Dear Campers, Parents, Staff, Alums, & Friends,
And we always thought it was April showers that brought May flowers. Well, here in Tucson, February has been wet! Of course, everything is relative, but compared to our normal levels of rainfall, we’re soaked! In the middle of last month, Tucson played host to some visiting 2009 PAs. DUSTY COHEN and DAVID ARTZI spent a lot of time to put together a fun reunion for these guys, and the group included AARON ROSEN & JOSH HALPER from Nashville, MAX KAPLAN & CODY CAVALIER from Houston, SETH BROCK from Tulsa, CONNOR LEHR from Denver, and our other Tucson guys, JORDAN HERZ and DAVID LANGEBARTEL. And as an added bonus, BRIAN STRAIN made the trip in from Denver too. We had textbook perfect weather, and the guys enjoyed a little hike (Josh had an unfortunate run-in with a prickly pear cactus, and Cody’s cell phone had an unfortunate encounter with Sabino Creek), they took in a scrimmage of Dusty’s baseball team, ate some gelato at the restaurant where David works, and took in a U of A basketball game. Not bad for a long weekend! Thanks to everyone for coming to town.
Towards the end of February, some of us camp guys got together in Denver for a mile-high great time. JOHNNY & RACHEL WASZCZAK, JEFF MELROSE, HITCH, CORRIE & CARTER HITCHENS, DEBBIE PURCELL, and BRIAN STRAIN all met at a very swanky downtown hotel for the annual camping conference of the American Camp Association. We participated in some very interesting educational sessions about youth development, leadership training, social networking (more on that in a second), health care practices, and more. We also bought a bunch of cool stuff for camp this summer, and we held some very productive meetings to start our own preparations for staff training and other fun stuff for camp. As luck would have it, Poppa Strain was a finalist in a huge game of Heads or Tails and picked up an awesome and very valuable prize! Be sure to ask him about it this summer, ‘cause we’re pretty certain he’s bringing it with him to camp!! We also had our Denver area reunion while we were all in town, and that was a lot of fun, though the drive over there was pretty snowy!
Another cool little tidbit: This past summer Tripper CHRIS TRAILL took a beautiful photo of camper CODY MENDELOW on one of our trips to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. We submitted this photo to the ACA and it was awarded Runner Up in the National Golden Lens competition. The photo was featured prominently at the conference, which made us all very proud. Congrats to Chris for the great eye, and to Cody for getting the start to his modeling career up in the BWCA!!
And finally, speaking of social networking, we’re newly launched on Twitter, and on our brand new Facebook Fan Page. Of course, being the cutting edge guy that I am, I’ve been pushing for this for a long time. NOT. Fortunately, our techy Assistant Director, JEFF MELROSE is on the virtual ball, and he’s made this all happen. Our latest tweets are even posted on the Current Camp Folks page on our website. No way! Be sure to check it out and follow our tweets and join our fan page…..or follow our fan page and join our tweets….whatever…..now I’m just confused, but it’s all very cool.
We also want to thank our great reunion hosts this winter. It’s been so much fun reconnecting with everyone, and we couldn’t do it without some very warm hospitality from the following families: The Elias’ in Chicago; The Shovers in Milwaukee; The Rosenbergs in Houston; The Hoffmans in Nashville; The Burings in Memphis; The Hoffmans in Dallas; The Coens in St. Louis; and the Glazers in Denver. Thank you all very, very much.
YO PARENTS: There is tons of new information available to you now that Spring has arrived. We're sorry to inundate you with this, but please bear with us and read all the information below. We have posted all of the Spring Information online for you. Please go to your Parent Keylog Page, and there you will find links down the left column. These links take you to very important information. You may notice we have organized the page to help you make sense of it all. The links you need to pay attention to now include:
GETTING READY FOR CAMP:
*Spring Information - This is a one page PDF document that offers a general overview of the documents that we need you to fill out and return to us. Please print this out and post it on your refrigerator! Some of these are online forms, and others are PDF files that must be printed out, read, and completed. Here's the great news: if your son was a camper last year, and you completed the online Health History form and/or the Camper Information Form, all of your data is still there! All you have to do is update it and submit it 
*Packing List - This is your guide to the clothing and equipment your son will need for either 4 or 8 weeks with us. Please follow it carefully.
