The Sari Diaries- Thursday 7/5/18

Dear Chippies, Parents, Family and Friends,

Integrity is the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles. A person with integrity has made a personal choice to hold herself to consistent moral and ethical standards. Integrity is the east direction on the Chippewa Compass.

Without question, we have a camp full of people who demonstrate integrity. But when I think about the word integrity, I cannot help but think of one specific person…a person at CRC who has consistently made our community a better place…she is someone who not only has made the choice to be a good person herself but who has made it her mission to help others be the best versions of themselves. She is someone who holds others to high standards but herself to an even higher one. She is a good friend, a compassionate mentor and an incredible camp director. We are very lucky to have her here at CRC and hopefully after tonight, Sophie realizes just how special she is to the Chippewa family.

Tonight we celebrated Soph-Aloaf ‘s fifteen years at CRC in a way that is a true indication of the impact she has had on Chippewa and the people who call this place home. We had a campfire (even though it is a Thursday night) to honor her and the theme was…you guessed it…INTEGRITY. It fit so naturally as Sophie is the definition of integrity. Campers, staff and alumni spoke beautifully in a way that connected their experiences with Sophie to this amazing trait that she embodies. Memories and anecdotes were shared, and the common theme was that Sophie has had such a significant influence on the people who are lucky enough to share their summers with her. We ended the campfire with a keylog ceremony that was long…very long…so many people wanted an opportunity to thank Sophie for something…some thanked her for a specific time she helped them, others thanked her for being a role model and others thanked her for being their summer go-to person. It was heartwarming and so well deserved.

Sophie gives so much to this camp- the effort, heart and soul that she puts into creating a camp environment that helps others grow is monumental. She has created a role at Chippewa that can only be filled by her…she is a person people trust, she is a person they look to for guidance, and support, she is a person people find when they want to smile and she is a person that every individual at this camp knows that they can count on. She has time for everyone and no issue is too small for her to care about. We are so unbelievably fortunate to have a person of this caliber at #TheRanch2018.

On a personal level, I am in the unique position of having my best camp friend be ten years younger than me. Because of that, I have had the privilege of watching her grow from a shy eleven year old into the adult that every camper wants to be with, and wants to be like. It has been an incredible transition over the past fifteen summers and I am so appreciative that I have had the opportunity to create such an amazing friendship with such an wonderful human being.

Thank you Sophie for being who you are- a person who exemplifies integrity and truly makes Chippewa a better place! Congratulations on 15 years at CRC…here’s to 15 more!

Happy Camping and Love,
Sari