 (08:50):
Lastly, I guess.
Speaker 2 (08:51):
Lastly, lastly, as I said that, I took it back,
is there somebody that you can think of a first name,
maybe in a story hard case, a man or a
woman or a family that you got to help along
and you're so proud to tell the story about how
how they're doing.
Speaker 1 (09:09):
Now.
Speaker 6 (09:11):
Yeah, absolutely, there's lots to choose from, but one that
just kind of sticks out to me. I'll call him John.
Don was in our shelter for quite a long time.
He really was an interesting individual to work with because
he didn't actually meet the income limit for vouchers and
(09:33):
he really was kind of like that missing middle group
that we have, and we ended up being able to
get him into stable housing, which he thought was almost impossible.
He didn't think that was going to be able to
happen for him. He just kind of, like I said,
lost that hope and thought that shelter was just what
(09:56):
he that's just what he needed to get used to
and that was his new or. We were able to
get him into housing, got him all the furniture that
he needed, and when we handed when he got the keys,
he came back through the mission and he just walks
through holding the keys up, smiling and grinning at all
of us, and he was like, I couldn't do it
(10:18):
without you guys. Thank you so much. And to see
the smile and to know that he didn't think that
independent living was an option for him anymore, and then
to see the keys in his hand and know that
it was he had a place was really a cool experience.
And that just sticks out in my mind often when
(10:40):
I'm having kind of a hard day, I'm like, no,
you know what, John had those keys in his hand,
and that's what we're here for.
Speaker 2 (10:48):
That's what you're here for today, to help folks like
Shelby and walk along, excite them as best you can.
Just get online what radio dot com will get you
the link to turkey drop dot org. Senior director of
Guest Services, Shelby Sick God bless you.
Speaker 1 (11:04):
Thanks for your time this morning.
Speaker 6 (11:06):
Thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (11:07):
Yeah, we're going to talk.
Speaker 2 (11:08):
To more in the next hour and a half or
so and get caught up with where all of this
stuff is going and how you're helping today.
Speaker 1 (11:16):
I love it.
Speaker 4 (11:16):
Smile Power.
Speaker 2 (11:18):
Chris Puluski's the new CEO. He jumped in head first
last year at the start of his tenure at Meltrotter Ministries.
We'll get caught up with where we stand with the
total and how you can help and how once you
do it's used at Meltrotter. Laurence Smith, Justin Barklay, Brett Bakeita,
(11:40):
I'm Steve Kelly. Adam Arocho's in the producers booth too.
Leave us a talkback response. If you dropped off a turkey,
we want to hear about it. Find the little microphone
on the iHeartRadio app. We continue as the live broadcast
continues on Wood Radio
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