Our final staff introduction....stay tuned for summer camp 2016 highlights!!!

Camp Gailor-Maxon is elated about introducing Mary Margaret Randall as one of our very own summer staff for 2016! She will be serving as our program and staff coordinator.

 

Mary Margaret has grown up at camp and loves work with youth and programming. Originally from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, she has been in Nashville for close to 6 years and enjoys playing outside and doing lots of yoga.

Welcome to DuBose and Camp Gailor-Maxon Eli Wynn!

Camp Gailor-Maxon welcomes our camp Chaplain for summer 2016, Eli Wynn! Eli and the CGM staff are going to walk us through exploring our chapel theme, "Hospitality." The Chaplains and staff will highlight the prayer attributed to St. Francis as we journey together through out the week focusing on "Hospitality."

"Hello! My name is Eli Wynn and I'm so excited to be joining Camp Gailor-Maxon! I am from Seymour, Indiana and a graduate student at Boston University, pursuing degrees in theology and social work. Having recently moved away from Nashville, it is so wonderful to be back in the great state of Tennessee! I am honored to serve as chaplain to the staff and campers and look forward to an awesome summer!"

Hello Camp Gailor-Maxon Community!!!

 

"I am greatly looking forward to being a part of your camping experience for Summer Camp 2016 and working with the incredible CGM staff! I will serve as summer camp director.

 I am currently attending Vanderbilt Divinity School and serving as a Chaplain Intern at St. Augustine’s Chapel. I look forward to meeting all of you and spending time in CGM's sacred faith community. Camp Gailor-Maxon will be a safe space that allows you to come seek and explore God in a loving, affirming community."

In gratitude and with peace,

 look forward to seeing you on the mountain!

Lara Wiggins

 

 

Woohoo!!! Patrick Oravetz is coming back!

CGM welcomes staff alumni, Patrick Oravetz, home! We are thrilled to have Patrick back on staff this summer! Let the good times roll...

Hello! I'm Patrick. I am a Junior at MTSU where I am majoring in exercise science and minoring in both chemistry and biology. When I'm not attempting to get a selfie with my dog I like to play sports, watch movies, and be a counselor at the camp I've been going to for the past 12 years (10 years as a camper, 2nd year on staff)! I can't wait to hang out with all of you this summer! 

We would like to introduce to you... The Great Sarah Stell

Camp Gailor-Maxon is thrilled to have Sarah Stell as a part of our team this summer, welcome Sarah! Sarah will be working and serving as one of our program coordinators and chaplains....

"My name is Sarah Stell and I am from north Texas.  I moved to Nashville five years ago to attend Belmont University where I graduated in May 2015 with a Bachelor’s in Social Work.  During college I interned at Maplewood Highschool working with seniors to come alongside them in the college application process, and I also interned as a crisis interventionist at a non-profit that works with victims of human trafficking.  This past year I have been doing a year-long fellowship program at the Scarritt Bennett Center where I live in an intentional community and work with Plant the Seed, a non-profit that seeks to educate and empower under-resourced people through gardening.  During my free time I enjoys being outside, hanging out with friends, eating ice cream, and reading."

Welcome Back Shelton Clark!!!

We are so looking forward to having this great counselor back this summer!Welcome home Shelton, we're holding out for a Backstreet Boys serenade at coffee house!...

"Hello all! I'm Shelton Clark, and I’m thrilled to be back for my second year at CGM! I was born and raised in Nashville, TN, and attended Christ Church Cathedral. I'm currently an International Studies major at Rhodes College in Memphis, and have recently become involved at St. George’s Episcopal Church in Germantown. Some of my favorite camp activities include singing songs, eating desserts, and hiking at Sewanee. I’m counting down the days until camp starts, and I can’t wait to see all of your smiling faces!"

Welcome home Joy Owings! Where have you been all of our lives?

We welcome Joy Owings to the Camp Gailor-Maxon community with our whole hearts! She's going to blow us away at Coffee House with her vocal chords!

 

Hello! My name is Joy Owings and I'm a rising sophomore at American University studying Health Promotion. I'm so excited to get to know everyone at camp and be outside all day! 

Thanks!

Joy 

 

 

If you haven't met Ryan Hoelscher yet, you're in for a treat! Welcome Back Ryan!

 

Happy Monday CGM community, we are honored to introduce Ryan Hoelscher as one of our very own summer camp counselors! We look forward to seeing you on the mountain. 

 

Hi all! I'm Ryan. As you can tell, I enjoy sitting in fields. The few things that top that include kayaking, filming, hiking, and being a camp counselor at the greatest camp in the world! I am a film major at ETSU. I cannot wait to see you all up on the mountain!!!

 

 

Today, Kerri O'Connor!

Happy Sunday, CGM! Today we are so lucky to introduce you to Kerri O'Connor! She is excited to learn about CGM- and I know we have endless traditions to welcome Kerri into (hello counselor hunt!). So glad to have you on board, Kerri!

Hi there, name is Kerri O'Connor. I am from the beautiful Gulf Shores Alabama and just graduated from The University of Alabama (Roll Tide). I have a deep love for children, animals and The Lord. I cant wait to be a part of the wonderful ministry and experience at Camp Gailor-Maxon. What a fun time it will be:) To God be the Glory.  

CGM, make a warm welcome for Noah Coomer!

Camp Gailor-Maxon, we are so excited to introduce you to Noah Coomer! Though a CGM rookie, he's certainly not a rookie to camps and we are excited to have him on our team! Welcome to the CGM family, Noah!

