By: David Earleywine
I will just state it plainly: Camp Gray has changed a lot over the last two years. And in the words of a famous philosopher, “Let me explain…No. There is too much. Let me sum up.”
Since May 2017, Camp has built two new beautiful buildings as part of the Strength for the Journey Campaign: the St. John Paul II Dining Hall and the Ark, our gymnasium. These buildings include amenities such as Paul’s Wall, 20 handmade tables, and even a slide! The Ark means the old tennis courts and the gymnasium no longer exist. Trees needed to be cleared for the construction of the St. John Paul II Dining Hall. The dining hall’s ‘backyard’ and the Bakke Outdoor Chapel also were both revitalized thanks to creative landscaping.
Apart from these new spaces, Camp Gray staff has also changed. For 10+ years, Jeff, Rebecca, and Topher all guided and led Camp. Over the last 18 months, Topher said “Bye for Now” and Rebecca traded the title of Executive Director for Stay at Home Mom. This means that our full-time staff looks and is structured differently than it was two short years ago. So, allow us to share with you everyone’s current titles and a brief overview of their role.
Current Camp Roles:
Jeff Hoeben: Executive Director
Jeff’s role includes overseeing all of Camp’s functions, fundraising, building and property management, and big picture visioning for Camp.
Tim Chaptman: Camp Director
Tim oversees the day-to-day operation of Camp’s programming, including all of summer camp, and assists Jeff with the business of Camp.
Molly Stickle: Assistant Director of School-Year Programming
Molly recruits, trains, leads, and supervises our incredible Servant Leadership Team (SaLT) which run retreats from September to May.
Zoe Bernard: Assistant Director of Staff Formation
Zoe will assist in planning and implementing summer staff and SaLT training, help oversee summer camp, and recruit new staff.
David Earleywine: Assistant Director of Marketing and Logistics
David helps run Camp’s marketing and social media, oversees non-retreat events (such as the Benefit Dinner & Family Camp), and assists with summer camp.
The rest of our full-time staff remain in their positions unchanged, and we are so thankful for their service.
Tricia Sanborn: Guest Services Manager
Tricia is the voice of Camp Gray. If you call Camp, Tricia will answer. She also books groups, ensures registration for summer runs smoothly, and keeps the office running.
Marie Lawton: Chef Extraordinaire
Marie’s territory is the St. John Paul II Dining Hall. She meets the needs of all groups (and staff!) keeping them well fed and running our new kitchen.
Nathan Heit: Property Manager
Nathan love his role for the job security. When something inevitably breaks, he is able to fix it. He fixes all maintenance issues and keeps Camp running.
Fr. Jared Holzhuter: Chaplain
Fr. Jared takes care of all our spiritual needs during summer camp as well as during the school year. Fr. Jared is serves as the Parochial Vicar at St. Joseph Parish in Baraboo
Mark Sanborn: Technology and Maintenance
Mark takes care of all of Camp’s technological (such as phones, computers, internet) and vehicular needs.
Tom Thill: The Man
Since the ’90s Tom has kept Camp Gray looking great and in top shape. He is constantly helping fix and revitalize equipment and buildings around Camp to keep it running.
Camp continues to flourish because of wonderful people who choose to serve at Camp Gray.
To all of our full-time staff: thank you. And to our Camp community: We look forward to continuing to make Camp flourish for another 65 years. Thanks for your continued support!