CJ Journal April 2018
Greetings from Camp Jorn
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NOTE FROM OUR CEO
Why Camp?
With so many choices of activities, why camp and with so many choices of camps, why Camp Jorn YMCA?
Many often speak of the magic of camp or of being camp sick when away from the place that they love so much; a place they call home. This camp magic is hard to describe when asked, but you feel it and you know it the moment you come through the front entrance or the times you spend outside of camp with your camp friends.
Camp is a place where you can be you, just as you are, and everyone loves and celebrates you just for that. It’s a place where you don’t have to try out to be part of the team, you just are – no matter what – and not only are you a part, you are celebrated (GREATLY) for your part in our family!!! Camp is a place where laugher and silliness are celebrated and encouraged. Camp is a place where I can’t, I won’t, I don’t…become what if, I’ll try and I CAN! Camp is a place where the hugs and high fives are the norm. A place where mornings mean another day of feeling on top of the world because you belong and are a part of this magic we call camp.
At Camp Jorn, that magic is found during morning flag raising, crazy songs at breakfast, water skiing, horseback riding and so much more throughout the day. It means coming together in the evening for activities, Friendship Fire on Friday and trips and s'mores and so much more!!! It means, “I am Third” and living by our core values of respect, responsibility, honesty and caring. At Camp Jorn, it means being a part of an extended family. No matter the miles or the years, you always have a place to call “my camp” and your home away from home. Camp Jorn is a place you will always belong.
The Camp Jorn family is magic. Join us this summer – for child care, day camp, resident camp – or to visit and say hi! We’d love to see you here under the pines, along the shores of Rest Lake!
In the Spirit of Camp Jorn,
Carrie Wilson
Camp Jorn CEO
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Camper Spotlight
Aryana Knudson
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Hi, my name is Aryana and this will be my second year at Camp Jorn! I am currently a freshman in high school. I like to play volleyball, mountain bike, and fish! I also adore animals and like to cuddle with them. During my first year at camp I didn’t know what to expect, but I had a blast. I made so many new friends and had many new experiences. I went outside my comfort zone to do something I normally wouldn’t and I ended up loving it. To me, camp means making new friends, learning new things, and enjoying new adventures. Camp is something I look forward to, and I even hope to one day become a counselor. I decided to go back because I enjoyed learning and experiencing new things and I want to continue to learn and do things that I normally wouldn’t. Besides, I had so much fun, I just have to go again! One thing I love about camp is the atmosphere. Everyone is so nice. If you are feeling down or just need someone to talk to, someone is always willing to talk. Also, you are included in everything and never feel left out. I am looking forward to another great week at Camp Jorn!
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Staff Spotlight
Bill Carey, Jenn Davis, Sara Driscoll & Shelbi Trapp
We are happy to introduce 4 new members of the Camp Jorn YMCA family!
Bill Carey, our Program Intern, comes to us from Boone, Iowa, and has had experience working at many other camps from Iowa, to Brazil, then back to Iowa. Now, he is excited to begin his adventure at Camp Jorn, and to experience life in the Northwoods.
Jenn Davis, our Office Assistant, has lived in Manitowish Waters for the past 4 years with her husband, her son, and their two dogs. Some of their favorite things to do include cooking new dishes, hiking, riding their bikes on the MW trail system, and fishing and swimming in the local lakes.
In Childcare, we have two new teachers. Sarah Driscoll, a native of Cedarburg, Wisconsin, and a graduate of Concordia University Wisconsin. She has been teaching for 16 years (3
rd
grade, 1
st
grade, and 4K), and sincerely enjoys working with children. Sarah now lives in Boulder Junction with her husband Daniel, and their son Nolan, though she has been coming to the Northwoods for many years during the summers.
Our other new childcare teacher, Shelbi Trapp, was born and raised in Mercer, WI, where she now lives with her husband and two kids. While working in our childcare center, Shelbi is also currently a full-time student at Rasmussen College out of Wausau, Wisconsin, pursuing her Associates Degree in Early Childhood Education, with a Specialization in Special Needs. She has always dreamed of being a teacher.
Please join us in welcoming them to our Camp Jorn YMCA family! We’re so glad to have them!
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ALUMNI SHOUT OUT!
Grayson Flitcroft
I started my journey with Camp Jorn YMCA in 1987 when I was nine years old. The next year I attended camp I was a little older. It was 1989 and I was an eleven year old. I wasn’t old enough to be in the oldest boys cabin with the cool kids, Scotty Joelson, Chris and Duncan. Eight years later, I graduated from high school and like most adolescent males I wondered what I was going to do with my life. I considered the Army even though I didn’t like the idea of a drill sergeant yelling at me. Out of nowhere I felt a calling, and I spontaneously applied at Camp Jorn to spend my first summer as a camp counselor. The year was 1997 and I was eighteen years old. This was one of the best years that I would ever have at Camp Jorn. My favorite memories of 1997 center around all of the things that are unique and amazing about Camp Jorn; overnight canoe trips, camp songs, friendship fires, road trips, bonding with the campers and new JC’s each session, competition with the other staff like Steven Brzykcy, Chad Frevert, Scott Joelson, Weston Brzykcy, the Richter sisters and Glenn Rivera. This was also the first year that I had led a seven-day hiking trip in the Porcupine Mountains. This was the greatest adventure that I had ever been on and this was the beginning of an adventure that would never end as I grew a new love for the outdoors and camping. One of the greatest memories that I can remember from that trip was this light storm over Lake Superior. As the campers and I waited for the storm to hit the campsite, we watched a lightning storm over the great lake that we may have only seen once in a lifetime. After that summer was over I knew I had a home for a lifetime. I cried as the buses loaded, we all sat in a circle and shared our “highs and lows” for the summer, we hugged and we moved forward. We all experienced a tragic loss at the end of that summer by the death of Shannon Schwartz and that experience forever bonded the 1997 staff.