Hi all! My name is Noah Coomer and I have just finished my freshman year at Rhodes College in Memphis, TN. I plan to double major in Computer Science and Business with a concentration in either management or accounting. I play lacrosse at Rhodes, am in the Sigma Nu fraternity chapter there, and will also serve as Secretary for Rhodes Student Govt. next year. I was born in Hendersonville, TN, a short drive north of Nashville, and have served as a camp counselor for Long Hollow's yearly children's summer camps since my freshman year of high school. I love the outdoors and hope to have a great summer working with all of you!

Next up, the one and only Miss Carter Webster!

Carter is back and we can't hold in how excited we are to have her with us this summer! Always the one to start the fun, Carter is such a joy to work with. Seriously, who doesn't have fun when Carter Webster is around?

Hello!!! My name is Carter Webster and I am a rising senior at Middle Tennessee State University. I am studying Child Development and Family Studies, and I cannot wait to start working in this field I love so much. I attended Camp Gailor-Maxon for 9 years as a camper and this will be my 3rd year on staff at this special place that means so much to me . I love trying new restaurants in my free time, especially in my favorite cities, Memphis and Nashville. As seen in my photo taken at camp, I am a firm believer that being a camp counselor is the most fun job in the world! Can't wait for an incredible summer!!!

It's time to meet our staff... Camp Gailor-Maxon, How do you feel??

WE FEEL GOOD. OH WE FEEL SO GOOD, OH!

That felt good to say! Welcome to CGM blog for the summer of 2016! We cannot wait until we are back with all of you in just a few weeks! How crazy is that? 

Without further ado, its time to meet our first counselor. We are thrilled to have this longtime camper and former GAP staffer with us, Mr. Jake Epperson. (Some of you from Camp II may remember him for his stellar kickball rules!)

I am a Sophomore at the College of Charleston from Memphis, TN. I am a member in a fraternity (Beta Theta Pi), and I compete for the Palmetto Bums (the College of Charleston Ultimate Frisbee team). I am double majoring in Athletic Training and Exercise Science with my goals set on Physical Therapy school. 

Camp 3 Thursday!

We're in the last bit of camp and if you ask me these last 70 hours are the most important. It's the last chance we have together to make a difference in the world through our youth so we intend to make it count! 

This morning we spent chapel talking about how God is illuminated when we serve other people. It feels really good to make a friend smile or give someone a high five. After some singing and a little prayer, we talked about how at the Last Supper Jesus fed his friends but he also washed their feet and said he was showing them the full extent of his love by serving them. So to be like Jesus we washed each others feet and prayed for each other. I wish all of you could hear these sweet little prayers!

Then we talked about different stories in the Bible where Jesus told us to serve one another. Each family group got to act out skits such as the Lost Sheep, the Prodigal Son, and more. 

After chapel time we played everyone's favorite game, Magic Tambourine. It may seem like we play this game a lot, but to our youth there is no such thing as enough Magic Tamb. 

Our afternoon began with time at St. Mary's Sewanee where we took our morning and applied it to real life by serving our community. We helped them by doing various tasks outside and taking care of their grounds. We talked about how it is always good to serve other people, even those who serve us a lot. The sisters at St. Mary's serve everyone they can so it is so good for us to be able to serve them!

After we got back we spent some time at the pool and at the art barn- where we made little votive holders (if you pay close attention to the pictures of Eucharist tomorrow you may see them again...) before giving everyone some creative time to prepare for Coffee House! 

Camp 3 Coffee House closed out our day and friends, this night is always one of my favorite nights at camp. Our youth have talents that are so varied and watching them all share that with the group is more fun than you can imagine. On top of that these hilarious youth put on cabin skits where they all play silly roles and make us laugh till we're rolling on the ground. Here are some of the acts from tonight's performances. 

So apparently tomorrow is the last full day at Camp Gailor-Maxon 2015. What happened to the month no one is really sure (thank goodness for the blog and photographic evidence!)  I'm trying not to be sad but we really are bummed to leave these youth! We are all going to go get some sleep so we can make this last one the best one! 

Camp 3 Wednesday- Sewanee Day!!

Well friends, we are over half way through with our final week of camp. When did that happen? What happened to CGM 2015? At least we are going out with a big, joyful bang with all these sweet youth! 

Our morning chapel program was spent singing, praying and then talking about Jonah and how he spent some really dark time in the belly of a whale. That must have been a really hard thing to go through, but what we learn is that God sent the whale to swallow Jonah and spit him out. Like Jonah's story, God won't leave us when it is dark. He will still be with us! 

The really fun part of this morning? We got to actually go in the belly of the CGM whale (made of cardboard, located in the Upstairs Chapel) and get a feel for what Jonah might have felt. Here are a couple pics of our youth seeing how that felt!

After the whale we went to small groups and talked about how to pray about the dark things. Everyone made a strand of prayer beads and everyone took someone else's strand to remember to pray for each other through the dark things. Finally everyone wrote something they are thankful for and something they need help with. In the big group we read these prayers and they were so beautiful!

Yesterday afternoon was Sewanee day, historically everyone's favorite. I don't believe this year was an exception. We started at the War Memorial Cross in Sewanee. The view down the mountain is so beautiful from there you can't help but fall in love with it. Then we walked along the Tennessee Williams trail back into Sewanee- with a pit stop at the Chapel of the Apostles, the University of the South School of Theology Chapel! This beautiful wood building allowed for wandering and some pretty neat pictures.

We finished our time in Sewanee in the bookstore and with a little bit of rain (which was actually really nice- it cooled down the mountain a good bit!) 

After dinner we went back to Sewanee to have a service at All Saint's Chapel, which is the chapel for the University of the South. A little New Zealand night prayer, a lot of singing, and some neat prayer stations were really cool for our youth this evening! We finished the service a big joyful round of This Little Light of Mine- so much fun!

Everyone was exhausted and got a good night of sleep. Today is all about how God is illuminated in each other- stayed tuned for a pretty special day at CGM!