The History of BCHEF
BCHEF WAS ORGANIZED IN 1987 BY JIM AND LORI MILNER WITH SEVERAL OTHER INTERESTED FAMILIES. THEIR DESIRE WAS TO PROVIDE SUPPORT FOR FELLOW HOME EDUCATORS WITH A CHRISTIAN FOUNDATION. THE MILNERS PROVIDED LEADERSHIP AND VISION TO THE GROUP FROM 1987 TO 1991. A NEWSLETTER, THE DAILY PLAN-IT, WAS STARTED BY THE MILNERS AND BECAME THE MAIN SOURCE OF INFORMATION TO THE MEMBERS ON ACTIVITIES AND EVENTS. MANY CLOSE RELATIONSHIPS WERE FORGED DURING THE EARLY YEARS, AND CONTINUE TO DEVELOP AMONG THE MEMBERS AS THEY SEEK TO SUPPORT AND ENCOURAGE EACH OTHER.
THE MILNERS RELEASED THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF LEADERSHIP TO TOM AND MERRILY GAMWELL DURING THE ‘91-’92 SCHOOL YEAR FOR A MUCH NEEDED BREAK. THE GAMWELLS BUILT UPON THE CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP BEGUN BY THE MILNERS BY DEVELOPING A STATEMENT OF FAITH.
JIM AND LORI MILNER RETURNED TO LEADERSHIP DURING THE ‘92-’93 SCHOOL YEAR. AT THIS TIME JON AND CAROLYN MORGAN VOLUNTEERED THEIR SERVICES AS NEWSLETTER EDITORS. A CLOSE AND HARMONIOUS WORKING RELATIONSHIP SOON DEVELOPED. THE MORGANS ASSUMED THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF ASSISTANT LEADERS IN THE FALL OF 1993 AND SUBSEQUENTLY FULL LEADERSHIP IN JANUARY, 1994.
THE MORGANS HELPED ESTABLISH A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF BCHEF AND HOME EDUCATION AMONG PUBLIC SCHOOL AND LEGISLATIVE OFFICIALS. THEY WORKED WITH OTHERS IN THE GROUP TO PRODUCE THE FIRST BCHEF BROCHURE AND TO PROVIDE INFORMATION PACKETS ON HOME EDUCATION AND OUTCOME BASED EDUCATION. THEY ALSO ENLISTED THE HELP OF SEVERAL OTHER BCHEF FAMILIES INCLUDING THE MILNERS AND THE GAMWELLS TO CREATE AN ADVISORY COUNCIL. THIS GROUP WAS FORMED TO PROVIDE MORAL AND SPIRITUAL SUPPORT AMONG THE LEADERSHIP AND TO PROVIDE COUNSEL IN LEADERSHIP DECISIONS.
BEGINNING IN THE ‘97-’98 SCHOOL YEAR, THE COUNCIL BECAME THE LEADERSHIP BODY FOR BCHEF AND THERE IS NO LONGER AN INDIVIDUAL COUPLE DESIGNATED AS THE “LEADERS”. THE COUNCIL IS COMPRISED OF FOUR TO SIX COUPLES, INCLUDING THE OFFICES OF CHAIRMAN, TREASURER, NEWSLETTER EDITOR, AND ACTIVITIES COORDINATOR. THE LEADERSHIP APPROACH IS EXPLAINED IN THE LEADERSHIP SECTION OF THE BCHEF GUIDLINES.
DURING THE 2003-’04 SCHOOL YEAR, BCHEF INITIATED A WEB SITE FOR PUBLICATION OF ITS NEWSLETTER AND ANNOUNCEMENTS. AT THE CLOSE OF THAT SCHOOL YEAR, POLICY GUIDELINES WERE ADJUSTED AND INTERESTED FAMILIES WOULD NEED TO APPLY FOR MEMBERSHIP PRIOR TO JOINING BCHEF.
DURING THE ‘06-’07 SCHOOL YEAR, BCHEF ELIMINATED THE WEB SITE DUE TO ACCESS PROBLEMS AND AN E-MAILED NEWSLETTER WAS COMPILED BY THE JOURNALISM/YEARBOOK STUDENTS AND SENT TO MEMBERS, WITH HARD COPIES MAILED TO MEMBERS WHO DID NOT HAVE INTERNET ACCESS.
