Volume LVI, No. 5, January, 2016

Dear Campers, Parents, Staff, Alums & Friends,


And wham!  Not only did the New Year just roll in, but so did winter!  Here in Tucson, “winter”
means people wear long pants more often than shorts, and sometimes put on a sweatshirt or jacket.  This area gets 350 days of sunshine a year, but this time of year, we get some of those cloud thingies in the sky.  On occasion, they’ll drop a little water on us too.  And if they drop lots of rain or even some snow on us, this city goes crazy.  Meanwhile, we know the snow and cold has arrived in the Midwest and East coast, and we also know the folks in the St. Louis area have seen flooding all around them.  We hope everyone is coping well with the onset of winter weather, and of course, that makes us all look forward to summer that much more!

Up at camp the snow has arrived, after weeks of sunshine, mild temps, and lots of heavy dew.  We believe the lake is thriving with all of the wetness, and that’s always great news.  Before the snow fell, a lot of work got done at camp, and that leaves us in great shape moving into the spring.  There is a somewhat unsung hero that does a lot of work at camp when the campers and staff aren’t there, and that helps our caretaker, GREG FUS, a lot.  His name is MICK WHALEN, and we’ve told you a little about him before, but Mick is a craftsman, and even more impressive, like Greg, he’s a Northwoods craftsman.  What does that mean?  Well, for instance, Mick planted a large stand of trees on his property decades ago.  And now
he is slowly harvesting those trees as they mature and arrive at the end of their life span.  From the trees he uses his own lumber mill to make much of the lumber he uses in his construction projects, and he also sells some of the wood.  Mick also loves to look at a problem, design a solution, and then build it.  Which makes him perfect for camp since we never seem to have a shortage of problems.

One such problem has been our Boathouse.  The Boathouse was originally built as an ice house many decades ago.  The hearty folks who lived on the property back then would cut huge chunks of ice out of the lake in the winter, and then store those chunks in the ice house to use in the warmer months to keep food (mostly meat) cold and fresh.  It is built into the side of a hill, heavily insulated, and…it is very old.  We’ve used it as a place to store paddles and life jackets for years, but recently we noticed that it was cracking and part of one wall had shifted several inches.  So…we called Mick.  After studying the project for a few days, Mick devised a plan to not only patch the cracks, but also to provide some anchoring and support so the walls would no longer be able to shift.  He completed that project this fall.  As Greg worked on some other projects, Mick also changed out all of the sliding windows on the side of the Lodge facing the lake, and repaired the roof on Arapaho cabin.  There are some other cool things Mick and Greg have done together, all of it adding to the awesome facilities that we all get to enjoy in the summer.  We’re incredibly lucky and grateful to have both of these amazing men working with us at camp.

Now that winter break is over, it’s time to make sure your summer plans are set and include camp!  If you have not yet re-enrolled, it’s not too late for 2nd session.  Most 2nd session age groups still have room for you!  We’re happy to welcome back the following “old-timers” who re-enrolled in the past month: ETHAN PRAGER of Encino, CA; BUDDY ASKENAZI of Denver, CO; TRE SMITH, CHARLIE & EDDIE TEPPER, GABRIEL WALLON, and AIDAN YERKES of Chicago, IL; JESSE STOLBERG of Deerfield, IL; SETH BERK of New Orleans, LA; GIL RON of Grayslake, IL; CHARLIE CALLEN of Oak Park, IL; WILL COOVERT of St. Louis, MO; PARKER FLEISCHMAN-AMENT of Wilmette, IL; and CHARLIE KENDALL of Winnetka, IL. And welcome aboard to the following first-year campers who will join us this summer: TOBY ASKENAZI of Denver, CO; MAX KOHL of Deerfield, IL; ALEX GOLDBERG of Glencoe, IL; NOAH LIGHT of Bethesda, MD; JOE COOVERT and MILES SETTLER of St. Louis, MO; JAKE & OLLIE LUCOFF of Omaha, NE; MORGAN DECKER of Tulsa, OK; JACK DE RIESTHAL of Nashville, TN; JASON RABINOWITZ of Dallas, TX; ANDREW MUKAVITZ and JONNY STEIN of Houston, TX, and RYAN GUTERMAN of Pearland, TX.  We have a nice list of new families we’ll be visiting with in our continuing travels, and we want to express our thanks to all of you who have put us in touch with interested new kids.  Your help is so vital to the health of camp, and we appreciate your support greatly.  Thank you!

