Tuesday, September 02, 2008
What an amazing welcome Timberlake has given me. Not only the kids and the staff but also the place itself welcomed me. I walked around and admired the new cabins -the new Trapper’s is like a cathedral compared to the one I staffed in 1985! The additions to the upper lodge stood as testimony how the community has grown and spilled out onto the lawn and even into the trees! What remains unchanged were the pathways. The circulation and flow of our community still moves along the same patterns as it did over twenty years ago. What was new was the expression of commitment from the campers. The beautiful walk from the upper lodge to meeting was made more significant by the two senior lodge volunteers who stood vigil, reminding us of the need to descend to the meeting circle in silence. Throughout my stay there were constant signs of the sense of ownership people had acquired over the course of the summer. I saw this in the young band members that lead songs onstage, and in the campers keen to get finish their woodsman or those countless kids with aprons lending a hand in the kitchen.
Marveling at the great state of health and fitness at Timberlake, I was honored that I was soon being approached by campers of all ages to ask me about who I was and what plans I had for future camps. This sense of being welcome culminated with being given my first ever bead during a council fire (I was not yet a tradition in my time).
Staff were also very forthcoming, and I was able to appreciate what a great team Chris has put together and how much Timberlake means to them. I look forward to working with many of this great team next summer, and I am glad that we hit it off during these two weeks and will be working together to have a really memorable summer.
Having been welcomed, I now can sit down and dedicate my energies to planning for next summer and building on all the success of this summer. TL 2009, it’s going to be BIG!
Tulio Browning