You know a relationship is real when the goodbye is hard. Tonight, I was honored to watch many of our boys become overcome with emotion at the thought of leaving this place and the friends they have made in just a few short hours. The bonds made here are real and they are lasting and they will never fade and that is a testament to the incredible quality of campers that have called Camp Timberlake home over the last two weeks.

Today was a fantastic day here at camp, full of great laughs, food, skits, and activities but the real good stuff happened tonight. Tonight we celebrated all the incredible accomplishments of our wonderful campers through our Final Campfire Ceremony. The Final Campfire is a great time to be able to acknowledge our campers hard work in activities and kindness towards others in the cabins.

We had many boys receive commendations for humble leadership in their cabins. Commendations are voted on by the campers to select some of their peers and are selected by the counselors of each cabin. The recipients of tonight’s commendations were:

Tomahawk

Counselor – Harrison B., Aubrey S.

Camper – Harrison B., Will R.

Little Piney

Counselor – Wells F., Andrew R., Nolan S.

Camper – Grant R., Logan R., Andrew R.

Big Piney

Counselor – Benjamin B., Max B.

Camper – Preston C., Daniel V.

Stomper’s Knob

Counselor – Benjamin C., Andrew C., Lucas R.

Camper – Harry H., Lucas R., Ford S.

Little Slaty

Counselor – Trey D., Marco I., William L.

Camper – Davis M., Matthew R., Hunter S.

Big Slaty

Counselor – Seth B., Jack R.

Camper – Reed F., Jake L.

GreyBeard

Counselor – Cody S., Karl V.

Camper – Blake C., Charles D.

            We also handed out promotions to boys who have progressed in the Little Chief system. The Little Chief system is our promotion system that rewards the boy’s leadership and proficiency in activities and in cabin life. The promotions awarded tonight were:

Scout: Harrison B., Nash K., John K., Nikheil P., Grant R.

Guide: Andrew R., Aubrey S.

Tracker: Marco I., Spencer M., Jay S., Ford S., Marcelino S.

Hunter:

Nicholas G., Jeb S.

Warrior:

Reed F.

Little Chief:

Trey F.

            We couldn’t be prouder of all of these boys and are so excited to see what they do next. If the Fowler’s are reading this, I want you to know how incredibly proud we are of Trey. He has been a joy to have at camp this summer and I am so thrilled that he got his Little Chief tonight. He truly earned it and myself and tour whole staff are so happy for him.

            Obviously every camper cannot earn commendations or promotions every time we have these types of ceremonies, but that does not at all mean that each and every one of our boys are not growing into the men that God has created them to be here at Camp Timberlake. We have seen growth through friends and adventure every day here in the mountains and we cannot wait to tell all of you about the stories from the last two weeks when you come to pick up your boys tomorrow. That’s all I’ve got for you tonight. Safe travels!

Brandon Chase

Program Director

Winston-Salem Enthusiast

Tar Heel

Seminole

Tested Article Writer