Now that the holidays are over, we are heading back out onto the road!  This month we’ll have reunions in San Diego, Los Angeles, and Washington, DC.  We’ll also be in Chicago and St. Louis to meet with new families.  By the end of this month, we will have been in a dozen different cities across the country, some more than once.  It has been so much fun seeing everyone and meeting lots of great new kids.  We want to say thanks to all of our reunion host families who have made us feel so welcome on this year’s “tour.”  We greatly appreciate it.

YO PARENTS:  Your Winter Deposit is due to be remitted by January 15th.  Many of you have already taken care of this, which we appreciate.  Remember, you are welcome to pay with a credit card online, or you can avoid the 2.75% credit card surcharge by sending a check to our Tucson office.  Thanks very much.
To help you get a little organized, please use the dates below as a little reminder about some benchmarks that are coming up for camp. We also want to remind you that you'll be able to order your camp clothing and equipment from Everything Summer Camp again this year. If you order too early, your camper could outgrow the cool stuff you buy before camp starts! However, if you order too late, like after May 1st, you run the risk that your order may not arrive in time for your camper to bring it to camp. We'll remind you of this in March, and the Packing list is already available on your Parent Keylog Page if you’d like to have a look.
Very soon our new and improved CampDoc system will launch.  CampDoc is our medical information and medication partner, and it is through their website that you will provide us with all of the medical information we need for your son.  If your son will take any prescription pill-form medication on a regular schedule (i.e. every day medication…not just as-needed), those meds will have to be filled through CampDoc’s pharmacy.  We will email you when that system is ready for you to begin filling out the health history form.

Right Now!		Parents of campers flying to/from camp should register with our travel agent and get their flights camp arranged.  The sooner you do that, the better your fare will likely be.  Click here to register..
January 15th		Winter Deposit is due.  You can pay by check or online with your credit card.
March 15th		Spring Deposit is due.
May 1st		Order your clothing and camp supplies from Everything Summer Camp so you can be sure to have it in time for camp.
May 15th		Balance payment is due. You will receive notice in mid-April for this. Lots of paper work is due on this date too. This includes medical forms, camper info forms, etc. All of these forms are accessible from your Parent Keylog page. Don’t worry, we’ll send you easy directions and abundant reminders.
June 20th		1st Session Begins!  Oh Yeah!!!
July 16th		1st Session Ends.  It goes so fast.
July 17th		2nd Session Begins.  Okay…that’s better!
August 12th		2nd Session Ends.   Bummer.
August 13th		You get to sign up for the summer of 2017!!

