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Immediately following our August 16, 2026, 10:30 a.m. in-person worship service will be a food pantry dedication ceremony honoring Linda Locklear and her late husband, Dean, for the selfless work they have done over the years for our CBC food pantry.

The CBC food pantry was originally founded in 1988.  It was a vision of the minister's wife and some of the small but mighty congregation.  They dedicated one of the rooms in the classroom hall and secured some shelving from wherever they could.

In 1990, Dean Locklear was elected Chairperson of the CBC Mission Board and his wife, Linda, also served on the board.  They expanded the pantry by collaborating with the Monmouth Ocean Food Bank and local social services as well as the nurse at Belmar Elementary School to identify and target families in need.

In 1994, Dean was asked to serve as a CBC trustee and Linda was nominated to the position of Mission Board Chairperson where she would serve until relocating to Florida in 2016.  Linda's vision for the pantry was to ensure that it not be a financial burden on already stretched church finances.  Under her leadership, CBC held fundraisers to keep the pantry stocked and also special outreach projects at Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter.  

Eventually, Linda and others from CBC who were involved with the food pantry were notified by the local food bank that they could not distribute Bibles along with their food, so the congregation voted to sever its ties with the food bank and rely on the generosity of the CBC congregation.  

Thanks to Dean and Linda Locklear the food pantry at CBC remained a viable resource to help innumerable people in need and continues to this day.

It is our pleasure to honor Dean and Linda Locklear!