Happy Saturday Camp Timberlake!

It’s your friendly neighborhood camp director, dropping in to fill everybody on another spectacular day here at Timberlake. Today was also our first Little Chief ceremony of the summer, a very important part of our program here at camp. I wanted to be sure all our families had some context on the “why” and the “how” of how we recognize and celebrate growth here at camp. 

But first, a quick word on the day that led up to Little Chief! We started off strong with a delicious breakfast of pancakes and sausages followed by a rousing chapel highlighted by singing “Anchor for our Soul” and hearing Winston share a true story about how eating too much of his mom’s famous chicken curry caused a bit of a bathroom disaster when he was in 5th grade. 

Today was another big day of trip adventures as well! We had a great group of fly fishermen hit the North Toe river to try and land some beautiful fish. Those guys were Tobias C, David D, Sam S (from Tiger Tooth), Grayson S, Walker S and Andrew T. We also sent a team of mountain bikers who were ready to shred the trails at Lake James. Sam S (from Tomahawk), Patterson S, Murphy D, Hayes W and Grayson P all did fantastic on this beginner level Mountain Biking trip and showed they were ready to continue to progress in their skills here at camp. Finally, we also had a group of rock climbers head out to Little Lost Cove. This climb site is one of our favorites because of the incredible view, the accessible beginner levels climbs AND the opportunity to to set up a rappel for the boys to try. Warren L, Owen M, Dax S, Juelz A, David K and Eric B proved to be natural mountain men and had a great day out at the crag. 

At lunch we munched on a yummy meal of gyros, pita, hummus and strawberries.  We also announced the winner of today’s cabin clean up competition: Turtleback! The biggest news of the day was who won last night’s hotly contested game of senior camp ultimate basketball. And the winner was… THE BLACK BEARS. Though the news was devastating to me on a personal level, I was nonetheless proud of both tribes for giving such a great effort last night. 

The sun came out today after the rainstorm yesterday evening and the boys were soaking it up all day long in their activities. 

After a delicious dinner of tortellini, vegetables and biscuits we headed up to our first Little Chief ceremony of the summer. We strongly believe that all of our campers are not only having a lot of fun and making friends at Timberlake, but that they are also building skills, leadership and character that will serve them well all year long. We see this growth happening in each of them in a variety of areas throughout the week here at camp. We believe, however, that it is also extremely important that we stop, name, and celebrate the great things the guys are doing and for that reason we take a night off from tribal games once a week to come together and celebrate in our Little Chief Ceremony. The ceremony takes place at our council ring and is broken down into several parts. First, all our activity instructors call out the names of campers who have earned bronze, silver or gold bars in their activities. Activity instructors also call out any campers who have earned elective marks. An elective mark is an extra challenge a camper can choose to take on here at camp. These optional challenges are things like: going on three out of camp trips, catching a frog that’s at least 8 dots long, starting a fire with only one match, do a solo night in the woods and much more. 

Then, cabin counselors recognize the campers who have earned counselor and camper commendations for the week. Each camper votes for peers in his cabin who they believe have demonstrated the four qualities of servant leadership we seek to encourage here at Timberlake: Courage, Humility, Empathy, and Grit. Each team of cabin counselors comes together to then do the same thing. 

We then recognize the campers who have reached the next level as a Son of Timberlake. We believe we are a family here at camp, and as such, we are all Sons of Timberlake. We have certain years that we mark in particular with a recognition and a small gift at our Little Chief ceremony. Campers who are in their 1st, 3rd, 6th or 10th summer this year all got the chance to stand up and be recognized and receive their gift: a leather skin for 1st years, a gold pin for 3rd years, a custom silver arrowhead pendant necklace for 6 years and a individualized mini canoe paddle and custom Timberlake belt for our 10 years. It’s a really special moment for each of the guys. 

The final part of the ceremony is where we recognize campers who have earned promotions towards Little Chief. Promotions essentially take into account all of the part of the ceremony (Bars in activities, elective marks, commendations, years spent at camp) and all these elements add up to give campers marks which progress them towards their next promotion. 

