Camp Gailor Maxon 2010

Mark your calendars for the dates for next year!!!

Mini Maxon Pre Camp (rising 1st through 3rd grade with a parent)
Thursday, June 3rd after dinner - Sunday, June 6th

Camp One (rising 10th through rising college freshmen)
Thursday, June 10th - Saturday, June 19th

Camp Two (rising 7th, 8th, & 9th graders)
Sunday, June 20th - Saturday June 26th

Camp Three (rising 4th, 5th, & 6th graders)
Sunday, June 27th - Saturday, July 3rd

Applications will be mailed out in early spring of next year and you'll be able to save your spot with a deposit. Keep a look out for the applications and tell your friends!

Picasa site

We have a picasa site that stores and shows all 500 something pictures from this summer, broken down into 4 albums by session. In order to save them (full quality) onto your computer, hit the 'download' tab at the top center of the page.

Check out the pictures - there are some great ones!

http://picasaweb.google.com/campgailormaxon

Well folks...

We did it - we made it through a month of camp. It was another successful summer here on the mountain. As my staff packs up, cleans up, and organizes, it seems like just yesterday that we were pulling down all the supplies from the 4th floor and making that first WalMart run. It has been an awesome month and one that was really meaningful for a lot of people.

As the year progresses, please continue to check back for new posts. We'll have announcements of church visits, camp get-togethers in various towns, and postings from various staff members as we reflect on this summer.

Please feel free to share the blog and pictures with friends. As people ask about camp, direct them here! This blog chronicles our entire summer together and really explains well our mission and what we do on a day to day basis.

In addition, I'm posting two more things today: a link to our picture site and directions on how to download pictures and the 2010 camp dates.

Thank you for following us this summer - we are grateful to all our fans!

Day Swenty Seven: 6/26

Today was the last full day of camp for both the kids and the staff. It was a day full of happiness but a bit of surrealness as well. We had our last chapel program today, which focused on the Promised Land and the journey we'll each take through out lives. The reality is that each of us is on our own journey - we've intersected here at camp. We may travel with each other again but we'll always be growing and changing in our own ways along the way. Moses was on a journey with his people to the promised land but once they got there, they realized the journey had only just begun. In some ways, that is how camp is as well. For many kids, camp is the "promised land" and when they have to leave, it feels like their world is ending. They go home and have the after camp blues and don't know what to do with their lives. But in all actuality, while the journey to camp and through camp was significant, camp is simply part of their life journey - one that equips them for success as a Christian but also as a member of society. After leaving camp, the journey has only just begun - they will use everything they learned this week to grow even more in the coming year. I am always amazed at the impact that camp has on people's faith lives. In a society where it is not 'cool' to talk about faith, we're teaching kids about having healthy prayer lives, about finding a community of believers who embrace us for who we are.

After chapel we had our afternoon activities. The kids went across the street to the AWESOME playground (it has a zip line and tire swing among other things) before loading the bus and heading into Sewanee. They went to the bookstore and played in the quad. Our kids love Sewanee and so do we - it is beautiful and serene.

That night was the banquet and celebration. We had our meal, made it rain, and then sang tons of silly camp songs. We then processed from the dining hall to the stone altar for a service of Eucharist. We had our carnival afterwards. The events at the carnival were so much fun - there was a dance contest, a drink walk, a "best of the west" where they had to use water guns to shoot out candles, face painting and more.

Putting the kids to bed was hard - they were so tired but didn't want to give up the last night of camp. We sang songs, told stories, and eventually they all went to sleep.

Pictured Above:

1)Boy staff turning their swag on

2) Learning the CGM Line Dance

3) Best of the West candle shoot out

4) Face Paint with Nick and Bitsy

5) Ford with the lady counselors

6) The Camp Staff says goodbye

7) The Eucharist at the stone altar at sunset

8) singing in the dining hall after the meal

9) GSL girls at the banquet

10) coming through the tunnel

Day Twenty Six: 6/25

Thursday's chapel program focused on Moses's journey after the Red Sea - into the Wilderness. With the idea of Wilderness and Wandering, we had a skit of "Where the Wild Things Are" by the JCs and then we looked at the similarities of Moses and Max from "Where the Wild Things Are." We talked about how when we go on journeys we can't take everything and just like when we packed for camp we had a packing list of needs but also had some wants as well. We then went to small group and packed our 'family group suitcase' with needs on one side and wants on the other from magazines as if we were going on a journey.

