The New Kids on the Block
It has been a big week at Keystone! It was a real pleasure to welcome Heidi Spradlin as a new director on Monday morning. Many of you already know Heidi from her summer work with us, and we could not be more thrilled to have her on board with us full time. Heidi has been able to fill her days becoming more familiar with the camp program, our staff and our campers. I hope many of you will come out to meet her as we travel with the Keystone Road Show this fall and winter.
The other new addition in the attached picture is Apple, a two year old yellow Labrador who happens to be Duke’s full sister. Duke’s breeder mentioned that she had one of his sisters who needed a home, and where else could be any closer to heaven for a Labrador than living at a summer camp! Apple has enjoyed walking the trails and she is beginning to follow Duke and KaCey into the canoeing lake for daily swims. The good news is that she is not a barker. Duke continues to occupy that spot on his own. Apple is so sweet and loving, and she is the same size as KaCey. She looks a lot like Duke, and we are having trouble keeping the dogs straight. The task will be easier once her bright red color arrives. We have no doubt she will be a huge hit with all of our campers next summer.
Applications are arriving steadily and sessions are filling. Leadership essay questions are due by October 20th. It has been so rewarding to see the number of you returning in 2018. Heidi and I will be turning our attention to road shows next week, so we can have a chance to visit with you in your hometowns and meet your friends.
The change of seasons is upon us. Falling leaves are floating on the surfaces of the lakes, and several cabin roofs are covered in leaves. The summer flowers are fading and the fall color is beginning to show. You can see evidence of the deer walking through the cabin areas. They love to eat the entire leaf of a hosta plant and leave just the stem standing. I love the peace of Fall. It is definitely a time of renewal for us. Our days are spent going through this past summer by reviewing returned surveys and pulling our own notes of things we can improve, changes we would like to make, and planning the projects we want to accomplish before opening day of 2018. Our greatest desire is to do our job better in each new season.
We look forward to seeing you on the road and back at camp in 2018.
Happy Fall!