We mentioned in last month’s issue that we already have a great core of returning staff for the upcoming summer.  We have 16 awesome CITs, we have most of our cooks in place, and as you’ll see, we also have our entire team of assistant directors, not to mention a great start for our medical staff, kitchen staff, maintenance staff, and a whole slew of returning counselors.  And it’s just January!!  We’re very excited to welcome all the following folks back to camp: AARON BERKOWITZ Aaron will be 20 years old this summer, and is returning for his 10th summer at camp!!  He is a sophomore at Lawrence University, and this summer Aaron will be a cabin counselor and will take over the Model Rocketry program at camp.  Yes, he’s a rocket scientist in the summer.  Aaron will also help out with Digital Photo, Ropes Course, and Comedy Sportz. PRESTIN COOKE It is summer number 2 coming up for Prestin.  She is 19 years old, originally from Tucson, AZ, and is a freshman at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff.  At school Prestin is studying Environmental Sciences.  She also takes yoga classes, and has joined a sorority.  This summer Prestin will be the head of our Yoga program, while also helping out with Arts & Crafts and other areas. CARLOS DORANTES BANUELOS Carlos is returning to camp for his 3rd summer all the way from Puebla, Mexico!  He will be 22 years old this summer.  Carlos just completed his degree in International Relations at Benemerita University in Puebla, and currently works for 3 Adventures, an agency that helps international counselors find work in American camps.  This summer Carlos will return to help Bill Miller in the kitchen as our Assistant Cook.  AIDAN DOYAL This will be Aidan’s 5th summer at camp.  He is from Glencoe, IL and he is a senior at Lake Forest Academy.  Aidan has been in the throws of the college application process, but also has time to play hockey on his school team.  He is also an avid golfer.  This summer Aidan will be a junior counselor, and will again head up our Hockey program, while also helping with Golf, Baseball, Fishing, and Waterskiing.  Aidan is 18 years old. JACOB ELIAS Summer number 9 in store for Jacob, who is from Northbrook, IL and is a senior at Glenbrook North High School.  Jacob will be 18 this summer, and he is also in the midst of applying to colleges for next fall.  He spends some of his time working at Whirlyball in Chicago.  This summer Jacob will be a junior counselor helping out with Hockey, Fishing, Rock Climbing and Waterskiing.  CONNOR FEHRENBACH Connor is back for his 5th summer at camp, coming to us from Prosper, TX.  Connor will be 17 this summer, and he is a junior at Prosper High School.  He also recently started a job at Five Guys burger restaurant.  This summer, Connor will be a junior counselor helping out in various camp activities. JAKE FEIGER Jake is from Northbrook, IL and is a 18 year old senior at Glenbrook North High School, where he is the chair of Sponsorship/Fundraising for Glenbrook North's Relay For Life, raising money for the American Cancer Society.  This will be Jake’s 9th summer at camp and he will be a junior counselor helping out at Hockey, Riflery, Archery, Sailing, and other activities. JAKE FLOM And….another Jake.  This one is Jake Flom who is a 17 year old junior at MICDS in St. Louis where he plays some soccer and golf…and goes to classes.  This will be Jake’s 9th summer at camp and he will be a junior counselor helping out with several activities. TAYLOR FRISHMAN Taylor is back for his 9th summer at camp.  He is from Buffalo Grove, IL and is a senior at Stevenson High School where he runs cross country.  Next fall Taylor will attend the University of Tampa.  He will be 18 this summer, and will be a junior counselor and help out with Cardio, Waterskiing, Athletics, Ropes Course and Soccer.  AARON GLAZER Aaron is a freshman at the University of Southern California, and as a Milwaukee native, he is loving the winter weather in LA!  Aaron is 18 years old and is majoring in Broadcast and Digital Journalism at USC and is involved in student sports radio and TV as well as joining a fraternity.  This will be his 10th summer at camp where he will be a senior counselor helping with Waterskiing, Baseball, Golf, and Basketball.  JAKE HOFFMAN One more Jake this month.  Jake Hoffman is from Dallas, TX where he is a junior at Greenhill School.  At school he plays soccer and baseball.  This will be Jake’s 9th summer at camp, and he will be 17 years old.  He will be a junior counselor and help out with several activities. ROSS KRULISKY Ross is 20 years old and is originally from Scottsdale, AZ.  He is currently a sophomore at Ohio State University studying Mechanical Engineering.  This will be Ross’ 10th summer at camp, and he will be a cabin counselor and will again co-head our Waterskiing program.  He’ll also occasionally help out with Soccer.  ARI LACKNER After an absence of one summer, Ari is back for his 10th summer at camp!  Originally from Bannockburn, IL, Ari is 19 years old and is a freshman at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, studying Economics and History.  Ari is a very fit guy, and this summer he will be a cabin counselor and will head up our Cardio program, while also helping out with Weight Training, Waterskiing, and Mountain Biking.  KAREN MCKELVEY Summer number 2 coming up for Nurse Karen, who hails from Cascabel, AZ, a little ways outside of Tucson.  Karen is 66 years young, and recently retired from her position as a hospice nurse.  After camp she packed up her car and traveled around the US visiting friends, national parks, and just enjoying some free time in Nature.  She’s back in Arizona, now, and living in a rustic cabin in the mountains.  Karen returns as one of our nurses this summer. ZACH MILLER Zach is from Des Moines, IA and is a senior at Johnston High School.  Along with going to school, he also works as a custodian at a local child care center.  Zach will be 18 this summer, and this will be his 2nd summer at camp.  He will again be a part of our amazing Kitchen Staff. NICK PAPPAS Nick is back for his 8th summer at camp.  He is 17 years old, from Glencoe, IL, and is a junior at New Trier High School.  Nick will be a junior counselor and will help out with a variety of activities this summer. DAVID RINGEL David is back for summer number 10!  Originally from Glencoe, IL, David is a freshman at Dartmouth College studying Anthropology and on the Pre-Health track.  At Dartmouth, no kidding, David has been inspired by the Scheer’s lumberjack shows in Woodruff, and he has joined the lumberjack team at school.  He is also involved in the hiking and kayaking clubs and hopes to lead trips for them this spring.  At camp David will be a cabin counselor, and will help with Rock Climbing, Volleyball, Mountain Biking and Swimming.  David will be 19 years old this summer. ANITA ROBSON All the way from Sheffield, England, Anita is back for her 2nd summer at camp.  She is a sophomore at the University of Sheffield studying history and playing for the school’s club cricket team.  She’s also working on becoming a cricket coach.  Throughout her high school years and into college, Anita studied art and even taught art to younger kids.  A banner she made is hanging up in the York Cathedral.  And she is currently a member of the university art society.  So we’re very happy that this summer, Anita will be the head of our Arts & Crafts program.  She’ll also help in some other activity areas. Anita will be 20 years old this summer. JACOB ROSENSTEIN Not another Jake…he’s a Jacob, and he’s back for his 9th summer at camp.  Jacob is from Highland Park, IL and is a 18 year old senior at HPHS.  He will attend The College of Charleston next fall.  In addition to school, Jacob runs birthday parties at a local rec center, is a teaching aid at Sunday school, and has helped with a special gifts theater for 8 years.  This summer Jacob will be a junior counselor and will head up our Athletics program.  He’ll also help with Comedy Sportz, Waterskiing and Disc Sports.  JACK ROSENTHAL Summer number 9 coming up for Jack, who is from St. Louis, MO and is a junior at the John Burroughs School.  Jack played varsity football this year and his team won the Missouri State Championship!  He is 17 years old, and he will be a junior counselor this summer helping out with a range of activities.  BEN SCHACHTER Ben is from Dallas, TX and is a junior at the Greenhill School where he plays varsity soccer and tennis.  He will be 17 this summer, and it will be his 9th year at camp.  Ben will be a junior counselor and will help out in several activities. LUKE SCLAMBERG Luke is from Highland Park, IL and is a junior at HPHS.  He is a very talented piano player.  He will be 17 years old this summer and he is back for his 8th summer at camp.  Luke will be a junior counselor and will help out in many different activities.  JORDAN TAYLOR Jordan is a 20 year old sophomore at Duke University, studying business.  He’s originally from St. Louis, MO and this will be his 12th summer at camp.  Jordan will be a cabin counselor, and will again co-head our Waterskiing program, while also helping out with Sailing.  DANIEL VAN BUREN DVB is back for his 3rd summer at camp.   He lives in Chicago where he is leaving his position as a manager at a Petco store, and starting school again at Harry Truman College to become a PE teacher.  Daniel also served in the US Army as a MP.  He is 31 years old, and he will again be a part of our fantastic Maintenance Staff.  ADAM WASSERMAN Summer number 9 coming up for Adam, who is from Deerfield, IL and is a senior at DHS.  Adam will be 18 years old this summer, and will be a junior counselor, helping out with Ropes Course, Fishing, and Waterskiing. SCOTT WOLF Back for his 14th summer at camp, Scott is very excited to be returning as our Senior Village Director.  He is 24 years old, and graduated last year from Northwestern University with a degree in Theater.  He currently works as a literary manager at Profiles Theatre in Chicago.  Scott also recently returned from a trip to India.  This summer, Scott will also be a cabin counselor and will help out with many activities, including Baseball, Basketball, Waterskiing and Disc Sports.

