This morning I was reminded of the importance of vision.  My wife has strong creative genes – which is in stark contrast to her husband.  In moving into our home, she had a vision for a room – she saw it as a library (we do have lot of books) – a place for quiet, a refuge.  I saw four walls that needed furniture.  Carol’s vision has become reality, as we are already enjoying our library.  Seeing vision come to fruition is encouraging.  At Harvester, we have a vision to build a great school where lives are changed, minds are trained, and hearts are impacted.  It is a vision that only our Father can do.  I can’t wait to see how God works here.

There was a great turn out for the “State of the School” meeting this week.  It was good to see such interest and support.  During the meeting, I revealed the significance of the picture that highlights this blog on the website.  If you missed it, be sure to ask someone who was there.  Here is a quick summary:

•   HCA’s target is to be recognized as the premier school in West Georgia.  To that end we will build a school with a distinctive program, comprehensive facilities, a family focus, and an excellent faculty.
•   HCA remains committed to the founding principles of the school – excellence, covenant Christian families, and a Biblical worldview  Updates were given on financials and student achievement.
• Also on Tuesday evening, Jim Kelly the founder of GOAL (scholarship program) presented the SSO opportunity to our community.  This program allows Georgia tax payers to redirect their state taxes to a scholarship program for Harvester – http://harvesteracademy.com/giving/tuition-tax-credit/.

I am really proud of our students.  The Student Government has great ideas for service and is leading well.  Look for a new feature – Hawk Talk.  It is a student video production that includes events, school news, highlights, and interviews.  It will be shown during chapel and posted to our website.

Among the many projects and activities that are underway, we are working to redesign our logo.  Several design firms are presenting concepts and ideas.  Look for an unveiling soon.

Looking forward to more Harvester football – love how hard our young men play!  Maybe coach will even let me in the press box.  Hope you enjoy the kickoff of college football this weekend, our family certainly will – especially if Kentucky beats Lousiville!

Joel

HCA Headmaster’s Blog by Joel Satterly

Welcome to this new feature on our website – the Headmaster’s Blog. In all honesty, this represents my first foray into the blogosphere. In fact, “start blogging” has been at the top of my “To Do List” for a few weeks, but I have struggled with how to actually begin …

Often the school year begins with “What did you do this summer?” For us, this has been a whirlwind few months. Among the highlights were seeing God’s Provision in the sale of our Florida house and the purchase of a new home in Douglasville, getting away to the beach, and being welcomed so well by our new community. It has also been a very hard summer as we said good-bye to dear friends and spent entirely too much time apart. I also became intimately familiar with I75 between Atlanta and Ocala, FL.

The faculty and staff have worked hard to ensure a great beginning of our school year. It is encouraging to feel the energy and excitement of a new year and a new beginning. Next week, I am looking forward to talking about the state of our school. I will be sharing a bit about our current position, but more importantly will be sharing about where we are going. A significant portion of that vision emerged from a planning retreat this summer with the board. I am grateful to those men for giving their time to seek God’s direction for our school.

Scripture is clear that we need vision in order to thrive. That is how God made us. We have an innate desire to know where we are going, how we will get there, and how long it will take. (Can I get an amen from parents of younger children?) It is often hard to sit back and enjoy the ride – believing that we are on a great adventure. I think that is called faith. Fortunately God hasn’t left us on our own, He has shared His story with us and even sent his Son to do what we couldn’t do – keep the law and save ourselves. As we begin to think and pray about developing a vision for Harvester, let’s first pray for God to give us eyes to see because He is so much bigger than we can even dream.

Hope to see you on the 31st.

Wear your Spirit Wear and support the Hawks!

Special thanks to Sun Valley Beach (www.sunvalleybeach.com) for partnering with Harvester in the Walk. Thanks also to Paul Hawkinson, CPA and Atlanta Kitchen Equipment, Inc. for their partnership.

Mr. Satterly has served in Christian Education for seventeen years, with eleven of those years in the capacity as Headmaster.  His experience also includes high school principal, junior high principal, history and social studies teacher.  Mr. Satterly comes to Harvester from Seven Rivers Christian School in Lecanto, Florida where he led as Headmaster for nine years.  During his tenure at Seven Rivers, Mr. Satterly developed and implemented a strategic plan for school advancement.  His plan established strong financial and development foundations leading to substantial improvements in facilities, academic and athletic programs, and faculty development.  Mr. Satterly was elected among his peers as the President of Christian Schools of Florida, a state-wide accreditation association representing 25 accredited schools, and served as an officer from 2005 until the present. 

Mr. Satterly is a distinguished graduate from the University of Kentucky having earned a B.A. in History in 1988 and an M.A. in Social Studies Education in 1992. 

Mr. Satterly and his wife, Carol, have three children who will be attending the school in the fall.  www.harvesteracademy.com