That afternoon we had an on campus fun day. We did sports and games (a little kickball action), arts and crafts (homemade ice cream and then some tie-dying!), and then had a water day! We went to the pool and then had a slip and slide and water balloon fight.

That night was the big cabin skit and talent show. The boys did a skit on "how they got in jail" with the big joke at the end being that Joe George got in jail because he pulled the tag off the mattress. The girls did a skit about the counselors (always a favorite idea!) that involved the Wolfin and the Crocadude fighting at the end. Speaking of Crocadude, the running skit for skit night/talent show was new this week. It involved a "crocadude" expedition (crocadude is a joke from the Tracy Lakes trip - the kids made him up) where Alex, Hank, Nick, Andrew, and Neil were going on a trip to find this creature. The "crocadude" ends up being Meredith, who eats all the explorers. The kids thought it was hilarious.

We ended the night with a giant field game of capture the flag - it was two family groups versus the other two. We had jails at either end. The kids were hilarious about it because they were plotting strategy and were being spies for their side by tricking the other side into thinking they were friends instead of foes. We got two rounds of that in then went to the chapel for compline and snack.

Pictured above:

1) Aynsley and Katie Fisher having the time of their lives

2) the girls before the Capture the Flag game

3) Crocadudette gets Alex, the field explorer

4) Kids playing in the pool

5) the Slip and Slide

Day Twenty Five: 6/24

Wednesday came quickly for us this week. The middle of the week signals that camp is halfway over for this age group and it was a sad realization. All the kids remarked at how quickly camp is going by and how much fun they are having. One really nice thing about this age group is that they are not hesitant to tell you how they feel. It is so wonderful when they come up, hug you, and tell you how much fun they are having - it really helps us know that we are doing what is best for them to have a good time.

Wednesday morning's chapel theme was celebrations. After Moses took the Egyptians through the Red Sea (which was a miracle, wasn't it! Parting of the Red Sea and all...) they had a brief celebration before continuing their journey to the promised land. Meredith led the discussion and it was so much fun - she really got the kids involved. Afterwards we broke into family groups and talked about preparing for celebrations. We have a huge celebration on Friday night and so we talked about how part of the journey is getting ready for feasts and fun. The different groups had different tasks - one group made shakers that we'll use as we walk from the dining hall to the stone altar for the service. Another group tie-dyed the altar cloth for the service. A group decorated place mats for the banquet. The last group made tissue paper flowers to use as decor.

Wednesday afternoon was a day many of the kids had been waiting for - rappelling! We took the whole camp to Fiery Gizzard State Park (just about 15 minutes down the road in Tracy City) and 8 kids decided to go rappelling. The park ranger and a few counselors went with them while everyone else hiked and swam at the water hole. We got a great group shot! The water was chilly but felt so good after a long hot hike.

Wednesday night was our evening prayer service at All Saints. All Saints is the chapel at Sewanee, the University of the South. The chapel is gorgeous - it is huge, made of stone and modeled after the chapels of England with the medieval flying buttresses of France. We do a candle-lit service, sing songs, and enjoy the space. Afterwards, we drove to the Memorial Cross and sang some silly songs before returning to campus. Once back, we watched the cartoon original Peter Pan on our projector system.

Pictured Above:

1) The kids at All Saints

2) The Blue Hole at Fiery Gizzard

3) The swimmers at Fiery Gizzard

Day Twenty Four: 6/23

Tuesday's chapel program was on stangers and so our theme revolved around masks. Hank read the poem "We Wear the Mask" by Paul Lawrence Dunbar - he is so good at being dramatic! We then talked about how we are all strangers when we come to camp and how we sometimes wear masks, for good or for bad reasons. We talked about how God sees through our masks and we can take them off for him. We then went down to the Pavilion and made masks out of paper plates, feathers, paint, popsicle sticks, and glue. After making the masks, the kids created skits using their masks! These masks were very impressive - the kids were so creative.

