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Dear Editor:
I’m Pastor of Chapel Church in Noblesville, and I believe our city needs a man with vision and integrity like local businessman Rocky Shanehsaz on the Noblesville City Council.
My wife and I moved from California to Noblesville in 2012 to take over a church that was in over its head financially and operating under a forbearance agreement. With foreclosure nipping at our heels and huge promissory notes hanging over our heads, I prayed: “God, I need a businessman to help me navigate what’s going on in this church.”
A week later, a friend introduced me to Rocky Shanehsaz. I explained how we were living under the weight of all of this debt and I just didn’t know what to do. Rocky asked me what I wanted to do, and I told him we needed to find a way to transition our congregation out of the current property.
Rocky said, “Let me negotiate with your bank,” and he did. After negotiating a deal to release the church from the debt, Rocky promised our congregation there would never be a Sunday where we didn’t have a place to worship. We became Chapel Church, and Rocky allowed us to worship in the Model Mill Building for two years, free of charge.
Rocky told me if I could build the church back up, he would give me the old Hare House near 8th and Walnut streets free of debt to use as the new home for Chapel Church. Our congregation grew from about 20 to 25 members in 2016 to more than 100 members today, and we now have two satellite worship locations in the Columbus/Seymour and Greenwood/Southport areas. Rocky later deeded the property to Chapel Church and helped us secure funding to expand the property this spring.
There were people who warned me, “You don’t know this guy.” “How can you trust him to do what he says he will do?” Everything Rocky has said he will do, he has done it. And he didn’t have to. I just think he truly has a heart for nonprofits and serving the less fortunate. He’s helped many other nonprofit organizations in Noblesville, and we work together on the annual Proud Heritage Picnic in the Southwest Quadrant.
Rocky is most definitely a dreamer, and sometimes it’s hard for people to wrap their heads around his dreams. But he’s persuasive and he never says, “This is just too hard.” Instead, he’s asking, “Why can’t we do this?” and “Why aren’t we doing this?” As an immigrant who had to make his own way at a young age, Rocky believes in putting your mind to something and figuring out how to get it done. He’s a very compassionate man with a gentle heart, but he’s also a tough, get-it-done businessman with a strong work ethic and high integrity.
Rocky has an incredible love for Noblesville and he wants to see it be the best that it can be. I hope you’ll join me in voting for Rocky Shanehsaz, Republican candidate for one of three At Large seats on the Noblesville City Council.
Andrew Arrowood
Pastor of Chapel Church
675 Walnut St., Noblesville
Having Rocky on our council would be a definite positive for Noblesville. I wholeheartedly endorse him!