There are those counselors and staff members who become well-known to our camp community because they are in the trenches with your children on a daily basis. However, there are unsung heroes at Camp Takajo who play a vital role in the success of our operation.
As I walked into the kitchen this morning at 6:00 AM for a cup of coffee, I was greeted by my head chef, Reggie, and his first cook, Stacy, who were behind the grill making egg and cheese sandwiches for the entire camp community. In our salad and pantry area, a team of cooks were chopping fresh fruit that they were preparing for the morning fruit and yogurt bar. The kitchen smelled delicious because our head baker, Neil, was making blueberry muffins. The smell was so appetizing that I thought the aroma could even wake up the campers prior to Warren blowing reveille. I asked Reggie and Stacy what motivates them to wake up at 5:00 AM every morning, and they both looked at me with a big smile and said, “The children. No matter how much the campers love tennis, basketball, or any other activity, the dining hall is the only place where our campers come three times a day.”
After breakfast I had my daily morning meeting with my medical staff. We have seven registered nurses who are led by our head nurse, Chic Graham, who is returning for his seventeenth year at Camp Takajo. Also present in my medical staff meeting was our doctor in residence, Pediatric Surgeon Bob Bellin. Each morning I meet with my medical staff to discuss the health and safety of our campers and staff. We discuss who stayed overnight in the health center, children who came in for minor cuts and bruises, and then those rare cases when some may require out of camp treatment. This daily meeting is a critical part of running a safe camp.
While we value our nurses’ medical skills, we equally value their bedside manner. Our medical staff understands and appreciates that they are caring for your children. They recognize that there is nothing worse than being away from home and being injured or not feeling well. Their medical skills combined with their empathy and compassion are a vital part to the well-being of our community. While I have the utmost respect for my counselors who are “in the trenches,” we could not function without the unwavering devotion of our food service and medical staff.
