To the 2018 Summer Staff

Last Wednesday, the 12 remaining summer staffers gathered for a final send-off. Unlike my previous two seasons in this seat, almost half the team departed in the days and weeks prior to our actual last afternoon together. The start of a new school year, family commitments, and the rest of life pulled harder than they sometimes do. Our drawn out goodbyes were punctuated by a series of sad, reflective moments as Robby, then Bradley, then Rose and Holly and Leslie and Molly, then Zach and Andrew (you get the picture...) turned left on Upper New Hampton Road. Emotions ran much differently with these repeated reminders that our 10 weeks of reveling in exhausting, inspiring work among once-in-a-lifetime friendships would soon be at its end. Coursework, work study, new apartments, Finland, and overdue doctor’s appointments beckoned.

The 2018 Wanakee Staff being silly but not showing it

At the end of our last week of camp, a volunteer who hadn’t been to Wanakee in a number of summers shared a couple perceptive observations. Firstly, they noted that this team likely didn’t appreciate just how competent they were, collectively and independently. Both their practical knowledge of their functional jobs and the way they cared for our campers and one another were exceptional. I can’t say enough about what it took for this group to create the experiences and community they built this summer, as a team and individually. Specifically:

Abby - for the remarkable support you provided to campers during challenging moments, and for leveling up the 5K once again, thank you.
Amelia H. - for the way you jumped into life at camp (and America), learned to love this place like those who grew up here, and offered a warm presence to campers, thank you.
Amelia L. - for pushing yourself, bringing so much heart to Morning Watches and Celebrations, and that day you were on maintenance, thank you.
Andrew - for your endless hard work, willingness to jump back into maintenance and put institutional needs over your own preferences, and advanced routfits, thank you.
Bethany - for your love of Big Blue, bounty of energy, and leadership, thank you.
Bradley - for motivational squat claps, an amazing sense of humor, introducing us to the world’s sweetest lhasa apso, and delicious, creative meals all summer long, thank you.
Daneya - for tackling a complex job in your first season, leading the jibbit council, and your consistent positive spirit, thank you.
Emma - for your generosity, quirky sense of humor, being the best jefe, and joyful (absurd?) return to maintenance on the last night of camp, thank you.
Hannah - for handling a job that’s ready to be split back in two, and continuing to grow into an indispensable, foundational rock for this place, thank you.
Holly - for continuing to put your stamp of quality and meaning on our day camp programming, crushing the drag, and being a great baby bird, thank you.
Josh - for quiet humor and reliability, running the 5K in a tiara, and your can-do spirit, thank you.
Leslie - for pushing the ropes course forward, continuing to be a steady and reliable mentor to fellow staff, and 50% less sodium (???), thank you.
Luke - for sharing your gift of music with our community and quietly building strong connections with campers, thank you.
Molly - for the way you so seamlessly fit into the staff community, role-modeled a strong work ethic, and quickly made yourself an indispensable part of the team, thank you.
Nate - for your constant hard work, ability to proactively identify and deal with maintenance needs, and crawling around under the Farmhouse kitchen, thank you.
Olivia - for seamlessly handling a new position with poise and skill, earning your LGI, making new “friends” at the waterfront, and yelling about the mail, thank you.
Robby - for being the grumpiest boy in the grumpy boys club (nope), adding new spins to countless classic songs, and the way you connected with your campers, thank you.
Rose - for the way you foster reflection and discussion among campers, and inviting your parents to join you at this place you love so earnestly, thank you.
Shannon - for s’mores bread, your wonderful sense of humor, that time you wore a pink velvet track suit and a side pony, and your deep care for our campers, thank you.
Vicki - for putting up with bad jokes and bad accents, tirelessly washing endless sheet pans, grilled cream cheese breakfast toast, and your one-of-a-kind laugh, thank you.
Zach - for Sheriff Go Bed, level-headedness, meat pizzas, and the way you supported your co-counselors, thank you.

I don’t want to sugarcoat the 2018 staff experience – this team handled a demanding season. Our registrations jumped almost 16% with 3 fewer staff than 2015, 33% fewer campers ago. We faced down a significant number of acute facility and health issues, and a season full of days that were either too hot or too rainy, without much in between. This team had to flex, focus, and execute. Summer camp is complicated stuff! Safety, food service, 25 buildings, trips and transport, 30 boats, 8 high ropes elements, 227 acres (and more) – those things don’t manage themselves. There was a Tuesday morning where Molly, our kitchen staffer with all of one week of experience, was slated to be the only regular available to cook breakfast, a reality that slowly (and funnily) dawned on the staff at 10 pm the night before. She was game. The team was game. There was a Friday where our maintenance crew was our Waterfront Director and Program Specialist, and they were right on top of it. Stressful situations are where people show what they’re made of. This team was made of heart, consistency, and tenacity.

Mount Washington from Pine Mountain, Gorham NH

The second observation shared by the volunteer mentioned above was that they, and other staff before them, always thought that “summer camp is forever.” When you’re here as a staffer, camper, or volunteer, and the unique love of this place is abundantly clear and moving in your soul, it seems impossible that you won’t return, that you won’t make Wanakee a priority and be a part of every future season. Then September happens, and October, and January, and March. New jobs, new friends, new experiences, new cities. A year passes, then five. Though this is also true of you, the person reading this, I want to re-iterate something to the staff who spent their summer here in 2018: Wanakee needs you. Life will get in the way. Things will change. However, with the depth of your work this summer as evidence, I’m unwaveringly confident of your love for this place and its people, of your heartfelt passion for our community, and I want to remind you today that Wanakee will be here, waiting for you and needing you to be a part of its future because you are effective, passionate, remarkable people.

During our last Celebration service of the summer, in our perfect Outdoor Chapel, by the light of a fading sunset, a small handful of staff took a few moments to decompress from a pell-mell day as campers wandered to grab snack crates and head up the hill. Our pace had been so high octane that this was the first time I started processing that we were days away from the big August reset. As exhaustion and sadness started to creep in, I took such comfort in simply being near a slice of our staff family as I processed waves of memories, memories of euphoric moments, small victories, and painful challenges.

Staff on Mount Washington from Pine Mountain, Gorham NH

Days later, during our traditional end-of-season staff adventure, I wandered away from the group to take in the beauty of the mountains silhouetted against the night sky. I’ll never forget the gentle guitar, moving harmonies, and simple gusto of that “Lean on Me,” sung by this amazingly musical, uniquely supportive staff. As was true all summer, you were exactly the right people, in exactly the right place, at exactly the right time to make magic happen.

Thank you for working so hard this summer. Thank you for supporting one another so passionately this summer. Thank you for changing lives this summer.

Grace and Peace,

James Tresner, Executive Director