We Love the Christmas Season!
Sunday, December 12, 2004
Ho Ho Ho!I love the Christmas season! We could call it "printing" and stuffing season here at Illahee as our graphic design studio has been open for business! Hopefully, all of our 2004 and 2005 campers and staff have received their Christmas "surprise" in the mail by now. There were over 1050 sent out last week! Whew! Thanks to veteran staffer Pam Williams for helping make this project another special one! We are also working on a brand new 20 page brochure to help supplement our video and other materials. This full color gorgeous catalog will be Illahee's first major brochure in over ten years and will try to encapsulate the Illahee experience for prospective staff and campers. It's kind of hard to sum up such a special camp experience, and we have been writing and re-writing "copy" to make sure it is just right. The pictures are beautiful, big, and bold. They all are from the summer of 2004, and we think the old saying "a picture is worth a thousand words" is especially true here. We will post an online version in the new year so that you can take a look at it!
We have had some terrific response from 2004 staff who can't wait to get back to the Heavenly World! We have heard from many counselors who are excited to return for Illahee summer #85! So far a few of the returning staff are Kim and Jeff Aycock, Paige Redfield, Tara Cheek, Graham Manning, Molly Morgan, Libby Hunter, Amanda Clark, Jenna Hunke, Jennifer Winchester, Jocelyn Fern, Kristie Etson, Betsy Stockslager, Elizabeth Campbell, Molly Christman, and Carol Konkle. Dave Hartsock will return to direct the tennis program. (He has had a great fall season coaching his girls team this year which finished 2nd in the state of Ohio.) Nancy McCrory will be managing the kitchen again for her third year at Illahee. We are all thrilled to have her great food (especially desserts) and her good cheer. Jeremy Campbell, aka Soup is joining our year round staff team in January. Soup worked at camp in 2000 and 2001 and has been teaching in the northeast. A Brevard College graduate of the Wilderness leadership program, Soup is looking forward to returning to Brevard to head the Trips Program at Illahee and to supervise the maintenance of camp! We also know that he is quite a Capture the Flag enthusiast. That's a picture of him at left. We are super excited that he will be joining our year round staff team and look forward to welcoming him in early January right after he finishes up duties at the Shackleton School in Connecticut. Just because you don't see a staff member's name doesn't mean she is not coming! We will be updating the staff list on the website throughout the spring, so keep checking to look for all of your favorite counselors. If you do not see an Illahee counselor on the list, be sure to write her and encourage her to return in 2005!
Finally, we have all been busy making orders (already!) for 2005! Recently, Gretchen ordered 3 new potter's wheels, and Gordon and James are readying the lower side of the busy bee for a covered deck addition for a new ceramics porch. This extra space will be a welcome addition to an already popular program. Gordon also ordered three new monster telephone poles to have set near the Beanstalk climbing tower to add to the high ropes course. This popular activity from 2004 is sure to be even more exciting in '05! Gymnastics mats, barn equipment, climbing harnesses, new canoes...WOW! It is like Christmas. 2005 is Illahee's 85th summer and we can't wait! Make sure you are going to be a part of it!
We wish everyone a blessed Christmas and a happy and healthy New Year. Until you return to the Heavenly World, Illahee Love! Gordon and Laurie...