That afternoon we went to the Tracy Lakes park to do some community service and play. The kids each picked up a garbage bag of trash while we talked about what it means to give back to the community. They were strangely amused by trash pick up - they made it into a competition! After that, the kids got to play at the park. This was a really cool park... it had a lake with a designated swimming area with a dock, a playground, picnic benches, a grass clearing, and more. It was so nice and the kids had a lot of fun.

That night we had our teambuilding scavenger hunt. We haven't done this with any of the camps yet, so it was a new activity for this year. We based it off the scavenger hunts we've done in the past and really tried to emphasize groupwork skills. These kids are still young in so many ways and are having trouble with using kind works and working together. The scavenger hunt was family group based and they got points for finishing first for the whole hunt but also got positive and negative points based on behavior. They got a clue which led them to their first activity. After finding the counselor at that clue, they completed the activity and got the clue for the next spot to find. There were six spots with counselors, so six games. It included the number game, charades, "butt spell", KaBoom, making a camp commercial, and the over under water game. The kids had a lot of fun and really worked well together. I saw a lot of high fives and constructive criticism instead of snapping at each other. The Princess Protection Program finished first but narrowly lost to the 13th Years, who had so many positive points that it pushed them into the lead. They get first in line at Taco Bar for their mad skills.

Pictured Above:

1) Princess Protection Program playing KaBoom

2) Aynsley's Mask

3) Johnny Tsunami's masks

Camp III Junior Counselors

With a new week of camp comes a new set of Junior Counselors. After being spoiled by such an amazing group of junior counselors last week, we were even more lucky to get another awesome group this week. With a total of ten JC's for the two younger camp sessions, we have a large number of outstanding young leaders who are learning about ministering to young people in the Episcopal Church. Many of these JCs are going in to college, meaning that they can apply for staff this next summer - I cannot wait to see the staff for next summer!

Our JCs for this session are..

Andrew Street: Andrew recently graduated from St. George's Independent School in Collierville, TN and is heading in the fall to Birmingham Southern. Andrew is a well rounded man, being both intellectual and athletic, in addition to being comedic. He adds so much to our staff and is especially attentive to the details of camp such as cleaning up after others and noticing the campers who don't always get the attention.

Phil George: Also a graduate of SGIS, Phil is heading to UT-Chatt in the fall. Phil adds a lot to the male counselor staff, including an uncanny impersonation of Robert Goulet (RIP). Not only does he have a very deep stage voice, but Phil also is a warm hearted individual who works well with others.

Neil Maddox: Neil is a rising sophomore at West High School in Knoxville, TN. Neil is the youngest of the JCs for the summer yet displays much maturity. He plays the guitar and has been helping out with music this week. He also gets along well with the campers and provides a great mentoring relationship for many of them.

Grace Woodward: Grace is from Adams, TN although she claims Clarksville as home (they are near each other). Grace is artistically talented and one of the most caring people around - she'll do anything to make sure you're having a good day. She is an extremely hard worker and absolutely is dedicated to camp. We're lucky to have Grace!

Jani Sarratt: Jani is all about CGM - she is a camp girl through and through. Jani will be a freshman at Auburn University in the fall and has been awesome as a JC this week. She plays guitar and has been leading music for us, which we couldn't do without her. She is very talented at guitar and also has so much energy that rubs off on the kids. She is wonderful!

Pictured above:

1) Andrew Street looking sweet (he can fool you!)

2) The JCs on their "JC initiation" trip to Mi Casa

Day 23: 6/22

Monday for Camp III was canoeing day. After eating a hearty breakfast (biscuits and gravy - my fav!) we headed to chapel where we talked about Silence and Revelation. The kids watched the burning bush skit where God reveals himself to Moses through an outward sign. We talked about how sometimes we're too busy to listen so God has to send us signs too. Then we thought about ways to listen - the kids said that even though they don't like to, being silent works well for listening! So we were off to family groups where we went to the outdoors and were silent as we walked through nature, observing and writing down all the things we heard and saw. It was amazing what was seen and heard when they weren't screaming and running around! We connected it to the canoe trip by talking about what we'll see on the river - one camper said "if we're real silent, all the animals will come out at us!".