SAM SALZER was up in the Eagle River area over the holidays.  Some of our camp guys have been visiting together in Chicago and St. Louis.  BEN & ARI KADEN spent some time down in St. Louis visiting with ADAM POGER and JOEY ETTINGER.  The Kaden boys also got together in Chicago recently with DANIEL SOLOT, BEN SPIEGEL, OWEN MONIESON, DANIEL FRIEDLAND, and “old-timer” MICHAEL BREEN.  MYLES ROSENTSEIN spent some vacation time on the beach along with ETHAN & JARED LETWAT.   In San Diego, LEO HANDELSMAN played soccer and baseball in the fall, as well as flag football.  He also made the school honor roll and was selected to try out for the soccer all-star team.  In Tulsa, JACK ROBINOWITZ played tight end and linebacker on his football team.  He also started basketball and moved into a new house after camp.  In Houston, HARRY SMITH started at a new school this year.  He played soccer in the fall, is starting basketball now, and may play tennis this spring.  JARED ORKIN was in his 8th grade’s production of “Guys and Dolls.” ARI COPLON is playing baseball and basketball. Okay, boys (and parents).  Some of you went on some pretty cool vacations recently, right?  Let’s hear about them!  Did you bump into any camp friends along the way?  Got any photos? Please share that with us for next month’s issue.  Thanks!

