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Merri-Mac on our local news

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Last month Asheville’s WLOS News 13 came to camp to interview Adam about the way we screen our staff in the light of North Carolina’s laws for criminal background screening of potential camp staff members.

Camping is a huge part of western North Carolina, and so it is awesome to be able to show how good camps go above and beyond the state requirements.

Here is the video for you to watch.  They took some beautiful shots of camp for you to see.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are getting so excited about this summer.  Our staff is amazing, camp looks fantastic, and camper activity forms are rolling in.  It is happening people!  So awesome.

Happy Camping!

Dan

 

2012 Camp Clothing

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Merri-Wear is in (mostly) and we wanted to share the photos.

1. Camp Picture

2. Tribe Blankets

3. Tribe Jerseys

4. Tribal Track Shorts

5. Tribal Bandanas

6. Tribal Snuggies

8. Stuffed Horse

9. Track Shorts

10. Felt Pennant

12. Camp T-Shirt

13. Flannel Pants

14. Crazy Creek Chair

15. Logo Sweatshirt

16. Canvas Laundry Bag

17. Open Cuff Sweat Pants

19. Draw String Bag

20. Water Bottle

21. Turvis Tumbler

22. Shoestrings

Tribal Snuggies?

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You asked for them, and here they are!  Don’t worry, we’ll post the rest of the clothing very soon.

A Word To Parents

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As parents we find ourselves balancing the questions of how we help our children grow with how we keep them safe.  In particular we struggle with the issue of who we put in positions of influence in their lives.  We do this at camp in three ways.

1. People.  My father used to say that he could run a great camp in the desert, if he had the right staff.  He was right.  Finding the right people is the most important thing we do.  Of course we start with people we know, and most of our staff began with us as campers, so we know them very well.  The others are usually recommended by people we know.  Those who love camp the most find staff ready to love camp the best.

It is worth noting here that we are a traditional camp.  Traditional camps hire staff with the priority of youth development.  We do this through skill development that is stronger than many sports camps, but we are not willing to hire skill apart from character.

2. Policies.  Even though we hire people we know very well, rigid hiring policies are also important.  Of course we run criminal and sex-offender checks on everyone, and we run driving records on any who might drive, but we believe the most important filter is a rigorous and consistent interview process.  We also check references and verify volunteer and work histories as appropriate.  Finally, if you want to work with our campers, you are going to be our friend on facebook.

3.  Procedures.  Depending on their role at camp, our staff training is between six days and two weeks, and it is very rigorous.  We just posted our staff manual on the website, so you can see for yourself. We also require all of our counselor staff to receive a certificate from www.ministrysafe.com.  You may find this a good resource for your family as well.

Finally, we are very proud of our counselors, we believe we know their character, not just their conduct.  We know many of their families and we stay in touch.  But camp is also a special environment, where we live in a closed community, and see each others’ best qualities.  It is up to you to monitor and determine how much contact you want your camper to have with their counselor in the off season.

As camp parents we wanted to let you know what we do as camp directors to keep our children safe.  We also wanted to encourage you with the reminder that a great camp experience should be one of the most important growing experiences in a child’s life.  We promise to work hard to make that the case for your camper, just as it has been for ours.

Adam and Ann

Merri-Mac went to Puerto Rico?

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So Adam says to me, “Dan, I need you to go to Puerto Rico to do some Merri-Mac presentations.  And you should take your wife.”

How about that for a work assignment?  We got to go spend time in an amazing place and speak with potential camp families from Puerto Rico.  Our excellent host was Esteban Rivera and he literally drove us all over the island for both camp promotion and to see the sights with his wonderful daughter, Naomi (a proud Merri-Mac Iroquois) and his sweet wife, Nancy.  Here are some pictures from our time there:

This was in a place called Playa Sucia.  Pretty cool.

Here is our excellent host, Esteban Rivera, cracking open an almond for us to try.

This was at a Merri-Mac presentation in Mayaguez. Most of it was in Spanish! Pretty cool.

