The Sari Diaries- Tuesday 7/28/15

Dear Chippies, Parents, Family and Friends,

It has been quite a lovely day here at CRC and as the evening comes to a close, I am happy to update you on all of the excitement. Here are today’s highlights…

1. This morning, our Junior Soccer Team hosted Camp Red Pine in an awesome soccer game. The skills of both teams were high and everyone had a lot of fun. According to Callam (who was coaching the team), there was also an impressive amount of good sportsmanship demonstrated by both teams. Despite not winning the game, the girls had a blast and enjoyed cookies with the Red Pine Campers after the game. Eden S did score a goal and many others played very well, too!

2. At Chippewa we celebrate a number of big milestones each summer. Reaching an International Five Year is a huge accomplishment for our staff who live outside the US and today we honored Azeb Smalley for her return to Chippewa for summer number five. While it is a commitment for all of our staff to return summer after summer, to travel across an ocean to be here for ten weeks for five straight summers is an incredible display of dedication to this special place. Azeb has gone above and beyond what is expected of a staff member and has become a true Chippy girl. She connects with returning Chippies, new Chippies and even alumni during Family Camp. She is loved by everyone here and maybe more importantly, she is respected for her love for camp and her extremely high level of integrity. Cliff had all of her former campers stand up and then all of the staff members for whom she has been a CIT Director. He then asked for any camper who had those staff members as a counselor to stand. At that point, every single camper in camp was standing. Clearly, Azeb has made a significant impression on our camp community and we feel so lucky to have her return summer after summer. The ceremony we held after lunch was just a small showing of our level of appreciation…we are forever grateful to Azeb and her loyalty to Chippewa!

3. We had Horseshoe & Cactus along with the second sessioners from Circle C, Wagon Ridge and Rafter ^ X return from their camping trips today. They all had a fantastic time and while we always want this to be the case, these campers returned to camp more positive than almost any groups we have ever seen. Hannah D and Sarah N raved that camping trips are awesome and they loved the entire experience. Hannah D said, “I really love our age group,” which is just so heartwarming. Sometimes Chippies can be a bit nervous for their out of camp excursions but it was made clear once again what a unique bonding and skill building opportunity our trip program provides to each of our campers.

4. Tonight we headed to Kawaga for a social. It was a ton of fun and to add to the entertainment, Lakeview dressed up in costume. Everyone had a blast and we loved seeing cousins, siblings and friends reunite!

And there you have it folks- another spectacular day in the books. #TheRanch2015 is still filled with happy Chippies and although it’s hard to believe, we are confident that tomorrow will be even better than today! Thanks for reading- have a good night!

Happy Camping and Love,
Sari