After canoeing, the kids took a big siesta and showered. We ate dinner and then had the CGM Octathalon, which for times sake was really just five events. The kids had a tug of war tournament, played dodgeball, had a dance off, did some trivia, and had family group cheers they created. The Thirteenth Years ended up winning it all and receiving the Alex Hoelscher Memorial Baseball Trophy, the prized possession of all things camp.

The kids went to their cabins after Compline, about 9:30pm. The counselors are loving getting extra sleep in since the kids go to bed so much earlier!

Pictured Above:

1) The Rip Girls congratulate each other on a successful round of trivia

2) The Thirteenth Years get a question on the trivia

3) Alex takes score during the Octathalon

4) Bitsy gets all excited about Octathalon

Day Twenty One and Twenty Two: 6/20 & 6/21

Weekends at camp blur together so much. Saturday, we woke up and got to breakfast at 8am. After a late night, this was interesting! Rumor has it some of the kids did not even go to sleep!! The kids packed their bags, cleaned the cabins, and made their way out to where the bus was. We had about 2/3rds of our kids riding the bus and so the rest of the camp stood and said goodbye as the kids loaded the bus - as it drove off, the rest of the campers chased after the bus, in typical CGM fashion.

Once the children all left, the counselors parted ways for the day - we all were so tired and mostly slept!! The next day we reconvened around noon to prepare for the last week of camp. We all got a bit of a scare when Amy called to say she'd been in a car accident. We were all so happy that she made out with only some scratches - what a scary experience! She joined us for registration and has been recovering while surrounded by her favorite place. Our JC's started to arrive and we were reminded once again how lucky we are to have awesome high school kids. The JCs this week will be just as awesome as the ones last week... I can't wait to see them in action. We also have three other adults with us this week - Mark Frazier, a priest in Bristol, VA who has roots in TN, Jill, a youth director from Franklin, TN, and Bonnie Smith, a long time CGM veteran who is coming on to the board of Dubose this year! We love having extra hands around to help out and nurture the kids. These three are no different.

The kids arrived and we got the new week started. These kids are so much younger than the last group! It is amazing to me how much they are still babies... going from high school to middle school to elementary school you really get to see the differences in the age groups. These kids were so outgoing and had little inhibitions for a new camp. About half our kids are brand new this year and so everyone is making friends fast. At the same time, we are dealing with a bit of homesickness, which is to be expected. It is hard to be away from your family if you haven't done it before. That makes me think about something from training- we talked about what the purpose of camp really is and one thing we decided was that we wanted this camp to be a place that parents wanted to send their kids to learn life skills, including how to live in community environments, how to take care of oneself, and how to be independent. I hope that these kids get that from camp, in addition to their new friendships and better understanding of their spirituality.

Pictured above:

1) Girls in the chapel during singing

2) Playing Ships and Sailors (5 men pointing north!)

3) Swim Test - counselors sitting along the edge of the pool while the rules are explained

Day Twenty: 6/19

Friday was the last full day of Camp Gailor Maxon Camp II. Our girls in Cabin Six were still feeling under the weather and our chaplain was officially sick at this point but we were still trucking along! Friday was the "promised land" of our chapel program and the family groups got to talk about their own personal promised lands and what that meant for their lives. After lunch, the campers split into three groups - one group rock climbed at Foster Falls, one group hiked and swam at Foster Falls, and one group stayed on campus to prepare for the night's celebration. Since the heat had not let up any since the day before, the group swimming at Foster Falls must have had the right idea - it was downright hot!

That night was the banquet, Eucharist, and dance. We had an awesome priest come in, Rick Britton from St. Ann's in Nashville. It was so great having his wife, Donna, and him with us for the evening. We had our traditional meal of chicken fingers, potatoes (scalloped this time - yum!), green beans, and a roll. After drinking all of the colored koolaid our hearts desired, we went to the Final Eucharist. Rick gave an aamzing sermon that really ended the week's chapel program well. We then headed down to the dance - middle school dances are awesome! Everyone really got in to dancing and I even saw some boys ask some girls to dance. Uh Oh! We ended the night with a bonfire by the cabins. It was a great way to say goodbye to each other and wind down from a crazy busy week.