The Iroquois really were the best tribe that day.

The food was one of my favorite aspects of the trip. Lots of plantains, Yucca, and pork. So delicious!

This was in El Yunque National Park.

You could see the ocean from the middle of the island.

The Rivera family is a lot of fun and we can’t even begin to express how humbled we were at their hospitality. We felt like we were part of their family and absolutely loved bringing Merri-Mac to Puerto Rico. Hopefully in the future we will have a lot more families from that wonderful place!

Happy camping!

Director Dan

Wanna go sailing?

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Merri-Mac Maritime

July 8-18, 2012
Tuition: $2,750.00
Age: rising 8th–11th grades

Join us on a sailing adventure exclusively for Merri-Mac girls. We will be sailing from New London, CT to Gloucester MA on “The Appledore,” an 85 foot schooner.

Now, with the breeze in your hair and the helm in your hands, you realize how far you and your teammates have come. It will be just you, the wind and your Merri-Mac team-mates.

Beyond the fun, living and learning aboard a schooner offers a perfect environment to develop leadership and communication skills, as there is nothing contrived about teamwork when working together as part of a tight-knit crew.

The ship is a steel hulled Gaff rigged schooner of a type typical of those sailed on coastal waters and in the Great Lakes right up to the end of the age of sail. Schooners were the workhorses of their era providing the primary means of transportation for goods and passengers over long distances.

As the ship sails between ports along the northeastern seaboard, participants stand a regular watch while learning every aspect of running the ship, from navigation to meal preparation. The ship anchors most nights in one of the many secluded coves and may visit a small port town along the way. Voyage highlights include trips ashore in the ship’s tenders, exploration of uninhabited islands, and beach cook-outs.

After our sailing adventure, we will spend a day exploring the rich history of Boston, MA, and a day learning to surf at the beach.

Itinerary

Date Destination Type of Mooring
July 8 Arrive at Providence Rhode Island Airport
July 9 Docked at the tall ship festival
July 10 Block Island Anchorage
July 11 Cutty Hunk
(or Tarpulin Cove) Anchorage
July 12 Nantucket Anchorage
July 13 Near Cape Cod Canal Anchorage
July 14 Provincetown Anchorage
July 15 Gloucester, MA Public Dock
July 16 Boston, MA Hostel or Camp
July 17 Surf Camp in Gloucester, MA Camping
July 18 Depart from Providence Rhode Island Airport

Highlights

  • Learn to sail an 85 foot schooner
  • 6 days of sailing with 8 Merri-Mac girls
  • Exploring the North Atlantic seaboard and historic Boston
  • Develop leadership and communication skills
  • Learn to surf
  • Amazing seafood

FAQ’s
What if I am on the camp wait list? If a spot opens for you at Merri-Mac we’ll just roll your enrollment over to camp.

How do I enroll? You must let camp know by March 9th  if you are interested in coming.

What about my camp friends? This is a Merri-Mac adventure with Merri-Mac girls. I suspect there will be a lot of singing around meal times!

How do we get there? We will meet campers at the Providence Airport on July 8.

Happy Camping!

Adam

You really should be a cit…here’s why!

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The day after Christmas, while most MM&TL staff, alumni and campers were recovering from the festivities of Christmas, 9 MM & TL CITs were boarding an airplane, travling to Costa Rica for an adventure of a lifetime!

One of the first things our Guide, Carlos shared with us, is that we needed to learn the phrase Pura Vida. He said that if we can learn to say Pura Vida, we will get along alright in Costa Rica. Pura vida literally means Pura = pure and vida = life, but “Pure life” in Spanish would be “Vida pura” instead, so the real meaning is closer to “plenty of life”, “full of life”, “this is living!”, “going great”, “real living”,” Awesome!” or “cool!” It can be used both as a greeting and a farewell, to express satisfaction, to politely express indifference when describing something or even to say “thank you” or “you’re welcome”. The phrase has become universally known in Costa Rica.

