It’s with great eagerness that we look toward the hope and change that 2021 will surely bring. But as we reflect on 2020, we are truly thankful for continued good health in our Pinnacle community as our hearts go out to the many folks who have suffered loss and illness this year.
Though this has hardly been a good year for summer camps from a business standpoint, I can’t help but feel gratitude for the many opportunities for growth we have been given; the challenges that have drawn our counselor and director team even closer together; and all the families who have helped us get to where we are today.
Whether your children joined us this year, or you felt it better to take a year off, we want to thank our parents for their immeasurable support and encouragement. We appreciate the respect you gave our decisions, knowing we were always acting in our campers’ best interests as we balanced mental health with physical health to create a workable camp model. Your trust and understanding kept us on point through our many struggles this spring. We also thank you for following our quarantine protocols so carefully and bringing healthy children to camp. It was an extremely successful summer, and what we have gained through practice and continued study has given us the confidence that we will certainly be able to operate in whatever environment summer 2021 brings.
I also want to share gratitude for our team at Camp Pinnacle. I’ve been humbled by their dedication, hard work, resilience, and commitment to the success of our campers and their peers. I’m lucky to work with such talented and capable folks, from our year-round team to our summer counselors. They faced innumerable challenges but surmounted them all; I believe this collaboration (and the immense fun that came as a direct result) is behind the record high counselor return rate for 2021.
And talking about staff for 2021: We wish Cara Nisbet and Emory Klesick good luck and bonne aventure as they begin their new life in Michigan (and prepare for their upcoming nuptials). They will be sorely missed, but it’s with equal excitement that we welcome Miranda Crosby to her new post as outdoor program director and Abi Fuesler as our new program coordinator!
2020 has reinforced the transformative powers of summer camp for both campers and counselors. We feel truly grateful to have served our families and provide opportunities for growth, positive socialization, and outdoor fun at a time when our campers needed it the most. Successfully operating this year may have been both the greatest challenge and most rewarding achievement of our careers. We appreciate all we have been given in 2020 and look forward to whatever lay ahead in 2021. We view the new year as a chance to extend grace and kindness, share the beauty of the outdoors, and do all we can to bring people together,
Thank you, and Happy New Year!