Dear Ones,

I am thrilled to share some wonderful news with all of you. Please join me in extending the warmest welcome to Stratt Byars, who will be joining us as the Executive Director of Bellwether Farm.

I have been praying for some time that the Holy Spirit would lead us to the right person to guide Bellwether into the future, and it is clear to all of us who have met him that Stratt is that person. He has the perfect combination of faith, experience, knowledge, and deep roots in farming and camp/conference center life to be Bellwether Farm’s Executive Director.

Stratt grew up working on his family’s farm in rural Alabama, and heeded a call to Episcopal camp leadership by serving as the Summer Camp Director at Camp McDowell, shepherding 40 staff and 1,400 campers each summer. He also directed the Alabama Folk School and the McDowell Conference and Retreat Center. After his tenure as Executive Director at a camp and retreat center in Tennessee, he embarked on new adventures as the Director of Camps and Outdoor Education at Kanuga Conference, Retreat, and Camp Center in Hendersonville, North Carolina, where he successfully re-opened the historic summer camp program and integrated the summer camps and outdoor education departments, providing excellent youth development for more than 5,000 children annually.

“When the opportunity arose to discern where my future and Bellwether’s future might align, I knew from the onset that I wanted to be serving in the Diocese of Ohio. My entire life, from childhood to vocation, has intertwined the themes of agriculture and hospitality, and my family and I could not be more excited to be the stewards of Bellwether Farm’s present and future. There are no limits to what we can accomplish on that sacred farm and space,” Stratt shared with me.

I’m looking forward to seeing his creative ideas and passion come together alongside the enthusiasm of the people of the Diocese of Ohio to guide Bellwether Farm into the next phase of its development. Stratt will officially begin as Executive Director at Bellwether Farm on September 1 and will be joined by his wife, Carrie, and their two young children, Frances and Russell. I’m excited to work with Stratt, and for all of you to meet him.

Please join me in prayer for Stratt and his family, the community at Kanuga, and the staff at Bellwether Farm as they all enter into this time of transition.

God’s Peace,

+Anne
The Rt. Rev. Anne B. Jolly
Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Ohio