Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
During last week’s extreme cold temperatures due to the “Polar Vortex,” Lakeland Christian Academy was closed for most of the week.
With wind chill temperatures at -50, there was not much going on around town except for everyone trying to keep warm.
One annual event that did take place last Thursday was our annual Kosciusko County Chamber of Commerce annual awards banquet. I think everyone had a bad case of “cabin fever” because the turnout at Grace’s Orthopedic Capital Center was fantastic. In fact, it was the highest attended chamber banquet ever with over 500 people.
I have been attending the chamber banquet almost every year for the past 30 years or so and it has always been one of my favorite nights of the year. It is the one time of year that most of the business and community leaders get together in one place for the night. Being born and raised in Warsaw, like I have been, it is great to see “Warsaw” people. I mean people that have been engaged in our local community for decades.
Speaking of which, I am sad that we lost a pillar of our community last week with the passing of Charlie Ker. He was a very kind, gentle and encouraging local leader.
What does this have to do with Lakeland Christian Academy? I will tell you.
Before the polar vortex temperatures caused us all to take a brief “time-out” I, like many of you, was caught up in my own little world. All my thoughts were of Lakeland Christian Academy and the dozens of projects that we have going on all the time. LCA was my world.
Private Christian schools have a very small staff and we all wear many different hats and work many hours. But this week forced me to stay home and realize that there is a world outside of our campus. Being home most of the week, coupled with attending the chamber banquet, made me realize that not only did I not know much about the “worlds” the other 500 people attending the banquet were living in, they knew nothing about mine. The LCA that consumed me wasn’t even on the radar of the other 500 people.
That realization hit me hard because part of my job is making the community aware of what is going on at LCA. I want people to know our world, and I want to know theirs. I asked myself, “How do I make Kosciusko County aware of the amazing impact LCA is having in the lives of our students and families? How can I make Kosciusko County see what I see, and experience what our families are experiencing? How can I get into other people’s ‘worlds’ to relay the message of how huge a blessing LCA is to our community and how they can be a part of it? How do I get our community to see Lakeland through our eyes?”
Sure, if we had thousands of dollars for advertising we could blast our message across all forms of media. Unfortunately, we are a nonprofit organization and don’t have the funds for a huge marketing campaign. So how do I get the word out?
Lakeland Christian Academy will be celebrating its 45th anniversary in 2019. That is 45 years of providing our community with a top quality 7-12 education in a small, family, personal environment with all subjects taught from a Christian world-view. We fully equip our students for this ever-changing world around us by offering a well-rounded education that includes the mind, body, soul and spirit. We don’t just teach our students the answers, we teach them how to learn and how to find the answers to life’s questions.
The two best things I can offer to anyone that has an interest in LCA is to: 1. Call us for a tour and get to meet our staff and students. 2. Visit the bottom of our website at lcacougars.com to view some unscripted testimonial videos from our students, parents and staff to get an idea of what LCA is like.
We would like to invite you into our world, and we would like to get to know your world. We would love to travel to your church, your business, your school, your service club meeting to get to know you better. If you have an interest in meeting with us, please just give us a call at 574-267-7265, we would love to meet with you.
Stay warm and safe out there, Kosciusko County.
