Each summer is a long an unique journey.

As we like to say at camp, “the days are long, but the weeks are short.”

Time travels differently at camp. We start each day at 7:30 and the similarities tend to end there. While most days are marked off in minutes, a camp session is marked in moments.

• The moment you overcome your homesickness
• The moment you make a new friend
• The moment you get your counselor (the coolest person in the world, by the way) to laugh
• The moment you touch a snake or climb a wall or jump on the glob and realize you are braver than you thought.
• The moment you master a new skill and know that you can learn in new and fun ways
• The moment you stare at the huge “super moon” or (when the moon is not up) gaze at the stars and feel awe and connection.

Moments stick with us. I hope your camper had dozens!

Tonight, we had our awards night. Actually, it would be better to call it a “celebration of community”. We talked about gratitude, kindness, courage and love. We reflected on the “4 R’s” (respect, responsibility, reasonable risks and reaching out). People may think of camp as being about the activities you see on a website, but these values are what camp is truly about.

At the start of the event, we pour ashes into our firepit. These ashes come from previous awards fires.
At the end of our ceremony, Susie and I burned rosters with each camper’s and counselor’s name on it. The ashes from this fire join the ashes we added at the start of the evening. We suggest that in this way, we are connected to all campers and counselors that came before us or who will follow us. We want our camp community to feel a sense of true belonging and connection.

After the burning of the rosters, we had three final treats.

• A term video from the session - created by our wonderful videographer that hightlights all of the fun that your campers had this term.
• A huge fireworks show.
• A final cabin “nightly ritual” during which each cabin shares their thoughts with each other for the last time.

Now we await your arrival for our final Closing Ceremony. Before I go, please let me thank you for having confidence in us and - even more importantly - confidence in your camper. We strive to make Camp Champions a different place, but we cannot do it without your willingness to share your precious kiddo(s)!

Steve Sir