Some congratulations are in order.  First of all, congrats to DUSTIN COHEN who graduated from the University of Wisconsin last month.  Dustin will stay in Madison, and take some classes at the local community college while enjoying the nice winter weather.  AVIRY CHRISTY has landed a full time job as the Director of Family Ministries at Christ Church United Methodist in Tucson.  We’re sad Aviry won’t be back at camp, but we know this is a job he worked hard to get, and we’re excited for him.  DANNY LEVY will be a freshman at Tulane University next fall! “Old-timer” DAVANTE GRACE will be a freshman at Carleton College next fall.    BRITTANY BOLING has relocated to Oak Harbor, WA where she is going to find work, enjoy multiple outdoor activities in the area, and ultimately go to school.  During his 6 week break from Dartmouth, DAVID RINGEL is joining a medical mission trip to Ecuador.  RYAN COHEN recently traveled to New York to do some corporate video work for one of our camp families there.  And this month he’s going to vacation a little in Japan.  While in Chicago for a quick weekend, we managed to grab dinner with Ryan and BEN ROBERTS, who was in town to visit with camp folks.  AARON GLAZER and ARI LACKNER got together recently in Milwaukee for some Kopp’s world famous custard.  Ari also hung out with “old-timers” MICHAEL GROSS and JEREMY SUTTON, who was in Chicago from Houston for a visit.  Jeremy is working as a research assistant at Rice University’s Center for the Middle East.  ROSS KRULISKY spent part of his winter vacation in Mexico with ZACK, STEVEN, & PRESTIN COOKE.  NICK PAPPAS enjoyed some time on the ocean in Grand Cayman this vacation.  JONAH ROSENBERG is enjoying USC, where he is in a fraternity, and involved in political activist organizations.  Always the happy host, JEFF MELROSE welcomed SAM “PICKLES” KAHN and “old-timer” JOEY PAWLAN to Disneyworld last month.

 
BRAVO TO OUR JANUARY BIRTHDAY BOYS!!  Jared Orkin - 1/1/2002, Sam Schneider - 1/3/2001, Will Sexter - 1/7/2004, Matthew Jacobs - 1/8/1997, Danny Levy - 1/11/1998, Jake Reuter - 1/11/1986, Luca Rizzo - 1/11/2004, Sam Salzer - 1/11/2006, Will Coen - 1/12/2000, Sam Frishman - 1/12/2001, Henry Anderson - 1/15/2006, Buddy Askenazi - 1/16/2002, Coby Teich - 1/16/2005, Gabriel Wallon - 1/17/2001, Jared Bloom - 1/18/2001, Miles Settler - 1/22/2008, Ricky Romersi - 1/23/1999, Charlie Smoller - 1/23/2000, Darion Starling - 1/24/2002, Justin Goldenberg - 1/25/2003, Aaron Hoffman - 1/26/2001, Scott Bednarik - 1/28/1991, Myles Brodsky - 1/29/2003, Sam Kahn - 1/30/1997, Eli Katz - 1/30/2003, Josh Katz - 1/30/2003, Ethan Victor - 1/31/2001.

Whew!  Talk about your newsy newsletter!  We will have much more info about returning counselors next month too.  We hope the New Year is off to a fantastic start for everyone.  Keep in touch, and we’ll write you again next month.

Benches up,