My name is Dave Herron and I have now been a board member for longer than I was a camper. But both experiences have helped to shape me personally and professionally.
As a camper in the late 60s, things were much different in many respects than they are today. For example, I had no concerns about being at camp for two weeks without my cell phone or iPad. But many things about camp were the same then as they are now. I was away from home and away from all my ‘regular’ friends. I always had mixed emotions going away to camp; feeling excited and feeling anxious at the same time. As I returned to camp, year after year, there was the excitement of knowing what was to come; new friends to be made and old friends to see once again. My day was broken up into four periods with each activity scheduled for me except for the occasional free periods that would usually find me at the rifle range. There was no girl’s camp until the last year that I went to camp. But by the time the girls camp came into being I was of that age that even that was an okay addition to camp.
Having been a board member for a number of years now I can see some similarities to my camp experience. At camp we learned to get along and to work together as a team. On the board of directors, team work is essential to making important decisions. There were challenges as a camper such as learning to dive in the lake or ride a horse for the first time. Of course there are challenges that board members face as well. Nothing as scary as being a little kid riding a horse for the first time, but the camp experience built confidence and that confidence has translated into serving as a contributor and a leader on the board.
But the best thing about having been a camper and now being on the board is that now I have a unique perspective and I know firsthand what it means to be a young boy with the opportunity to go to camp and that perspective factors into every decision I make as a board member.