Leadership Family

Andrew has been blessed to be Timberlake’s caretaker since 2019. He is a husband to his loving wife, Olivia, and father to three beautiful girls. Camp is an incredibly special time and he looks forward to sharing it with all of our campers and families. His favorite pastime is pelting his fellow maintenance men with paintballs!

Samantha grew up in Vermont and moved to North Carolina to attend UNC Asheville. After graduation, she married her husband Paul and began working at Camps Merri-Mac & Timberlake. It was such a great fit that she has been in the camp office for over 20 years. In her free time, she enjoys being outdoors and spending time with her husband, son Dylan and beloved dog Lacey.

Katy has been with Camps Merri-Mac and Timberlake since 2018. She grew up in Michigan going to camp every summer, then continued her love of camping by working at various camps throughout her time at Western Michigan University. While working at a camp she met her husband, Branch, and together they have two children, Bella and Gus. In her free time, she enjoys kickboxing and being with her family outdoors hiking and playing sports. She believes in the mission of camp and the benefits it brings to each child.

Patrick joins us with over twenty years of leading, instructing and innovating in the outdoor industry, beginning at Geneva College leading the Pisgah Program and serving as the Challenge Course Coordinator. He then served fifteen years with the Resource Specialist Team and finally as the Assistant Director of the CCO’s Experiential Design Programs. Most recently Patrick served as the site director for OneLife Institute’s Trade and Culinary gap year program. 

Patrick holds a M.A. from Columbia International University and is certified as a WEA Outdoor Educator, WMA Wilderness First Responder, PCIA Single Pitch Instructor, ACA Canoeing L1 Instructor, Coastal Kayaking L2 Instructor and River Rescue L3 Instructor.

He and his wife April have three teenage children and together they are committed to designing custom programs, expeditions and adventures with purpose.

Andrea Pelham spent nearly the first two decades of her life attending a girls summer camp. She fell in love with the community that can be found in camp and continued to chase that community after graduating from Presbyterian College. She is thrilled to continue to serve the Camp Merri-Mac and Timberlake community as the Associate Director. Andrea spends the majority of her time recruiting summer staff and cultivating relationships. You can almost always find her creating an effective system for any branch of camp or playing with the puppies.

Caleb first found Timberlake and Merri-Mac his junior year at Appalachian State becoming a counselor and has been here every summer since. He now serves as one of our interns learning behind the scenes of year-round camping and staff recruitment. “I want to develop and encourage the same Christian camp community I found here to equip the next generation.” When he’s not planning and teaching camp adventures, you can still find Caleb out on the trail or river enjoying these western Carolina mountains.

Lucie has been coming to Merri-Mac since 2010, as a camper in Stardust. She has not missed a summer since and has worked at both Merri-Mac and Timberlake in a variety of roles. Camp is truly her favorite place in the world, and she is thrilled to be serving this year as the intern, hiring staff and sharing her deep love of camp and Christ-centered community. Her favorite part of the summer is building relationships, spending sunny afternoons on the dock, and watching her old campers return as counselors themselves. Lucie hopes that each camper and staff member will feel the same joy and love of camp as she does, and is deeply passionate about the fact that coming to camp is the single best way to spend a summer!

Elizabeth Olvey spent each summer during college on staff with Camp Merri-Mac. She believes camp is the absolute best way to spend your summer, whether it be as a camper or staff member. Elizabeth now serves as an Assistant Director, hiring and developing our counselors. She hopes for them to experience the same rich relationships and Gospel-centered work that marked her time on staff. It is not uncommon to find Elizabeth still running and playing evening activities (#blackbearsbesttribe) and soaking up all the fun that comes with the territory of camp work. She hopes to continue to contribute to the mission of camp through these relationships and play for years to come.