If that sounds like a lot, it is! But for us as directors we feel strongly that slowing down to take the time to publicly recognize and celebrate these great things is important. And my favorite part of Little Chief night doesn’t even happen at the ceremony. In the evening as boys wind down for bed, the cabin counselors speak with each boy in their cabin to tell them just a few things they are proud of from the week. It was one of my most cherished times when I was both a camper and when I got to give them encouragement as a counselor and it’s still my favorite part now. 

A full list of the awards and recognitions from this evening’s ceremony are below. Thanks for tuning in and thanks for sharing such a great group of guys with us this summer!

John

Director, Camp Timberlake

Ultimate Basketball enthusiast

Little Chief

Proud Golden Eagle. 

Bars:

Airsoft Bronze: Ryker R, Aiden M, Tucker C

Archery Bronze: Hugh W, Cade D, Ryan H

Archery Silver: Mason S

Canoeing Bronze: Case M, Andrew K, David D, William K 

Climbing Bronze: James H, Charlie T

Diving Bronze: John L, Solomon P, Grayson P

Improv Bronze: Jack H, Banks P, King M,

Riflery Bronze: Andrew K, Whit R, Sam S, Danny W, Sam S (both of them, neat), 

Swimming Bronze: Asa C, Case H

Commendations

Finch’s Landing: Camper: Bo S, Sutton G. Counselor: Nico C, Peter S

Further Up: Camper: Hudson H, William G. Counselor: Maverick C, Davis B

Tiger Tooth: Camper: Grayson S, Andrew C, Counselor: Walker S, Grayson S

Hawksbill: Camper: Sebastian P, Christian W. Counselor: Coleman J, Sebastian P

Turtleback: Camper: Mose C, William L. Counselor: Jack D, Mose C

Tomahawk: Camper: Robert I, Rives J. Counselor: Charles A, Grant S

Little Piney: Camper: Luke H. Charles L. Counselor: David D, Rhodes R

Big Piney: Camper: Edward T, Carson B. Counselor: Nathan W, Chris C

Stomper’s Knob: Camper: Loren C, Will F, Luke T. Counselor: Hayden B, Robbie G, Reed P

Little Slaty: Camper: Connor T, Kai L. Counselor: Zach W, Gus T, David K

Big Slaty: Camper: Tucker L, Stephen J. Counselor: Tucker L, Alex B

Greybeard: Camper: Mason S, Banks P. Counselor: Henry O, Barrett G

1st year Sons of Timberlake: Juelz A, Jayse B, Davis B, Eric B, Sewell B, Asa C, Maverick C, Nico C, Sutton G, William G, Iain H, Case H, Coleman J, William K, Kai L, Grayson L, Aiden M, Beckham P, Grayson P, White R, Trevor S, Bo S, Dax S, Cooper T, Ben T, Brennan T, Michael V, Sanders W, Christian W, Benjamin W, Reagan W, Trey Wright

3rd year sons of Timberlake: Chris C, Hezekiah G, Thornton H, Robert I, Leland I, John L, King M, Alston M, Ashton M, John P, Grant S, Carson S, Myer S, Peter S, Sam S, Trevor T, Charlie T, Grant W

6th year sons of Timberlake: Alex B, Kenny C, Asher K, Charles L, Owen M, Connor T

10 year sons of Timberlake: Oliver M and Nick G

Promotions

Scout: William B, Owen M, Peter S

Guide: Andrew C, Hudson H, Leland I, Sebastian P, Patterson S, Grayson S

Pioneer: William L

Ranger: Walker S

Tracker: Hayden B, Chris C, Adams H, Robert I, Edward I, Rives J, John L, Charles L, Reed P, John P, Cormic P, Rhodes R, Carson S, Henry VJ, Danny W, Nathan W

Hunter: Alex B, Carson B, Loren C, MacRae E, William F, Andrew K, Edward T, Hugh W, 

Warrior: Robbie G, Ryan H, Andrew I, Tucker L, Owen M, Connor T, Luke T, Pace W