Beth Harden, middle school athletic director at Augusta Christian Schools, usually knows when something’s brewing at the school — often because she’s in on planning it.
But she had no idea what her co-workers, family and friends had in store for her during a gathering on May 4, after a middle school track meet.
“I’m still thinking, we’re going to do something for the middle schoolers because we were all combined chapel that day,” said Harden, recalling when Athletic Director Charles Cooper called up fellow coaches Sammy Clough and Lauren Gilpin to stand before the crowd in the school gym to speak. “When he started talking and then my parents came through husband came through, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, they’re about to do something special.’”
The surprise was an event honoring Harden for 40 years of service at Augusta Christian.
“It was just a blessing,” she said. “I felt so honored.”
Beth Harden started at ACS as a P.E. teacher in 1983, working alongside several athletic directors, helping coach sports such as basketball, cross-country (winning regionals five times and winning state twice) and even golf (winning state championships once).
“When I was in high school, I loved being in athletics,” Harden said. “I said, ‘Lord, this is the road I want to go on,’ and so I just felt like the Lord opened the door for me at Augusta Christian many years ago.”
Harden eventually went on to serve as athletic director of the school for some years, before giving the reins to Cooper, who planned the surprise celebration.
“Coach Gilpin and I were talking we were both taught by her,” said Cooper. “We were looking at just years of service, and we both said she’d been here 40 years. We’ve got to do something.”
The challenge of keeping things under wraps was compounded by that of contacting co-workers and students from over years who have been impacted by Harden, which over four decades is considerable.
“It’s kind of crazy, the different eras that she’s been here, reaching out and trying to find all those different people,” Cooper said. “You’ve touched our employees and students, and you’ve touched their children. So we just tried to get as many people here as we could just to show her impact on the school and what she’s meant to us.”
As the head coach for grades 6-8, Harden calls working with middle schoolers her “love language.” That age, she says, is an ideal time to help mold young students toward sports and activities that suit them, and to encourage them to find their way.
“I have students that are very athletic, and they stand out; but then you’ve got your other ones that might not be really athletic, but they still make a difference on the teams,” she said. “They still have a voice, and they still are part that make a difference; whether that’s being Christ-like in their walk, or just helping someone else to do better.”
This affection for, and belief in, her students displays an overall compassion and commitment her colleagues praise her for.
Cooper, who remembers various roles she’s held since he was an AC elementary student — ranging from bus driver to tennis coach — stresses that she “does what needs to be done.”
Lynn Wilkerson, director of school activities, recalls how Harden pushed for years to get bleachers for the gym, saying she has “such big dreams and aspirations” not only for the students, but for the school.
“A lot of people around here call her ‘Mama Harden,’” said Head of School Les Walden. “[They] probably see that motherly spirit as well; she can be tough, and show a lot of tough love, because there’s a tremendous amount of love she has.”
The sentiments of Harden’s colleagues is reciprocated, as she sees her ACS colleagues as “brothers and sisters” more than co-workers, and her years of work as a kind of ministerial vocation.
“I feel like right here, 313 Baston Road, is a mission field,” she said. “I felt like that’s why God didn’t send me out of the country to do the work. He’s kept me here on this campus to do the work. You couldn’t ask for anything more than to do his work here on this campus with family, friends and students.”
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
