Twelve Inches of snow blanketed Camp Illahee last Friday, just in time for a snowbound weekend. I was in New York with a dozen Manhattan based Illahee girls enjoying the last camper gathering before the New Year. Having raised two children at a summer camp, parenting in the city is intriguing. Our family’s “tree-dition” is … Continued
Camp Illahee families participated in a Youth Outcomes Study conducted by Clemson University and sponsored by the NCYCA. Illahee was one of nineteen private independent camps included and had the highest participation rate! 55% of our camp families took part in last summer’s survey. (The overall parent response was 24%). Thank you Illahee parents! Your … Continued
Lindsey and I traveled to our two largest camp towns, Atlanta and Charlotte, a few weeks ago. We decided that early January is a great time for camp movies as we had 75 energetic camp girls at each show. It’s fun to see junior counselors and older campers gather on the floor in a living … Continued
Campers talk about what they like about Camp Illahee.
“Manners make a person nice to know.” Or rather I should clarify that good manners make a person nice to know! And at Illahee, one area that we practice kindness and putting others first -is in Tilley Lodge, our dining hall. I figure that the community spends about three hours a day gathered in the … Continued
Yesterday I was opening the mail that had piled up last week while we were all away at the American Camp Association Conference in New Orleans. I opened a hand drawn Illahee pine branch with Thank You on the front. The letter from our 5th grade camper began, Dear Camp Illahee Staff…..Thank you…. Every day at … Continued
Laurie and Gretchen wrapped up some pre-holiday travel last week in Columbia, SC, Richmond and Alexandria, VA. There seemed to be added energy around the holiday festivities. Laurie enjoyed a multi-generational camp gathering in Richmond and visited with recent staff members who work in the city as well as current University of Richmond counselors taking … Continued
This season we’ll be celebrating Illahee’s 95th anniversary and the 10th year of the Junior Session! Since 2005, the last week of the camp season has brought some of the most excited campers to Illahee! These campers have been counting down the days to the session and for many, it is their first week away … Continued
It was a blue ribbon day in the “heavenly”…one that the Chamber of Commerce would be proud to hang their hat on for all to see. It started off a little foggy again, but the riding staff who were feeding the horses, a few early morning staff joggers, and I may have been the only … Continued
