We’re expanding!
This year we decided that going forward we want to widen our Administrative Team to include a dedicated Program Director. With that in mind I want to tell you a bit more about what a program director will do, and introduce you to our new Program Director, Taylor Fellows.
Camp Administration
In my current job as the Assistant Director of Camp Alleghany, I was already doing the program direction piece of things. But over the past couple of years as I’ve sought to expand and redefine certain of my areas of supervision — hiring, personnel, staff development, communications, program direction, and tent life — I started to feel that there was room for program direction to be an arena all of its own.
A Program Director directly supervises the programs of Alleghany which includes:
- All 12 activity departments
- Upstarts
- JCs
- Waterfront
- Evening activities
- Blue/Gray
- Midways
- Startups
By turning this over to Taylor’s capable hands and creative direction, I can go even more deeply into the areas of directorship that I’ve sought to increase during my tenure at Alleghany. I’ll be focusing even more on:
- Parent communications
- Supervision of tent life (via the Heads of Junior and Senior Camp)
- Medical staff/ Infirmary supervision
- Staff training not related to departments, but related to tent life, child development, etc.
- Recruiting/hiring/interviewing
Because I still have a lot that I want to do in further developing these areas, by bringing Taylor on we’re able to spread the wealth of knowledge, creativity, and attention to detail around, building an even stronger organization and, we believe, an always improving camp experience.
By taking this step to divide the work, we see an opportunity to smooth and refine things and, in particular, give the programs renewed attention and individualized support. With Taylor on board, I certainly will feel not only more able to hone in on my other arenas, I’ll be able to rest easy, knowing that programs are being stewarded with eagerness, passion, focus and expertise.
Taylor Fellows
So let me tell you about the wonderful Taylor Fellows.
She just graduated from Lynchburg College with a degree in Elementary Education and Outdoor Education, and wants to be involved in organized camping as a career. Fortunately, Taylor is not new to Alleghany. She was a camper, JC, counselor, and Unit Head at Alleghany, and spent the last two summers as a very successful Head Counselor — first as JC Mom and then as Upstart Mom.
Taylor also brings experience to us from working at another camp — Triple C Camp in Charlottesville, a co-ed day camp — which helps diversify her experience and what she brings to the table.
She is also quite funny and fun to be around, but takes her job very seriously. She is organized and passionate about camp and children. In her spare time she enjoys riding horses – a lifelong pastime of hers (and what initially drew her to Triple C Camp). And she is already a confident and strong leader at Alleghany.
The whole administrative team at Camp Alleghany felt that the addition of a Program Director would round out our team extremely well, helping everyone to feel balanced, supported, and able to focus even more precisely on our areas of concentration. Taylor is the perfect fit for this new position, and we couldn’t be more pleased to have her working with us.
Please join me in welcoming Taylor on board. I know you’re all going to love her as much as we do!
–Elizabeth Dawson Shreckhise, Assistant Director, Camp Alleghany for Girls
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