*Order Timberwear Online - A link to the Cloz website where you can buy most everything your son will need, as well as camp logo'd items.
*Camper Information Form - Good stuff for us to know about your son to help us get ready for him. Also your 2nd (and last) opportunity to make cabin mate requests. Please review this carefully as it has been redesigned this year! THIS FORM IS NOT REQUIRED FOR CITs.
*Activity/Trip List - A 2 page PDF file for you to read or print out and discuss with your son. Get the ball rolling on activities and trips your camper may be interested in. Remember, there are no activity sign ups until the kids arrive at camp.
*Visting Weekend RSPV - If you have a full season camper(s), or CIT, and you plan to join us for our Visiting Weekend, please let us know as soon as you can by filling out this form and submitting it.
HEALTH/MEDICAL INFO:
*Health History - This is an online form that may take you a while to complete. It includes your son's immunization history and lots of other info that we need. You can start work on it, save it, and return to it later to complete it. This form must be submitted to us by May 15th.
*Clinic Data Sheet (New in 2010!) – What fun! A new form!! This is a 1 page PDF form to be used in the event we must take your son to any of the medical providers in town. By having it filled out by you in advance, we run more efficiently in the Infirmary, and we’re more certain to have the info correct so admission to the provider’s facility is expedited. This form must be mailed or faxed to us by May 15th.
*Medical Recommendation - This is a 1 page PDF document that you must print out and provide to your son's doctor for him/her to complete. You know how it can be at the doctor's office, so we recommend you provide this to the doc right away. WE DO NOT REQUIRE A PHYSICAL EXAM FOR YOUR SON! Your doctor might before he/she is willing to fill out this form, but we do not require an exam. This form must be mailed or faxed to us by May 15th.
*Health Insurance Card - This is not a link, but please remember that we must have a copy of your son's health insurance card. Even if you sent us one last year, we need a new copy each year. This must be mailed or faxed to us by May 15th.
*Required Pharmacy Info (NOTE: This information is coming soon. As of the publication of this newsletter, is isn’t quite ready. Please be patient and check back to your Parent Keylog page in the coming days for this info. And we’ll email you once it is ready for you to download) - This is a 7 page PDF document that explains how to work with Rapp's Pharmacy, our new pharmacy for filling any and all pill-form medications or vitamins that your son will take on a regularly scheduled basis. Pages 2 and 3 are registration forms that you must fill out and send in to Rapp's by the appropriate due date, based on the session your son is attending. PLEASE NOTE THIS IS NOT OPTIONAL! It is very reasonably priced at $7.50/camper/session, regardless of how many medications are involved. If a camper requires regularly scheduled pill-form medication, and his family does not comply with this requirement, their account will be charged $50/session.
*General Health Care Info - This is a 3 page PDF document that clearly explains our approach to dispensing medications, addressing allergy injections and other medical concerns, and our communication with parents during the summer if your son requires attention from our camp nurses or any medical professionals in town.
GENERAL POLICY INFO:
*Unplugged Policy - This is a 1 page PDF document that explains our policy regarding electronics such as iPods, cell phones, video players, etc. Please print this out and commit it to memory. There will be a quiz later.
*Packages Policy - This is a 1 page PDF document that explains our policy regarding packages to campers. To summarize, we do not accept packages for campers. For some details on exceptions, please read this document.
CAMPER TRANSPORTATION INFO:
*Travel Form - This is an online form to confirm your son's method of traveling to and from camp. Please submit this to us no later than May 15th. Please also remember our policy regarding changes in bus travel, "Withdrawal from bus travel within 1 week of travel days will still incur full bus fares. Additions to bus travel within 2 weeks of travel days cannot be guaranteed a seat on the bus."
*Info for Campers Flying to Camp (NOTE: This information is coming soon. As of the publication of this newsletter, is isn’t quite ready. Please be patient and check back to your Parent Keylog page in the coming days for this info. And we’ll email you once it is ready for you to download) - This is an 7 page PDF file with so much information about flying to camp, you need time to digest it. Some highlights:
**Flying is not easy in this day and age. We do the best we can to make it secure, convenient, and affordable. Travel One is our travel agency, and they work hand-in-hand
with Delta Airlines. Delta is the ONLY airline flying large aircraft into Minneapolis from all of our camp cities.