Pictured above:

1) Genny, Lauren, Liza, Maddi, Rylee, and Isabel at the banquet

2) Andrew, Patrick, and Everet at the banquet

3) Taylor, Jackson, Carter, Zoe, and Abbie at chapel in the morning

Day Nineteen: 6/18

I would like to preface this post with an apology - I am posting Thursday's post on Monday of the next week! Things got a bit crazy around here... there has been a 3 day flu that hit camp. Shan, our chaplain, started getting it Thursday and several kids left camp with symptoms of it (sorry parents!). Shan ended up having to go home on Saturday and now Charles Houston, Nick, Hank, and Meredith all have it. Nick and CHB are out of commission due to the flu and Meredith and Hank are on the fence. Everyone is picking up the slack and doing an awesome job but we are definitely feeling the hit as far as staff numbers! I hope those Cabin Six girls are feeling better after a sick end to the week at Camp II...

Now, on to Thursday of Camp II. Thursday was a lot of fun. We had our "on-campus" day where kids could choose between several activities on campus or they could go over to the nursing home across the street and make yarn-octopus with the residents during their crafts period. Many kids elected to go to the nursing home. It was a real hit with this age group. In fact, many of the kids that went said it was the highlight of their week! It is great to foster an internal drive for community service at a young age. Those who stayed on campus got to do things like tie-dye, go to the pool (it was 90 degrees that day!), work out real hard at Boot Camp, and practice for coffee house. Lots of kids took the opportunity to swim since it was so hot.

That night we gave the kids time to prepare for their skits - which of course inevitably didn't get actually planned until the last 10 minutes! We combined skit night and coffee house into a revue type show. Alex and Meredith again did the "Mr and Mrs Hoelscher" routine, which was a hit. The acts included in coffee house were a self defense demonstration, 5 funny faces that Rylee could make, a song and dance by Teddy Bowman, and "Castle on a Cloud" sung by Brenda. The skits were awesome too. Cabin Six did "We're bringing Six-y back" where they danced and sang to the modified rap song. Cabin Five did a counselor impersonation skit - the girl who dressed as CHBIII was spot on! The boys of Cabin 2 acted out a song about being the last man standing and Cabin I did a dance. The boys of Cabin I did flips and everything!!

After such talent was displayed, it was time to watch a movie since we were all so very tired. We watched "Flushed Away," the tale of rats who go down into the sewer through the toilet. After a long day, it was the perfect end.

Pictured above:

1) Cabin Five does their counselor impersonation skit

2) Julia and Cayce show off self defense skills with Alex as a volunteer

3) CHB III and his mini-me camper

Picasa Site

I haven't linked our Picasa site in a while - here it is in case people want to see more of the pictures that we have on our blog! We have taken a ton.

Day Eighteen: 6/17

Wednesday of Camp II was spent running, playing, praying, and singing. We started off the morning with our usual chapel program. Meredith presented on celebrations and we spent time in our family groups. The family groups are getting closer and closer - they are a great place for friendships outside of cliques to be formed.

In the afternoon the kids had the choice to either go rappelling at Fiery Gizzard, go on a Sewanee day trip, or stay on campus. Those who stayed on campus got to choose between several activities for their play periods including the pool, the awesome playground across the street, sports and games, "slumber party" (doing nails, reading teen beat, and talking about boys), and a workout routine. We had 12 kids go to rappel - they even talked our fearless leader (who has a fear of heights) Charles Houston into rappelling!! Word on the street is that he wasn't going to do it until Hans talked him in to it.

I went with the group that went to Sewanee. We had a delightful day - we started at Abbot's Alley and did the outdoor labyrinth there. We walked along a stream and the boys found a lot of tadpoles and frog eggs! We then went to the book store where the kids got to browse the books, take a break from the heat, and buy Sewanee items. We then headed to the quad to play some frisbee. After breaking a sweat, it was time for our weekly stop at Mountain Breeze, the ice cream shoppe. We got some delectible treats before heading back to Dubose.

