Thankful For Camp

Happy Thanksgiving Camp Huawni! I hope your Thanksgiving weekend was full of rest, peace, and family unity.

This weekend our family gathered at the Red House. Yes, the “Red House” is also the song we sing at Sing Songs about my growing up around my grandparents Earl and Retha Adams, founders of Camp Huawni. Over the weekend, I couldn’t help but ponder on how grateful I am for Mimi and Daddy Earl and their dream to bootstrap Camp Huawni. Because of them, thousands of children have been poured into over the last five decades. They have left quite a legacy.

I am also so very thankful for people who continue to believe in, invest in, and fight for Camp Huawni and the next generation. I am grateful first to our Camp Huawni families. Each year, they invest substantially in their child’s camp experience. Camp families entrust our staff with molding, shaping, and sharpening their children. That’s a significant honor.

I am thankful also to our counselors and staff who literally give every ounce of energy every summer to ensure that kids “catch the magic”. Any Fortune 500 CEO would be highly impressed if they got to witness how hard our counselors work behind the scenes. Camp Huawni Counselors really do have a passion to love the kids. They don’t come to Camp for themselves, but to serve and love unconditionally the kids. That is special.

I am also extremely grateful for our team. I am thankful for Bob Lacher, our Maintenance Director, who is getting after it, even as I write this blog, to ensure that our bathhouse remodel project is on schedule and done right. I am thankful for Matt Gregory, our Director of Grounds, who has been diligently working on remodeling the swimming pool; this is a huge project. I am so grateful for Vera Orr, our bookkeeper, who serves Camp diligently each and every week. I am thankful for Ashley Hamilton, who serves our camp families relentlessly, every day. I am grateful for Rachel Marek, who is doing a fantastic job in helping out our new families as they consider camp for the first time. I am grateful for Pam Adams, who is already planning for a fantastic and healthy food menu for next summer; Pam also daily serves our alumni as she prepares for our upcoming 50th Anniversary celebration. I am thankful for Michael Anne Pritchard, who serves both as our legal counsel and alumni advisor. Michael Anne does a ton of things behind the scenes that people rarely know about. I am thankful for my uncle Pat Adams, who continues to take care of our pool and has been a huge help in our plan to bring parasailing back. I am grateful for Mike Adams, my father, who is a wise mentor and huge advocate for the vision of Camp Huawni. Mike volunteers a lot of his free time just to help out with things around Camp. I am thankful for Lindsey Gabel, our Director of Scheduling, who is already preparing for the summer of 2014, even as she finishes up at Texas A&M. I am thankful for Austin Adams, my brother, who continues to poor into our team. I am grateful for our alumni board, who this week is getting together to find a way to raise more scholarship funds in order to send more kids to camp.

Thank you Mimi and Daddy Earl, and thank you Camp Huawni Family…we are grateful for you!