Now that camp is over, it is high time that the hiatus in Director's
notes comes to an end!
Thanks to all alumni, parents and staff of North Woods and Pleasant
Valley who helped make the 2000 camping season a wonderful success. As
the trees are already beginning to change in color it seems this
year has been a blur of continual activity full of memories to cherish
forever:
The
Reach Out volunteers and contributors
whose pledges during the winter months allowed so many families to
experience camp. The work weekend participants from
Old
Timer's to
Memorial Day in the
Spring who spruced up camp in countless ways. The dedicated staff who
managed to create their own rays of sunshine in a summer of unusually
cloud-filled skies. Collectively you made this a safe and rewarding
season for all.
So many former campers and staff dropped in during the course of the
summer that it would be impossible to name them all in a short note,
but I must single out a few for special mention:
Ken & Jill Abrahams for adding a splash of color to
Carnival,
not to mention the new wildly popular salad bar to the Great Hall.
John Putnam for not only hosting our Adventure Trip bicyclists in
North Conway, but also boosting the sailing program with a lovely
green and white Sunfish.
Welcome back to the Weene's!!! Jerry, for his work on the Tripping
Room and his guidance to the current generation of Forestry Patrol
in the same summer that his sons, Ross and Alan, volunteered as
staff.
Steve Gordon, John and Cathy Keeler for yet again devoting countless
hours of their valuable time while providing endless additions to the
program. They set a standard for volunteerism that is unmatched in our
camping family.
Speaking of family, it gave me great pleasure to witness Aidan, the
fourth generation of the Goodwin clan, participating in the camp
program when Susan came up from Virginia to volunteer time as a
sailing instructor. The latest is that Loretta has taken a position as
a consultant working for an educational non-profit (just a stone's
throw from my Y offices on Huntington). Guess my days in the wilds of
NH are numbered :-(
The month of September has been a busy one with post-season groups
filling the calendar. After the last school group departed, Women's
Wellness Weekend saw our first camper parent participants. The
first Fall activity is just a few days away as we celebrate the
inaugural Columbus Day Work Weekend (October 6th - 9th) and all are
invited to attend. For those unable to make this event, there will be
many more opportunities for the camping community to come together in the
upcoming weeks and months.
For those of you who have not yet sent in an update for the alumni
section, we will soon be adding entries to the "Where R U
Now" page. Please spend a moment visiting all the nooks and
crannies of the site and and
email
us your news and notes.
** Special note to all Board Members - the next meeting has been moved
to October 26th at 6:30pm in Waltham.**
David B. Goodwin
North Woods Director
"Oh, no! The Treasure Hunt clue is a Lemon!"
