June 2012 - Page 2 of 3 - YMCA OF THE PINES

Cherokee Beach!

By YMCA of the Pines|2012-06-16T08:16:32-04:00June 16th, 2012|

Although Cherokee Beach officially opened two weeks ago, last Friday marked the official opening of the beach for the summer season. How did we kick open the door? We had a BBQ! Families were encouraged to bring out food to share and Chef Jason rocked out to Jimmy Buffett & Bob Marley while cooking hamburgers and hot dogs. A huge thanks goes out to the families who pitched in and brought amazing pasta salads, chips and delicious brownies! It was an amazing night of swimming and BBQ. We hope to see plenty of members out for our next Family Fun [...]

Thank You Matolly Girls!

By YMCA of the Pines|2012-06-15T03:42:05-04:00June 15th, 2012|

We began this week of Part 1 of our staff orientation with our Leadership Staff. A heartfelt thank you goes out to all of my Matolly Girls! I was extremely excited going into this week, but I am even more excited (which i didn't think was possible), for the summer. The dedication and passion of these ladies is so admirable and I am so proud to be working with such amazing group of young women. Thank you for being my inspiration and giving me the strength to do what I do everyday. I am one of the lucky ones who [...]

~ Lucky 13 ~

By YMCA of the Pines|2012-06-14T12:39:03-04:00June 14th, 2012|

13 summers ago, I had my very first staff training for Overnight Camp. I was so nervous. I remember that I forgot my sleeping bag and had to wait at the dining hall for my dad to drop it off. I remember I could never remember where the bathrooms were located. I remember being really homesick. But, I remember having the best summer of my life. I remember meeting people from all over the world. One person I meet 13 summers ago was Gab. We were both general counselors at Matolly. After Camp, I went back to school and Gab [...]

Advice From the River

By YMCA of the Pines|2012-06-12T11:09:56-04:00June 12th, 2012|

As the spring conference and outdoor education comes to close (only three more days left), I start to set my sights on some of our summer camp programs. Earlier today I was spending some time preparing a few items for the Ranger programs when I happened upon a poem that the Ranger Directors have been passing down to each other for a number of years now. Advice From the River Dear friend, Go with the flow Be thoughtful of those downstream Slow down and meander Follow the path of least resistance. Immerse yourself in nature Delight in life's adventure around [...]

Support equals Success.

By YMCA of the Pines|2012-06-10T08:58:20-04:00June 10th, 2012|

Hello dear readers, friends of Camp & family... wherever you might be... Today we are serving the (almost) last Conference group of the Spring season. A few more groups to go next week and the season is finished. I'd like to congratulate Dave Kaubin, our Outdoor Recreation Director, his core staff... and all the additional staff who have made this Spring 2012 Conference season a HUGE success. Thousands and thousands of participants and guests have traveled from far and wide to experience the magic of Camp... to take part in the fun, experential and educational elements of what we offer. Personally, they help me daily [...]

Canoeing (and Life) Guru

By YMCA of the Pines|2012-06-10T04:22:36-04:00June 10th, 2012|

Anyone who has learned canoeing at Camp Ockanickon, Camp Matollionequay, or Lake Stockwell Day Camp over the past 15 years has been influenced by Red Cross Canoeing Instructor, Art Kleinspehn, whether they knew it or not. Art first became involved with our Camps in 1998 when I was sent to the Red Cross Health and Safety Institute at Mt. Misery to become a canoeing instructor. At the time, I was 20 years old, I'd been teaching canoeing at Camp for 3 summers, and I "knew everything." I told my new boss, Tom Rapine, that this was a waste of my [...]

Do you like to run?

By YMCA of the Pines|2012-06-09T16:32:49-04:00June 9th, 2012|

Ever take a walk/run/bike ride around Camp and wonder what some of these sings mean? Each year, Camp is happy to host a handful of races to help benefit our Annual Campaign to raise funds to help local children and families attend various Camp programs. When I started working at Camp, we hosted two races; The Oddman Duathalon & The 5K Gobbler run, one was organized by a local community member and one by Camp. In the past three years, we have expanded our community races to; The Oddman Duathalong, The ABF 10K Mud Run (Twice a year!), The South [...]

Helping Hands – Part 2

By YMCA of the Pines|2012-06-07T13:07:37-04:00June 7th, 2012|

After I saw all of Joe's awesome signs around Camp that he made here, I thought to myself how neat it would be to create new signs for Stockwell Field. Before Tuesday, our village signs had fallen apart, cracked, or had gone missing since the last time they were made. Since we added 3 new villages this summer, we definitely needed to come up with something fast for our campers. Steph Ward and Sam Smith spent the day with me, on Tuesday, helping create and paint 14 village signs and 1 for our entrance! Today, the three of us drilled them [...]

With a Little Help From Camp Friends!

By YMCA of the Pines|2012-06-06T07:19:44-04:00June 6th, 2012|

I can express my thanks enough to our Summer Staff. They give up vacations, trips to the shore and time with friends and family to work at our Summer Camps. And, I can promise you, they're not here for the money! Over the last few days, we have had some dedicated Stockwell Staff Members come in and volunteer their time to help get Camp ready. They've done everything from making new Village signs, make a million copies of pick-up cards and weekly newsletters and even cleaning (or I should say, gutting!) out our Arts and Crafts Room. (A nice, little [...]

Take On Me

By YMCA of the Pines|2012-06-05T18:34:39-04:00June 5th, 2012|

I have to share this one! I was running around like crazy this morning trying to do about 10 things at once. I was a little stressed and I'm sure I had a scowl on my face. As I was walking past the Mohawk Showerhouse, I could hear that there were some guys inside getting ready for work. I could also hear the radio playing really loud. As I got closer, it was the 80's song, "Take On Me" by A-Ha, which is a great song in itself. However, the band was being accompanied by a few of our staff [...]

Monthly Archives: June 2012