Pura Vida became our battle cry as we were backpacking through the remote jungle, up and down the vicious and overgrown terrain. Pura Vida was our spirit as we harvested sugar cane to make brown sugar for the Village of Piedras Blancas or moved 100s of lbs of sand and rocks to build a new foundation for a bridge that was damaged in flood waters during the rainy season. Pura Vida was the gift we received from the gentleness and hospitality of our hosts families in the village of Piedras Blancas as we ate meals together, played with children and became part of the family. Pura Vida was our exhilaration as we rappelled down a 90 waterfall, rafted 17 miles down the class IV Sevegre River and learned to surf in the warm waters of the Pacific.

One of the reasons each individual was on this adventure is because they will be CITs this summer at either Camp Merri-Mac or Camp Timberlake and this was one of the options of training for the summer. The training focused on the characteristics of leadership that we hope for at MM&TL. Each night we explored different aspects of leadership such as servant leadership, leadership as influence, humility, self-awareness and integrity. We were able to connect not only the moments from our trip, but also moments from life at home to these concepts of leadership.

One of the most vivid moments was at the end of our hike on the first night. After 9 miles of extremely rugged terrain, we hiked into our campsite. We all were completely exhausted. Despite being ready to throw in the towel and curl up on a tuft of jungle moss and mud for the night, there were things that had to be done. We needed food, shelter and to take care of our personal needs. In the wilderness, each one of these needs takes extraordinarily more time and effort to complete. The moment demanded that each member of the group choose to be selfless by first managing personal needs and then tending to each other and the tasks at hand. This was critical because it was not about being comfortable, it was about being safe. With out the calories of food, we would not be able to continue. With out the protection of shelter, we would be exposed to the elements. It demanded a sacrifice on the part of each individual to accomplish the basic necessities for our group to be safe. Each member contributed there different gifts and strengths to the task at hand.

The CITs on this great adventure will share Costa Ricas Pura Vida with Merri-Mac and Timberlake this summer so that the campers, staff and community around us may experience life that God has given us to the fullest!

Ryan Carlson
Director of Black Mountain Expeditions

Construction progress

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The concrete foundation walls are up and Tree Top is starting to take shape.

It is all pretty exciting around here because we have also decided to take on yet another project, the Lodge is getting a much needed face lift! Why would we do that you might be asking yourself? Well, ultimately because we love you girls and a lot of Sunnysiders weren’t going to be able to be here without us doing something drastic. We fill up really quickly after camp (never forget to early enroll people!) and it was heartbreaking to us that some really sweet girls were going to miss out on their last summer with us due to lack of space. So for the first time ever, the Lodge is going to have campers living in it! Aren’t we crazy? Maybe a little bit. But it is going to be nice. Check out the progress so far. You would never even know it was the Lodge.

And then we put in some pretty stone steps on the bank up by the canoe shack too! Because why not?

Happy Camping! (Especially to you Sunnysiders)

From all of us here at Merri-Mac

A new activity at camp?

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Actually, we are adding two this summer.

I have a confession to make.  I’m proud we’re building a new infirmary (Tree Tops?) but I am even more excited that the bottom floor will be a demonstration kitchen.  Yep, we’re adding a cooking class this summer.  I love our food at camp, but I cannot wait to see what our girls cook in class…and I am expecting to see some of it on the round table this summer!

But that’s not all.  We’re also rolling out a new knitting class.  Knitting has become the new cool thing among high school student here in Black Mountain, and I suspect it will be even more popular here.

I have always been pleased that Merri-Mac has something for everyone.  We have high energy athletic sports like gymnastics, soccer, diving, cheerleading, volleyball, fitness, etc.  We also have camp classics like fencing, riflery swimming and archery.  I especially like our mountain sports like climbing, canoeing, kayaking, and backpacking.   And of course riding is in a class of its own.  But recently I have felt there was  room for a few quieter, small motor skill , activities, and I think cooking and knitting will fit the bill perfectly.

Knit one, Pearl two,

Adam and Ann