By Thea Jarvis

Eagle Ranch is thriving. And so are those who live there. Three years since the first child’s arrival, the non-denominational Christian home for boys is making its mark on Chestnut Mountain.

Founder Eddie Staub had envisioned a safe haven for boys aged six through 18 who had been abused, neglected or in need of a stronger support system than their immediate family could offer, Staub’s dream has become a reality with the help of an outstanding staff and generous folks who have dug deep to sponsor what houseparent Tony Dittmeier predicts will be the model full-care home for troubled children in the country.

Notables Vince Dooley, Bill Curry, Bobby Ross and Carl Sanders have lent time and influence to the ranch’s cause. Corporate funders and private donors continue to insure its financial stability. A solid board of directors coupled with an adjunct advisory board shapes policy and prepares for the future. Houseparents and counseling psychologists provide day to day interaction that makes the difference between a troubled child and a child who feels confident because he is loved.

With the completion of a fourth residence this spring, Eagle Ranch will be able to accommodate 32 boys. A projected fifth and final home will bring that total to 40. No child is forced to come to Eagle Ranch, which is licensed by the Georgia Department of Human Resources. After referral by a Family and Children’s Services Department or private inquiry, he is given the opportunity to visit the complex and decide for himself if it is an option he would like to exercise. Ranch philosophy focuses on residents’ spiritual, intellectual, emotional and physical development and their eventual reunification with their natural families.

Homes where the boys stay – named appropriately Faith, Hope, Love and Peace – are designed to house a parenting couple and their family plus a maximum of eight boys. Full-time counseling professionals assigned to every two homes meet on an individual basis with residents and houseparents each week. Counseling sessions are also offered to the boys’ parents.

Eagle Ranch is no pie in the sky promise of a distracted visionary. It has meant gutwrenching growth from the inside out for staff and residents alike and has called for a heavy schedule of travel and speechmaking for executive director Eddie Staub. From its inception in 1985, the ranch has pledged Christian service based on sound business practice and open, giving hearts. No construction or development begins until all funds are secured, which means that the ranch is debt-free.

Eddie Staub believes the Lord and his special children deserve the best. One trip up Chestnut Mountain convinces visitors this is what they are getting: 180 acres of pristine woodland, a 10-acre lake brimming with bass, blue gill and catfish, horses running free in wide-open pastures, ample storage facilities and athletic fields, a picnic pavilion and vegetable garden, sturdy, well-built homes with room to be all you were meant to be.

Future plans include a multi-purpose building that will serve as gymnasium and recreation center, general gathering place and special site for community events.

Eagle Ranch is simple, purposeful living in a place where a monastic peace covers and blesses those who live and visit there. Surrounded by love and a security rooted in prayer, young people grow and thrive like the faithful in Isaiah 40:31, the verse on which the ranch is built: “Those who trust in the Lord for help will find their strength renewed. They will rise on wings like eagles; they will run and not get weary; they will walk and not grow weak.”