Today felt oddly familiar. I guess that should be no surprise. Laurie and I have watched summers evolve as directors for 34 years. I told somebody that the other day, and her reply was “that’s a long time for anything.” It sort of caught me off guard. It doesn’t really seem that long. “Odd” because … Continued
We are excited to be counting down the weeks to summer 2023 and want to share some exciting updates including some changes to the year round director team.. Gardner and her husband Lucas will be moving to Illahee at the end of May with sons Brooks (age 9) and Jasper (6 mos). Gardner has been … Continued
Gardner and Lucas welcomed Jasper into the world on October 13th, a week ago, in Columbia, SC. At 7lb 11oz and 20″ long, he was the same size as his brother Brooks on his December 25th, 2013 birthday. And both boys were born on a great-grandmother’s birthday- Brooks on Gordon’s mother as well as Laurie’s … Continued
They’ve got grit! Last Saturday, Marie and three girl friends (including Janna Barton Carlson, Illahee trip leader and activity instructor since 2011) headed to Camp Daniel Boone at 5:30 a.m. to start their 30 mile through run on the Art Loeb Trail. They finished 10 1/2 hours later having covered 8000′ feet of elevation- an … Continued
An Illahee girl in the 1940s might’ve spent her morning loading up golf clubs, bags, balls and tees to hit the links. She may have paddled in canoe formation but I’m doubtful she would’ve roped up to climb Looking Glass Rock or rolled a kayak in the lake. She may have hit tennis balls with … Continued
With over 10″ of snow falling in Brevard on Sunday, we are enjoying a winter wonderland at camp. Besides plowing the driveways and shoveling the doorsteps, we’ve been bundled up and taking time to play on this sunny 20 degree day. Marie and Turner got their skis out to explore the farm. Laurie discovered that … Continued
We hope your family enjoyed the holidays and that you are welcoming 2022! January brings new energy at camp as we begin the countdown to summer. This week, we are saying good-bye to Lindsey Guye, who has been operations director and a year-round associate director since February 2014. Lindsey is moving to Nashville for a … Continued
Illahee girls dream about a camp wedding and on August 28th Gardner and Lucas’ wedding made that a reality! Camp weddings are few and far between, and we thought you might enjoy some of the inside scoop. As the M.O.B. I was able to enjoy the celebration first hand, especially knowing that Gardner was being … Continued
We are counting down the days until camp opens and we know our campers and staff are looking forward to being with their Illahee family this summer. Our year-round camp family and director team has grown with Marie and Turner starting work here last Monday! Turner has been helping Gordon open camp and Lindsey is … Continued
We have some Big News! Marie Armbruster and Turner Strayhorn will be joining the year-round Illahee director team in April. Marie will be Program Director and Turner will focus on the Facilities and Technology for camp. We are excited to see what this avid outdoors-loving couple will bring to Illahee. Marie completed her master’s in … Continued