**In cities from which we have more than 15 - 20 campers, Travel One blocks seats on our flights to make sure all of our campers can get on. The airline is interested in making
money, of course, so they will not allow such a large percentage of their seats to be blocked off at their lowest fare. To address our needs and balance them with the
airline's needs, Delta charges our families from these cities a fare that is an average of their lowest fares (early booking fares) and the higher fares they may be able
to charge for later bookings. So it may be higher a fare you can find online. What do you and we get from that?
1. All of our kids are together and on flights that work for our schedule to arrive at camp at a reasonable time and depart from camp at a reasonable time.
2. All of their baggage is pulled from their flights and loaded onto one designated carousel that our staff uses to retrieve our bags. So far, we have lost ZERO bags this way.
3. Our travel agents alerts you of any schedule changes, flight changes etc.
4. For the return trip home, our campers are pre-checked-in with boarding passes issued before they arrive at the airport. That means no standing in line at the airport with
100+ kids.
5. Also for the return trip home, our campers' baggage is taken directly from our truck and put into the baggage system to be loaded on their flights. Again, no standing in
line to check 200+ bags.
**Page 6 of the PDF document details the Unaccompanied Minor program. It has gone up in price substantially, making it even more important that our families collaborate to
share that cost.
**Page 7 of the PDF document is the reservation form for Travel One. Print this out, complete it, and return it to Travel One as soon as possible. Fares will go up as the time to
fly approaches. You can also make your reservations by calling Travel One at (800) 245-1111. Our agent is Marie Gunwall.
YO CAMPERS: OUR 2010 TRIPS CALENDAR IS ONLINE! It is amazing!!! You can check it out by clicking here and scrolling over to the appropriate month. What a blast it is going to be in the wilderness this summer.
YO OLD GUYS: If you will complete 7th grade or older this summer, you may be eligible for one or more of our "Big Trips" this summer. You've certainly heard older campers talk about these trips a lot during prior summers, so you know how special they are. Next month we'll send you a letter that will note what trips you have already completed, and what trips you are eligible for. Have a look, and if you'd like to pre-register for a big trip that you are (or soon can be) eligible for, you can do that from our website. The link for that is here.
We also want to remind you this one last time that if you will complete 8th grade or older this summer, you are a candidate to be a Big Brother for a new camper. As we noted last month, if you would prefer NOT to be a Big Brother, that's fine, but you need to let us know by March 15th. We will begin making Big Brother/Little Brother assignments after that, so we can send those assignments out in early April. Thanks very much.
YO STAFF: There is another camping conference that takes place in the Chicago area from March 11th - 13th. If you'd like to attend, please let us know right away. We will pay for the registration fee at the conference for you. You will be responsible for your own lodging and food while you're there. More informaton about the conference is available by clicking here.
We also want to remind you of the training opportunities available to you this summer. These include Lifeguard Training certification, challenge courses to renew your LGT and/or First Aid and/or CPR for the Professional Rescuer. Remember, your LGT certification is NOT VALID unless your CPR Pro is current. CPR Pro must be renewed every year. How do you sign up? Log in to your Staff Keylog Page, and click the "Extra Training" link. Please do this as soon as you know you can make those training dates.
We’re experiencing a nice spring surge, and we appreciate that. Several of our age groups are filled in the 1st session, and we have a waiting list. There is still room in all age groups 2nd session. So, if you know of someone who is thinking about joining us at Timberlane, and they’re concerned we are full, please encourage them to call or email us. Thanks!
Welcome aboard to the following “old –timers” who re-enrolled last month: DAVID DONER of Buffalo Grove, IL; DAVANTE GRACE, CHRISTIAN NORFLEET, ANTON SANDERS, and ELI SELZ of Chicago, IL; SANTI SILVA of Mexico City, Mexico; RYAN GERSOWSKY, ADAM KAZ, and RYAN SCHWARTZ of Deerfield, IL; JORDAN ALLEN and DANNY LEVY of Evanston, IL; BEN SCHACHTER of Dallas, TX; JASON SCHWARTZ and BRETT ZASLAVSKY of Glencoe, IL; and JACK ELOWE of Northbrook, IL.
