Camp ended too quickly this year! We had a fabulous group of kids in each of our four sessions and we really didn’t want the magic of summer to end! We made many new friends and the countless smiles from our campers kept us going strong all summer long. I can’t remember a stronger team of counselors, We are very proud of our campers who eagerly challenged themselves through constant adventure and community living.
We followed Session 4 with Young Leaders Camp, a five day camp for local children who have demonstrated great potential but might not have the means to attend summer camp. This was a rewarding end to a great summer.
We would like to compliment you as parents. It takes a lot of courage to send your child into the great unknown and to trust counselors whom you’ve only briefly met. We greatly appreciate your trust and hope that the benefits your child has received by stepping out of his / her comfort zone has made choosing Camp Pinnacle one of your better parenting decisions. We hope to continue to be your partner in assisting you as your raise great children!
You might like to read / listen to a recent NPR story on Summer Camp in China (developed by our partner Steve Baskin and our good friend Scott Brody) which extols the benefits of the American summer camp experience as perceived by the Chinese. The message drives home what your children should have taken away from their Camp Pinnacle experience.
We hope the power of living away from home in a rustic environment, free from technology surrounded by incredible scenery and impressive role models in a shared community has been slightly life altering. Our campers have seen that they can accomplish more than they thought possible, especially with the help of their friends. We hope your kids have come home happy, more independent and confident and full of great stories. They definitely have laughed a lot and been active every single moment of every day. They have thrived without electronics and in most cases had so much fun they barely missed their DS or smart phone! I hope it will take a long, long time for the smiles to wear off their faces and that their new confidence never fades.
It’s been a privilege getting to know your children this summer. We’ve tried to treat your kids as our own and we believe we have had an impact. While there are things we can improve and we will work hard do that for 2016, I don’t believe we could have tried or worked any harder.
Though we are eager for a rest… There is a lot more still to do! Every weekend is filled with a wedding or special guest program. We will have 200 adult campers here for Camp Grounded, a tech free adult summer camp weekend next weekend. This weekend will be filled with 200 square dancers.
We will have a staff of 24 outdoor educators from both Camp Pinnacle and Adventure Treks on site for the next 10 weeks as we operate outdoor education programs for over 700 students from 15 different schools from 8 different states.
We already miss our great Camp Pinnacle campers. They are the true highlight of our year. Thank you for being part of our Camp Pinnacle family.
Thank You,
John Dockendorf Jane Dockendorf Ben Lea Fayssoux Evans
Executive Director Executive Director Director Assistant Director
P.S. Tom and our facilities team are already out and about making facility improvements for next summer. We even build three new mountain bike trails during session 4!