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Ahoy Mates!
It seems hard
to believe but another summer of volunteering
at Camp Heartland has come and gone. It is truly
a privilege to volunteer and speak for this
incredible organization! Camp has undergone
some amazing additions since last Summer. One
of these additions is a swimming pool that is
sure to bring endless hours of fun and relief
from the Minnesota heat and humidity. Camp Heartland
continues to flourish, inspire and bring great
hope to those infected or affected by HIV/AIDS.
There were
many new faces this year, as well as some whom
I've not seen in years! What a pleasure
it was to see students from UW-Madison that
I had worked with this last year, now volunteering
as counselors for the first time, thank you
Emily and Cassie! It was truly a family reunion
of grand proportions! There are simply too many
friends too name here and now, but I can't thank
the Administration Staff and Camp Staff enough
for wholeheartedly embracing me. Your love and
support mean the world to me!
Once again,
I volunteered as a cabin counselor for the 7-10
year old boys who are always inspiring to me.
As you can imagine, at that age, it's never
a dull moment! We were the Transformers
and
proudly so! It was an honor to serve with Pierre
my co-counselor again and our LIT Ian! In past
years we have been "Da Pirates" as a cabin group.
However, this year there was a Pirate cabin
already established by Daniel upon my arrival.
They made fine Pirates indeed in my professional
opinion! I conversed with their Captain and
mutiny was avoided! A settlement was reached
to be their "Honorary Pirate" in their closing
camp fire skit, an honor indeed. This year I
was a skill leader in Archery and Water World.
Water World seems quite befitting of a Pirate.
However, ARCHERY?? Needless t' say, I traded
my cutlass for a bow and arrow and managed t'
hit everything in the woods but the target,
well not quite that bad! We truly had
a great time and we all learned a lot! This
year for Water World we had an incredible blow-up
slide that provided cool relief from the humidity!
My monthly
radio show here in Madison "In the Know," was
broadcast live from camp again this year. A
very special thank you to Mia for being
gracious enough to be interviewed for the show.
Mia is a most remarkable and compassionate young
lady. Mia returned this year not as a counselor
but as a nurse! Thank you Mia for your tireless
support of Camp Heartland and the fight against
HIV/AIDS!
One personal
highlight for me was my first ever attempt at
the climbing wall, or ANY climbing wall for
that matter. Thanks to the raucous support of
Jaq, Lisel, Kristy, Veena, Luke, Megan and the
campers themselves, I was forced to live
up to my motto, "Never Ever Surrender." It was
by no means picture perfect, but I made it to
the top! It reminded me of doing the high ropes
course for the first time at camp. With teamwork,
anything is possible, including getting this
hefty Pirate to the TOP of the frickin
wall! It is one of those terrific memories that
I'll always cherish!
It was an
honor as always to speak at camp! This
year I had the good fortune to address the nursing
staff as well as the Adventure Program staff
and campers. As always, I left more inspired
and empowered by the courage, knowledge and
compassion these brave youth possess!
My love
and admiration for Camp Heartland is
boundless and grows with each returning year!
Thank you to the year-round staff, Summer Staff,
Administration, volunteers and Board of Directors.
Thank you Neil "Noodle" for creating Heaven
on earth for so many from across these United
States, including this humbled and grateful
Pirate.
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