By May of 2002, I had graduated from Lake Forest College with my Bachelor’s in English Literature and thought;
hey, since I can read Shakespeare plays and write ten page essays, of course I was ready to be Resident Camp Director at Camp Jorn
. Thank God Erin Jorgenson beat me in the interview process and I was happy to join Romy DeCristofaro as program director for another full summer of fun and life lessons in what it takes to be a leader. My favorite memory of that summer was co-leading a trip with Jasmine Hutchenson on the Voyager’s trip through the Turtle Flambeau. I honestly shouldn’t say co-leading either because if it wasn’t for Jasmine we would have all been lost.
Since my first experience working with children in 1997 I have moved on to teaching special education for the last fourteen years at both elementary and middle school grade levels. I earned my Special Education Master’s Degree at National Louis and I have also earned my Master’s in Educational Leadership at Concordia University. Since 2002 I’ve volunteered at camp in 2005, 2007, 2009 and 2015 each time for three weeks. I am extremely happy and honored that Camp Jorn opens the door for me each time with open arms to volunteer my “expert” fishing and dish washing skills to the camp. I was honestly scared to come back to camp because I felt like I was going to be the “old man” and that the new young staff members would ignore me and my fame at camp would be over. I was completely proven wrong this last summer and the staff warmed my heart as I was able to play with campers and staff members once again at the ripe old age of thirty-six.
I thought long and hard about all of the people that I would like to thank and the best thing that I can come up with is a “Big Thank You to Everybody” at camp for all that you do and have done in the past. I’d like to thank my parents most of all and my close family for all the support over the years. I realize that Camp Jorn will always be a home for me. I know that I can grow old with the Camp Jorn family and now more than ever, I look forward to continuing my adventure with Camp Jorn and helping the new generations of campers enjoy all that this magical place has to offer in life. Camp Jorn, thank you for giving me so much in this lifetime and for all that you will do for me in the future.
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Work Weekend
May 18th – May 20th
This is going to be a weekend you DO NOT want to miss!!!! Come help to open up camp for the summer and participate in the first annual Watch Your Sock Wells Fargo Event! We’ll work during the day and play at night!
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Northwoods Yoga Immersion & Teacher Training
June 8-24
Click here for more details or to fill out an application:
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RESIDENT CAMP
It's finally starting to feel like spring! That means summer (and the start of resident camp) is just around the corner!
We're excited to announce a brand new Fantastic Fourteen Promotion! What's that, you ask? Well, anyone who registers for resident camp between May 1st and May 14th will earn credits to be spent at the Trading Post during your camp session! Sign up on May 1st to receive $14 of credit. Sign up on May 2nd, and you'll receive $13. On May 3rd, you'll receive $12, and so on, until May 14th, when you will earn $1 in credit.
On top of the Trading Post credit, you will also receive an exclusive Camp Jorn t-shirt! (design to be revealed soon and only available to those registered by May 14th)
Have you already registered for resident camp? You're in luck! You will still be receiving the free Camp Jorn t-shirt! On top of that, if you refer a friend and that friend registers for camp during the Fantastic Fourteen Promotion, you will BOTH receive the Trading Post credit! (as well as the $75 refer-a-friend discount!)
We can't wait to see you all at Camp Jorn this summer!
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DAY CAMP
C
ome for day camp stay the night!
Are you 8 years old or older? Join us for Day Camp Overnight, and experience what overnight camp is like! Every other week during the summer an overnight option is available on Thursday's for children who would like to give it a try.
Campers will enjoy dinner at camp, some fun and engaging activities in the evening and a chance to sleep in one of the cabins, or in tents if they choose.
Friday will bring breakfast and a full day of activities.
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Scholarships for kids of Military Families
C
alling all military families, current and past!
We invite you to join us for a Camp Jorn overnight experience this summer!
Children ages 8-17 are invited to attend a one or two week session at Camp Jorn YMCA.
There is no cost to you
thanks to the YMCA of the USA’s Strategic Initiatives Fund and a generous matching donor.
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CHILD CARE
The children in the child care center are saying a last good-bye to winter this month. Though the playground is still full of snow, the snow is now soft, wet and shrinking each day. Puddle boots are more popular than snow boots this week. In honor of the end of winter the children spray painted the snow in rainbow colors. It helps make even late winter snows look fun.
May 3rd the children will perform some of their favorite songs and fingerplays for their parents, siblings, relatives and friends. This short program is followed by a potluck for all who wish to stay. It gives friends, family and teachers a chance to enjoy a social time together and parents get a night off of cooking and dishes. The children are practicing every day in the dining hall. They are very excited to sing in a concert like their big brothers and sisters.
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Staff and Volunteers Needed for Summer 2018
Camp Jorn is searching for hard working motivated people to join our summer team. Current openings include waterski instructors, male counselors, mountain bike instructors and nurses.
Are you looking for a summer job or know someone who is? Click the link below for more information about working at camp and an application.
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