That night we loaded the bus and headed to Sewanee for our All Saints service. We had a litany of the lights where the kids lit candles and then proceeded to Evening Prayer. After singing and worshipping, the kids got a while to absorb the beauty and splendor of this beautiful chapel. We then went to the Memorial Cross and sang goofy camp songs (and got attacked by beetles). It was lightning so we didn't get a chance to have a bonfire - kids sitting out in a field just didn't seem smart. We'll have the bonfire on Friday after the dance.

1 &2) Jackson and Jonathan lighting candles at All Saints in our Litany of the Light service

3) All Saints Chapel in Sewanne, where we have our Wednesday night service

4) Alex and Patrick playing frisbee in the quad

5) Andrew checking out tadpoles in the stream

Day Seventeen: 6/16

Today was the big canoe trip day for Camp II. We spent some time in the morning in chapel before loading the big yellow school bus and heading down to Dunlap, TN to canoe on the gentle thrills of the Sesquatchie. Everyone piled into canoes and went off down the river. There were a few rapids, just enough to have fun, and two great swimming holes. Other than a few canoes tumping, the trip was uneventful (always good news in counselor world!).

After having a stinky dinner (no showers before dinner after canoeing = smelly!), we sent the kids to shower and got ready for counselor hunt. We had 9 counselors hide during counselor hunt and while those who were hiding went about their business, the kids came up with their "charges" for the counselors - all the reasons the counselors should be found guilty in the trial of the pool and thrown in as punishment. The kids really got into the charges and couldn't sit still as they shouted out ideas.

We went around the grounds in family groups looking for the counselors. Each family group had one adult walking around. Some groups found as many as 6 counselors while some found none. There seemed to be a correlation between the number of counselors each group found and the teamwork they displayed. After reading the charges, the groups got to throw the counselor in the pool.

Everyone was wiped out after a long day of canoeing followed by counselor hunt. The last thing of the night was something the boy's cabin took part in - the counselors led an impromptu trip to the Alfred Pell death mask. They snuck across campus and went to try to see if the stories of what you see in his eyes are true... ask one of them if you want to know!

Check out the pictures from canoeing at the beginning of the post!

Our Awesome JC's for Camp II

Each year a select number of campers get the chance to return to the mountain after Camp I as Junior Counselors (JC's). They spend a week helping out, getting to know the kids, and taking part in all aspects of being a counselor. It is a lot of fun for them to be back at camp and they are always a ton of help for the staff. The kids also love getting to know these kids, who model for them good behaviors of how a high schooler should act.

We are especially lucky this year to have 10 JC's with us - 5 a week. I wanted to spotlight our 5 for this week and tell you a little about them.

Brandon Parrish - Brandon is a rising freshman at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, having just graduated from Memphis University School. Brandon is skilled at many things, including singing, debate and parliamentary procedure, and canoeing. Brandon is definitely a leader and shows promise of great achievements ahead.

Hans Bauer - Hans is a rising freshman at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville as well - he graduated from White Station High School in Memphis. Hans is an avid outdoorsman and plays lacrosse. He is extremely good with kids and is always willing to lend a helping hand.

Jillian Smith - Jillian is from Smyrna and is a graduate of Smyrna HS. She is heading to University of Evansville in Indiana in the fall for school. Jillian has one of the best senses of humor and can play a mean mandelin and guitar. She is compassionate and caring.

Martha Harvey - This is Martha's first year as a JC and we are so glad to have her! Martha is from McMinnville and goes to Warren County High School. Martha is great at making connections with her kids and is always high energy. She also is always looking out for everyone.

Julia Gardial - Julia heads off to the University of Alabama in the fall, having just graduated from Knoxville Catholic HS. Julia is musically very talented and has been leading music for us this week. She is extremely comfortable leading music in front of the kids and is very capable. She also is a very good leader and is very skilled at helping people know what they need to know and go where they need to go. She is very mature.

We love our JC's and can't imagine this week without them!!

Pictured above are three of our JCs:

1-4) Our JC's had a photo shoot at All Saints

5) Brandon and Julia enjoy the final banquet with Meredith while JB serves them

6) Martha smiles for the camera during a free moment of Octathalon