News

The Mount Dora Children’s Home is a ministry that is passionately dedicated to serving children in need. We are searching for a qualified Christian couple to serve as house parents.

We are looking for a married couple who are faithful members of the Church of Christ who love children, model their faith, and want to serve full time in our ministry as house parents.

This is a salaried position and benefits include: housing, utilities, food, health insurance, life insurance, transportation, and private education for your children at our sister institution, Mount Dora Christian Academy.

For more information, contact Chuck Shepherd, Director of Social Services, at chuck.shepherd@mdchome.org or (352) 729-9128.

Mount Dora Christian Academy and Children’s Home has named Charles Marcussen as Chief Financial Officer effective June 1, 2022. Marcussen succeeds Bob West, who passed in January 2022. 

Marcussen is a familiar face to our campus as his wife, Jennifer, is one of our VPK teachers. Together they have two daughters attending MDCA, Josie (13) and Millie (9).

A native of South Bend, IN, Marcussen attended Harding University, earning degrees in Accounting (1999) and in Management and Marketing (1998). He enjoys being a long-suffering fan of the Cleveland Browns, Guardians (Indians), and Cavaliers, as well as his hometown team, the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. In his spare time, he enjoys listening to baseball on the radio, completing a set of Legos, seeing his kids excel in theatre and the arts, reading and learning about ancient history, and spending time every year on the beaches of Boca Grande.

For the past 20-plus years, Marcussen has served in various roles while progressing through the ranks in corporate and public accounting in both Little Rock, AR, and Orlando, FL. Prior to being named Chief Financial Officer at MDCA, Marcussen was a Managing Partner at MSH CPAs in Orlando. As the Director of Tax Engagements at MSH, he led a team of professionals to provide tax preparation services to both individuals and small to mid-size multistate partnerships and corporations across industries. His practice areas focus on providing CFO and consulting services to small businesses and individuals, tax preparation services, and assisting clients in estate and trust administration needs. 

Marcussen is an actively licensed Certified Public Accountant in Florida, a Charter Global Management Accountant (AICPA/CIMA), and a member of the AICPA and FICPA. He served on the FICPA's Elder Planning and Support Committee, the Valuation, Forensic Accounting & Litigation Services Committee, the International Taxation Committee, and the Federal Taxation Committee. These toles have allowed him to influence and shape the future of the CPA profession in the state of Florida.

Marcussen views his role at MDCA as an opportunity to invest in the students and community by building a legacy of transparent financial management and leadership. He believes his career path has guided him and prepared him for this position. He looks forward to leading in financial reporting, statutory compliance, strategic development, and developing best practices and controls. In short, he aims to provide MDCA's leadership with the information needed to fulfill our mission of "building on a legacy of faith and service."

The Rosen Centre in Orlando was the site for the 2022 annual conference of Network 1:27, which was hosted by the social services staff at Mount Dora Children's Home. The conference brought together leaders from social services agencies affiliated with Churches of Christ from throughout the country.

Chuck Shepherd, Director of Social Services for MDCH, served as the official host and welcomed guests. Johnnie Coley, social worker, led one of the breakout sessions. Tonja Rambow, social worker, also participated in hosting the conference.

Below are photos from the conference.

 

The Divine Servant Award is our way of saying thanks to individuals or couples who have demonstrated faithful support of Mount Dora Children's Home over a period of many years.

Several individuals and couples have received Divine Servant Awards at MDCH benefit dinners during the 2021-2022 school year. They include the following:

Ryan Frederick, minister at Lake Forest Church of Christ in Jacksonville, was recognized as the Divine Servant at the Jacksonville Area Benefit Dinner. 

Randy Blankinship was recognized as a Divine Servant at the Sarasota Benefit Dinner. Randy is a member at 53rd Avenue Church of Christ in Bradenton and has faithfully supported MDCH for many years.

Allan and Heather Overton received the Divine Servant Award at the Pensacola Benefit Dinner. Allan and Heather are members at Airport Road Church of Christ in Crestview, Florida.

Becky Little received the Divine Servant Award at this year's Nashville Area Benefit Dinner. She is a member at Bellevue Church of Christ in Nashville.

Our sincere thanks to these Divine Servants and to everyone who supports the mission of Mount Dora Children's Home and makes our work possible.

It is with a heavy heart that we announce the passing of Vice President of Finance, Robert West. Bob served MDCH and the Academy for the past three years. His love and dedication to the school and home will be extremely missed.

His celebration of life will take place at Allen J. Harden Funeral Home at 4 p.m. on Thursday, January 20. Visitation is from 3 to 4 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to MDCA&CH in his honor.

Please keep Karen West and the family in your prayers.

For more details visit: https://www.allenjharden.com/obits