Wayne Hatcher, Caverna Independent Schools

Kentucky School Advocate
October 2022

Q. You attended Western for two years and were going to be an ag teacher but decided to become a minister. Why did you change your career path?    

A. I met my future wife at church and we got married a year later, in 1970, and that changed things. I had had an idea that I might want to be a minister and got some encouragement, so I went to the Sunset School of Preaching in Lubbock, Texas, for two years of intensive study and graduated in 1973. I went to Vermont first and then to a church in Statesville, N.C.

Q. After living away, you came back to Kentucky in 1983 and stayed. Why did you come home?

A. We adopted two children and moved back to Horse Cave to be near family. We wanted our kids to have some sense of family, especially since they were adopted. I was glad we came back when we did. My dad passed away two years later.

Q. You also had another career though?

A. Yes, I owned and operated a used car lot in Cave City for 17 years. I always enjoyed cars and I liked being with the public. I sold cars and I preached. People would say, “How can a preacher be a used car salesman?” and I’d say, “You be honest, treat people right and be truthful.” I sold the business in 2000 and went into ministry full-time. I’m now semi retired but I still preach.

Q. Has being a minister helped you in your board service? How so?

A. Yes. It’s the relationship and caring about people that transfers over to the everyday walk of life.

Q. In January you will have served on the Caverna board for 30 years. Why have you dedicated so many years to serving your community?

A. When I came on the board, KERA was new and there were a lot of adjustments and learning. I fit in well with the other board members and in four years, I decided to run again. There were a few times through the years that I thought, maybe this is enough, but at those times there were several new board members and I didn’t feel like I would be doing right to leave. Not that I was indispensable, and I’m sure they would have done fine without me, but I felt like all my years of service would help steady the ship.

Q. You have fully embraced social media, being one of a handful of board members who use Twitter and Facebook to showcase your district. Has that benefited your district and your constituents?

A. It helps the more we can communicate and be transparent with stakeholders. A lot of parents only come in our doors for parent/teacher conferences or ballgames. I highlight the good things going on. Like our Beta Club being a district of distinction, our gifted talented program, our new JAG (Jobs for America’s Graduates) program, our biomedical sciences and culinary and food service programs. We also created a 30-page booklet in-house to highlight what is going on the district. We are sending it to all our home school families and making it available to businesses.

Q. In your county, there are three districts, including Caverna Independent. What is special about Caverna?

A. Our motto is “Small and mighty.” Being small gives us a strength that larger schools don’t have. We know our kids on an individual basis. Caverna is like a family and I’m not just saying that. We have teachers in the district who are teaching the grandchildren of kids they taught.  

Getting to know

Hometown: Cave City  

Profession: Minister, Horse Cave Church of Christ    

Family: Rebecca, my wife of 52 years; two children, a son and a daughter

Favorite subject: History      

Hobbies: Family history. I started doing my family genealogy in 1995. UK and WKU basketball and football.

Book recommendation: I’m a longtime fan of Zig Ziglar, the author and motivational speaker.  

Interesting fact: I’m a member of Find A Grave, a website where people go to local cemeteries, take pictures of gravesites and post them so that people around the country are able to see a grave or a tombstone record. I’ve posted 200 to 300 gravesites. Sometimes I go find and photograph a grave because someone has posted a request for a grave in my area; other times I might just post a grave. It is a volunteer thing. I don’t do it as much as I used to.