And welcome aboard to the following first-year campers who will join us this summer: DYLAN SALDINGER of Deerfield, IL; BRANDON GOMEL of Bellaire, TX; SIMON LEVY of Evanston, IL; JACK LYNCH of Chesterfield, MO; and ETHAN TEICH of Highland Park, IL. We’re so psyched to have you all with us. 2010 is gonna be great!!
MICHAEL BREEN: It is summer number 15 coming up for Michael Breen. And while we’re never really sure where he is coming to us from, we feel fairly confident that he is currently a resident of New York City, having completed a whirlwind tour of some off-the-beaten-path countries this fall and early winter. Mike is currently working at a high class gym in the city. He is 24 years old, and he will again fill the role of Activity Advisor at camp, helping all of our counselors teach their activities to the very best of their abilities.
DIANA CARDONA: It has been 4 summers since she was last with us, but Diana is returning for her 2nd summer as a member of our Kitchen Staff. Diana is 24 years old and she lives in Bogota, Columbia. Interestingly, Diana contacted us to introduce us to her sister so she could work with us this summer. As it turns out, her sister couldn’t make her school schedule work with camp, but in the process of thinking about it, Diana decided she’d love to come back. We’re happy to have her with us again.
RYAN COHEN: Ryan is back for his 15th summer at camp too! Holy smokes! Ryan is 24 years old, and he lives in Chicago where he works as an editor and producer for a video production company. Ryan is also the staff member who has produced our camp reunion video the past two summers. He is taking a leave of absence from his job to return to camp. He’ll be a cabin counselor, help out with Ropes Course, Photography, Arts & Crafts, Athletics & Waterskiing, and he’ll once again produce our reunion video. Watch for it on Oscar night.
WES HIEB: It is summer number 2 for Wes, who returns from Carbondale, CO, where he works as a lift operator at Aspen Mountain. Wes will be 21 this summer, and before he gets to camp, he’ll take a mission trip to South Africa. In the meantime, he’s out snowboarding as much as possible and getting ready for another summer of leading trips at camp.
EMILY JONES: We’re happy to have Emily back, but it’s hard to figure out how many summers this will be for her. We’re gonna say 18, since she was basically raised at camp and has lived at camp every summer since. Emily is 18 years old and is a senior at Mooresville High School in Indiana, where she is on the swim team. Emily has been a camper and counselor at Birch Trail Camp for Girls most recently, and this summer she will split her time, spending 1st session with us, and 2nd session at Birch Trail. At our camp, she will help teach Waterskiing and Swimming. We have no idea what she’ll do at BT, but we’re sure she’ll do it well.
FLETCHER JONES: Yep, Fletch is back. It has been 2 summers away, but we’re happy to have him back for his 21st summer at camp. Fletcher will graduate from the University of Arizona this spring, and enter the School of Pharmacy next fall. While living here in Tucson, Fletch has really developed his love for rock climbing, and has become an excellent climber. At camp this year he will be a cabin counselor, our Intermediate Village Director, and he’ll head up our Rock Climbing program. He’s gonna be busy. And for those keeping score at home, Fletcher’s return means we’ll once again have the entire Jones family at camp. One more thing to celebrate this summer!
SAM KAHN: Summer number 12 coming up for Sam Kahn, who is a Junior at Syracuse University, studying real estate and finance. Sam is 21 years old, and this winter he spent a semester studying in London. He’s back at school, and come June he’ll be back at camp. Sam will be a cabin counselor, will be our PA Director, and will head up our Pottery program. Another busy guy this summer. 
MATT SLOAN: Matt returns for his 12th summer at camp. He is 19 years old, and he is a Freshman at Cornell University studying Government. At camp Matt will be a cabin counselor, and will help out at Baseball, Athletics, and several other activities. Matt recently traveled to McGill University in Montreal, Canada for a Model United Nations Conference. He’s also had the pleasure of digging out of some major snow dumps at Cornell.
Folks, we don’t like to brag, but we will. With our returning staff….so far….we have over 450 summers of Timberlane experience represented this summer! That’s a crazy huge amount!! You think these people are maybe just a little excited about our 50th summer??!! Wow!!
Say hi to the outstanding new staff members you’ll have the pleasure of meeting this summer:
CHRIS BARRON: Chris is 20 years old and he joins us from Glasgow, Scotland. Chris is in his 3rd year at the University of the West of Scotland, studying Sport Development. He is the head basketball coach for two youth teams, and plays on a 3rd team. He has played basketball all through high school as well, earning the team’s MVP award. He is also into sailing, and has completed a sailing instructor course. And he is a 5 handicap golfer. Chris will be a cabin counselor, will head up our Basketball program, and help out with Sailing and Golf.
