1997 Miracle Yearbook

by Keturah Stork A very cheery hello greeted measIcalled,"Knock,knock" at the door of Mrs.Kaercher's office. Thesmile and theeager desire to be of assistance wel- comed me just as warmly. I quickly found myself wrapped up in a fascinating discussion about her sons and their fami- liesand aboutthejoysofwork- ing directly with college stu- dents. Ifound myselfthinking of how I would one day view my own job. Will I see my day's workasatask to becom- pleted out of duty, and then forgotten atthe end ofthe day? For Mrs. Murtha Kaercher the question is not how she ap- proaches her position at the 'Ville,buthow shefaces every aspect of her busy life. She arrived at the college about ten years ago, working part-time with Dr. Allen. Within a few months, she re- ceived her present position at Patterson Clinic,assuming the responsibility of all its insur- ance-related tasks. During a typical day she places numer- ous calls to local hospitals and doctors'officestoconfirm stu- dentcoverage.Shecanproudly say that all Cedarville students are adequately insured and therefore obtain reliable health services from area practitio- ners. "It is a wonderful testi- mony that our students' bills are paid." She also sends the insurance claims to a third- party adjuster,an organization which sifts through the many student bills. However,much of her time is spent in talking with students and with their parents via phone to work out the details and complications of being sick and of obtaining coverage. Mrs. Kaercher val- ues most these moments with the students. After her husband Richard retired from the Air Force in 1985, he took a position of Staff Member ofthe Year Murtha Kaercher teaching math, physics, and computers at Xenia Christian High School. Following this change,they moved to Cedar- ville and Mrs.Kaercher began working at the college. Both desire to retirein their oldfarm house in Cedarville because, as she expressed,"Welove the smalltownatmosphere." What is more, she hopes to remain with the clinic and the college. "It is a treasure to be this close to something that is so full of Christ." Actually,Murtha'sinvolve- ment with Cedarville College goes back a number of years. Both ofher children graduated from here. Today the eldest, Gene, uses his doctorate in chemistry, earned after his years here, at Cargill Corpora- tion in Tennessee. Her other son, Brandon, graduated with thefirstengineering classfrom the'Villeandtoday works with Prince Corporation in Michi- gan. Murtha has three grand children. In those possibly rare mo ments when she has the oppor tunity to spend time as sh pleases, Mrs. Kaercher enjoy• workingaroundherhome,bo indoorsand outdoors. Oneca also find her reading a goo book or doing cross stitch an other types of handwork. Bu perhaps what she and her hus band find mostfulfilling is en tertaining in their home. The of course love to have thei family come to visit. How ever,they also view hosting a a wonderful opportunity t house students who have ha surgery,and also their parents The Kaerchers desire to shar the giftsGodhasgiventothem This outlook spills over int Mrs.Kaercher'sjob. Handlin insuranceclaimsis a meansfo her to have a ministry to col lege students. And whatbette time than when students ar 146 aeademtai