Staff Orientation Begins!

Staff Orientation Begins!

Sunday, May 28, 2006

It's Sunday night, and about 30 of our 80 or so staff have arrived for pre-orientation training. Harriet Morton has been busy at the barn, where she and Bianca have been making the horses feel at home, and working with the staff in clinics this week. Jessica "Gallagher" taught and certified (or re-certified) ten brand new lifeguards, and Gordon and Adventure Director Robert Dye worked with Davis Crain, our ropes course director, Chad Quinn, head of climbing, and lots of our return and new paddling and climbing staff on the high ropes course and Beanstalk. Parker and Gareth have been dusting off the boats with new staffers Jordan Horne and Scott Jarvis. Driver Training has been completed, and there has been a lot of activity on the canoeing and kayaking lake as we get ready for 245 excited June campers to join us next Sunday!

Tomorrow, the rest of the counseling staff will arrive and general orienation will begin. We have an AMAZING staff this year, even more amazing than in year's past. We can't wait for you to meet them! But before you arrive, there are sessions to attend on working with campers, and door decs to make, first aid sessions, and activity planning. We'll pump up the balls, and install nets on the new tennis courts (they did get finished on Saturday!), test out new recipes, and gear up the sound systems. We'll meet and greet and make nametags and make sure Dolly has plenty of Illahee Swirl ready to eat. Gordon will call Big Fig, and Marge and Madge will dust each other off. Gosh, there is still a lot to do, but the Heavenly World looks heavenly already. The only thing missing is YOU!

Look Who's Coming Back!

Look Who's Coming Back!

Sunday, May 07, 2006

One of the things I look forward to most when summer approaches is the return of new friends and old to the Heavenly World. Camp is all about relationships, and I am as excited about the summer of 2006 staff as any in recent history. We are blessed at Illahee to have many more applicants than positions available. This allows us to be very choosy. The application process is pretty rigorous. Most of our counselors come to us by word of mouth from a former or current staff member or a camper parent. This "pre-screening" means that most are well-suited for the job already and know the challenges and rewards of a summer at camp. Each prospect completes an application that includes background information as well as essays that help us evaluate character. We check at least three references and often even check references from previous employers who were not listed. We do complete background checks on each applicant, and even on return counselors. We check everything from parking tickets to criminal history. Only after an applicant checks out on all these fronts, do we schedule an interview...and the very best are hired to be staff members at the BEST camp in the world!

We have some old faces returning for the summer of 2006 that will be sure to get even the first-time camper excited (once she meets them!) Megan Bel has decided to leave her job as an assistant to Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco and return to Brevard to help out as a senior staff member and advisor to Heigh Ho (our middle age group). Megan helped the governor through the Katrina crisis, and was chronicled in our last newsletter. Another good buddy and Illahee veteran Jessica Gallagher (known to all as Gallagher)will return after a couple years off to help out on the senior staff with Choice Period and as JC mom. Hannah Christian recently graduated from UVA and will return as CIT mom. Toya West will join us for the July session after a year off. She has been teaching in Thailand for more than a year now.

We have a bunch of June and July girls signed up for climbing and kayaking this summer. Veteran Gareth Tate will return to head our kayaking program and will be joined by newcomers Jordan Booth and Beth Urbanik as well as Scott Jarvis, who worked at Camp High Rocks last summer. Chad (Butts) Quinn will return after several years off with his wife Sarah to head the climbing program. Sarah will teach vaulting. Chad was the owner of Blue Ridge Mountain Guides here in Brevard. Kirk (Cream Cheese) Bjorling and Lauren Bennett will round out the climbing staff. Robert Dye, who taught canoeing last year and is a professor in the Brevard College Wilderness Studies program will lead our Trips Staff. Veteran Harriet Morton will return to head the riding program with Bianca Sanchez managing the barn. What an all-star cast! I cannot wait!

Last but not least, we are pleased to welcome to our year-round staff Jacob Dinkins, our new site manager. Jacob is Sara Harris' cousin and hails from near-Birmingham, AL, though he has been in Vail for the past three years driving a Snow Cat during the season. He and new wife Geraldine were married on April 22nd, and moved to Brevard on May 1st. Geraldine grew up in Switzerland, and has been in the States for a number of years. She will help out in the office this summer, so everyone will get to meet her. We are super-excited about this addition to the Illahee family! Guess what! Camp starts in 4 weeks! Yipppeeee!