The staff has arrived and Timberlake is abuzz with anticipation as we are only a few days away from the start of summer. It’s tough to describe just how exciting it is to see all of our staff arrive and begin training for summer. As a director, I get to watch thirty plus young men who we have spent nine months recruiting, guys who we know and trust, guys who are excited to come and serve at camp, arrive and meet one another. Some have never met and some have been friends since they were campers. They come from different places, have different interests, are studying different things and pursuing different careers, but they are united by a common purpose, helping our boys grow at camp through lifelong friendships and shared adventures.

In a way it’s very much like a wedding. All our favorite people are here to celebrate and participate in a landmark and life changing event. Rather than celebrating a couple, however, they are here for the more than 500 campers who will christen our beautiful new property, and whose lives, we hope, will be richer and fuller because of the experiences they will have at Timberlake this summer.

Practically speaking, this week is full of activity preparation, cabin organization, and lots of meetings. There is much to cover to prepare and equip our staff for the task at hand, and we go into great detail on all the silly things like how to execute the perfect Cowboy Joe Day, to the most serious things, like how we protect every single camper, physically and emotionally while they are here at camp.

Throughout it all, however, the pervading emotion is that of anticipation. We can’t wait for the campers to arrive and the summer to begin. Staff training is great, but summer is the best. So hurry up and join us Timberlakers! We can’t wait for you to see what we’ve been building all year, and meet our best staff yet.

John Menendez

Director