AMY EIDSON: Amy is 21 years old and joins us from Charlotte, NC where she is a Junior at the University of North Carolina studying Elementary Education and English Literature. She is a supervisor at an after-school program for at-risk youth in Wilmington, NC, and at school she is the president of her college equestrian team. She organizes equestrian shows and oversees the school barn and instructional programs. She has been teaching horseback riding to people from young kids to college students. This summer Amy will join us as our Horseback Riding Director.
JEREMY TODD: Jeremy is 23 years old and he joins us from Nelson, New Zealand. He is a university graduate with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and is currently working with a start-up company doing product research and development. Jeremy is the ultimate outdoors guy, and his passion is mountain biking. He has organized biking events for children of all skill levels, and has raced mountain bikes. He is also a solid bike mechanic, and this summer he will be a cabin counselor and will head up our Mountain Biking program.
In Denver, DAVID GLAZER is busy with basketball and tennis, as well as too much homework. PARKER WHITE is doing some skiing, playing some soccer, and he’s applied to the Denver School of Art for their creative writing program for next year. PARKER DAWSON is playing hockey and lacrosse, and busy with school projects. DAN SHELANSKI is wrestling and working hard at school. PHILIP SIEGEL is part of a “Brain Bowl” team that competes around the state of Colorado. We’re pleased to tell you that Philip’s team won the whole thing this year. Congrats! In the Chicago area, EDDIE ROSENBLUM has taken up speed skating, and was featured in a TV news story about an Olympic racer from Northbrook. Check it out! MASON ROSENBERG just returned home from a ski trip to the U.P. of Michigan, and he drove right by camp! 
In Chicago, AARON ZEMACH was honored as the 1st place winner of the Illinois Music Educators Ass’n. Jazz Composition contest. This is a pretty huge deal! Wanna see Aaron tickling the ivories? Click here. Congrats, Aaron!! NICK MORLEY is happy the weather in Madison is letting get back out and do some marathon training. Actually, he’s been running in a snow storm or too as well. Another runner, JAKE “BIRDMAN” POURCHOT is busy marathon training and going to school in Stevens Point. RICH MC GOWAN is finishing up his Dive Master training in St. Maarten, and will return to Chicago before making his way to camp. ALLI DOYLE is back home in Seattle after a hectic trip to a theater conference in Reno. And over in Australia, MICHAEL SCRAGG had been busy training for a swimming tournament in New Zealand, which took place last month. We hope it went well for him.
BRAVO TO OUR MARCH BIRTHDAY BOYS! David Doner - 3/1/1995, Alexander Echt - 3/1/1999, Christian Norfleet - 3/1/1998, Danny Benson - 3/5/1997, Jacob Lurie - 3/5/1991, Scottie Mutchnik - 3/5/1997, Joe Warren - 3/5/1982, Eddie Rosenblum - 3/6/1996, Michael Heilbronner - 3/11/1997, Tom Hounsell - 3/12/1947, Liam O'Malley - 3/12/2001, Carter Eckel - 3/13/1999, Jake Gordon - 3/15/1993, Zach Donato - 3/16/1996, Kevin Sheehan - 3/17/1989, Parker White - 3/18/1999, Sammy Levin - 3/19/1997, Jonathan Bloom - 3/20/1999, Sam Jaffe - 3/20/1999, Brian Strain - 3/22/1981, Ryan Gersowsky - 3/26/1995, Daniel Calvillo - 3/27/1997, Adam Hammes - 3/27/1999, Matt Rodin - 3/27/1992, Daniel Shovers - 3/27/1995, Brandon Cramin - 3/28/1996, Fer Gonzalez - 3/28/1995, Joshua Kohn - 3/28/1996, Aaron Berkowitz - 3/29/1996, Michael Bloom - 3/29/1996, Greg Cooper - 3/30/1987, Zach Coplan - 3/31/2000.
That’s it for another month! Not too many to go before we move up north. Please keep in touch, everyone, and keep an eye on your email inboxes for much information coming your way as we get ready for the start of the summer!!
Benches up,
