Farm & Wilderness Blog

Lodge Staff Introductions: Batch 1 - Farm & Wilderness

Written by Kory Mathis | May 23, 2011

Hello Again Flying Clouders!

We are getting pretty close to the summer now. In just a couple weeks all of the summer staff will be arriving at Farm & Wilderness to start getting ready for the arrival of all the campers. It’s an exciting time of year here in the Valley and I wanted to let you know a little bit more about the summer. I have already introduced the Support Staff of 2011 to y’all, and now I am very excited to be announcing the first batch of Lodge Counselors that will be in the clearing this summer.These are the staff members that will be living in the Tipis and the Yomes with the campers. Some of them are returning from 2011, some from summers past, and some of them are brand new to the clearing.

In thinking about how to introduce all these wonderful men, I thought “what would be the best way to give you an insight to who they are?” Everyone gets excited about Flying Cloud for different reasons. Some are more similar than others, but in the end we can all say that we are thrilled to be at Flying Cloud. So here are their voices on why they are excited to be working at Flying Cloud this summer!

After a brief absence from Flying Cloud (Lodge staff in ’05 and ’07) Michael “Sunrise Mist” Dyck had the following to say about why he excited to make his return to the clearing:

“ Outside of camp, I am a physical therapist, musician, and nature enthusiast. This will be my third summer back at the Cloud, and I am eagerly looking forward to the hiking, exploring, skill practicing, playing, and many more activities that make up our wonderful summers. I am also excited for the community building and the heightened sense of presence that are perennials at Flying Cloud.”

A former camper making his return to Flying Cloud for his first summer on staff is Langston “Night” Epps. I am personally very excited to see Night back at camp after having had the opportunity to work with him as a camper and watching him grow into a wonderful young man. When asked about what he was excited about, Night shared this with me:

“I look forward to being a part of memories that will last a lifetime. That, and setting the boys on the path to discover their own meaning of manhood.”

Changing camps and moving farther up Saltash Mountain, I am excited to introduce Daniel Filstien. A former Saltash Mountain Counselor from 2010, Dan will make a great, experienced addition to the team. Dan shared these sentiments:

“I’m waiting in great anticipation for this summer, my first at FC and second at F&W, where I know we will have an incredible time building a community together based on respect and appreciation for each other and for nature. I am looking forward to getting to know each one of you and sharing many experiences learning and improving our wilderness skills and growing as humans toward personal and collective awareness.  A beautiful summer in the Vermont woods awaits us!”

New to Flying Cloud, but not a stranger to Farm & Wilderness, I would like to welcome Nick Canby to the Flying Cloud family.  Nick shared this:

“I can’t tell you how excited I am to set foot in the pristine wilderness of Vermont and smell that fresh scent of early summer. I’ll be looking forward to really immersing myself in the forest and forgetting all about these pesky computers and phones and technology that we spend so much time with these days. I look forward to really slowing down and getting to know you all this summer, and to seeing how the community develops over our time together. I’m sure I have much to learn from all of you, and I hope we can all come to this experience with open minds and just see where it takes us.”

And for today I will introduce one last Lodge Counselor. Please welcome Jensen Morgan to both Flying Cloud and Farm & Wilderness. Jensen is brand new to our family and community and we are very excited to share with him Flying Cloud, and also to see what he has to share with us. The following is what Jensen said when asked about introducing himself to y’all:

“This will be my first summer at Flying Cloud and I am ridiculously excited!  I am from Utah where I have six siblings who love to laugh and wrestle and play games all day long.  I hope that they, someday, can experience F&W, and that my brother can experience Flying Cloud.”

For today, I’ll leave y’all with these introductions to read over. Check back next week for the remaining five lodge staff that have been hired this summer. We have a pretty incredible team! I feel confident that this crew will help us all have an amazing summer experience! Until then, be well and enjoy he wonders of discovery. Maybe you can take a long walk in the woods and see how many different signs of animal life you can find!