Volunteer Spotlight - Marty Ensign Retires as Head Teller after 22 Years

Ted Pratt, Teller

One of the little known but important behind-the-scenes volunteer activities at the Chapel of the Cross is the teller function. The primary responsibilities of this volunteer-based group are to count, classify, document, and deposit monies collected on a weekly basis. The monies come in from a variety of sources that include plate collections, pledge envelopes, capital campaigns, discretionary fund contributions, special gifts, etc. All these monies need to be accounted for and classified each week under a strict set of checks and balances guidelines.

The unsung hero heading up the ever- changing group of tellers over the past 20+ years is Marty Ensign, who is just now deciding to hang up her calculator and let others take over the reins at the end of April. Anyone who has worked with Marty in this capacity can attest to her dedication and leadership over the years as head teller. In addition to overseeing the job actually getting done each and every week for the past two decades, Marty has also been responsible for recruiting volunteers and making sure enough tellers are on hand each week to get the job done.

Marty came to Chapel Hill and the Chapel of the Cross in 1982 from Roanoke, Virginia, where she lived for 18 years. She set up and then headed the credit department in a local bank in Roanoke. Marty gained previous banking experience while living in West Virginia working in the accounting department of International Nickel at a time when it was rare for a woman to obtain a job in that field.

Marty has been involved in a number of mostly volunteer activities at Chapel of the Cross over the years. Shortly after she first came to the parish and began working as a teller, she was asked by then rector, Peter Lee, to serve as the clerk for the vestry. Marty was also very active in the ECW (Episcopal Church Women) group of which she served as treasurer for a time. Shortly thereafter, Marty worked as the church bookkeeper for three years, her one paying job at the church. Marty served as a lay Eucharistic minister for three years in the early 1990s, and she has also helped out from time to time with both the ABC Sale and vacation Church school.

I can assure you that, as one of the current tellers under Marty's tenure, we are all going to miss her dearly, and we hope she will only be a phone call or visit away when we need to pick her brain or hear her friendly voice. It's not going to be the same without her. Many thanks and all the best to you, Marty, from the tellers and all at Chapel of the Cross!