Blog

By: Chris “Topher” Aderhold

Have you heard the starfish story?

It goes something like this:

There once was an old man who liked to start his days by going for walks on a nearby beach. Early one morning, he was walking along the shore after a big storm had passed, and he found that the beach was littered with starfish as far as the eye could see.

By: Chris “Topher” Aderhold

It’s been said that Camp Gray people are some of the best people, and a recent day of giving at Camp Gray certainly proved just that. In an unprecedented display of generosity, nearly 100 people pitched in to raise more than $107,000 for Camp’s Strength for the Journey campaign.

By: Chris “Topher” Aderhold

This past summer, for the sixth consecutive year, the staff of Camp Gray competed against the staff of nearby Camp Chi in an epic game of soccer. For the previous five games, lengthy recap stories were written.

This year, rather than a lengthy recap story, I give you instead a lengthy recap poem… Enjoy!

By: Chris “Topher” Aderhold

Arriving to Camp Gray each day before 7:00am, Nate and Tom have begun their work before many folks at Camp are even awake. Rarely seen together, Nate and Tom divide and conquer the long list of maintenance tasks that are needed to ensure that Camp Gray continues to look and run great.

By: Chris “Topher’ Aderhold

Many moons ago, a tall, quiet feller from Oklahoma was hired to serve as a camp counselor at a summer camp in Wisconsin. The feller was me, the camp was named Gray, and the year was 2006. I had just graduated from college, and I thought it would be fun to work at a summer camp for one summer before I found more permanent employment.

By: Chris “Topher” Aderhold

I could be wrong, but I’m pretty sure Summer Camp 2017 lasted a mere 34 seconds.

The first day of Summer Camp 2017, June 4th, in reality arrived not 34 seconds ago, but 67 days ago. With the arrival of Camp came loads of excitement, joy, and certainly some nervousness. We don’t take lightly the responsibility we have in giving our campers the best, most fun, and profoundly impactful experience of their year.

Then, I blinked, and Summer Camp is over.

The energy, the goofiness, the shenanigans, the outpouring of support by you – the Camp Gray family – I look forward to the Camp Gray Benefit Dinner each year. My favorite part of the evening is this part – it is a true honor each year to recognize the recipient of the annual Luke 22:26 Servant Leadership Award.