Introducing BA, Our New Outreach Director!

Welcome to Camp Alleghany!  We’re so glad you’re here! How may I help you?

 

For 50+ years I have been joyfully engaged in the magic of Camp Alleghany!  Across those many years, I have been the recipient of warm welcomes and seamless integration into the joys of living in a community with other girls/women, while being encouraged to grow my own gifts and talents.  My many summers at Alleghany encouraged me to take risks and to try new things in “the real world” because of the confidence I was encouraged to develop at camp. In each role I have served at Alleghany it has been my fervent desire to help grow that same confidence in young girls at Alleghany.

 

For the most recent 20 years, I targeted my energies as the creator and director of our one-week Mini Camp.  My primary goal was to ensure that these first-time gals were warmly welcomed and matriculated smoothly into the culture and wonder of what it means to be a Ghany girl.  My background in education, particularly in retention and engagement, led me to also attend to ways we can more intentionally support all campers and staff while particularly analyzing ways to reach out on a more personal level to all camper families.

 

As a veteran member of the Administrative Team at Alleghany, I am so excited to see the intentional ways that women rolling into new positions were mentored and transitioned into their new positions.  This team for 2023 is strong, diversely talented, and devoted to Camp Alleghany.  How fortunate I am to be able to remain on the team, to work with these fabulous women, and to take my own skills and experience into the new role of Outreach Director.

 

Outreach Director

In this role I have three primary target audiences:  Firstly, I will serve as the primary liaison to all first-time term campers and their families.  It will be my pleasure to help them navigate the many questions and normal apprehensions of becoming Ghany girls.  Secondly, I will also be assisting in the very important staff training of new/returning counselors, which has been a passion of mine for years.  Throughout the summer it will be my pleasure to form intentional and supportive relationships with counseling staff through a variety of weekly “surprises.” Thirdly, my role will extend my previous commitment to engaging alumni through both the Camp Alleghany Alumni Association and in hosting the annual LOL (Labors of Love) alumni weekend each June where alumni family and friends return to Alleghany to tackle projects preparing camp for the season while enjoying extraordinary fellowship along the banks of the Greenbrier River.

 

Behind the scenes, I will be collecting data and analyzing retention trends. While enrollment is strong and steady, my role will include monitoring any areas/ages where we could do an even better job of meeting the diverse and ever-changing needs of today’s campers.

 

I am ever grateful for the opportunity to remain an active contributor to the Camp Alleghany experience in my new role as Outreach Director.  I have received so very much from the many people who nurtured and guided me since I first crossed the Greenbrier River into Camp Alleghany in 1966.  Now it is my turn to say, “Welcome to Camp Alleghany!  We’re so glad you’re here! How may I help you?”