Hello Timberlake Friends and Family!
Believe it or not, our first campers of the season will walk into the Dining Hall in 144 days! I know I speak for many when I say that I am truly excited to begin another wonderful summer at camp 
Many of you are anxiously awaiting the Resident Camp Guide — this should be in your hands by mid-February! Take some time to browse through your guide and don’t forget to take the “Are You Ready for Resident Camp?” quiz to see which type of session is right for you!
Our Open House is on May 15th — check out www.gs-top.org for more information. We would love to see you and your family that day — come out and tour the camp to get a first hand look at the fun you’ll be having this summer!
Also, don’t forget that there are still plenty of opportunities for outdoor fun this spring — check out our events page — www.gs-top.org/events-calendar – to browse all of our events.
I hope everyone has had a wonderful start to 2010, and I look forward to seeing you all at camp this summer!
Yours in Camping,
Lindsay “Phoenix” Power
Hello Timberlake friends and family!
Believe it or not we have been hard at work preparing for summer 2010 for several months now — it seems we finish with 2009 and jump straight into planning for 2010!
Heidi (director of Stevens Ranch) and I will hit the recruitment trail in January and visit several Texas universities and colleges to seek out our summer staff. We have already begun to accept applications, and there are a variety of positions to fill. Most of all we need staff members who are passionate about working with girls to help them grow into women of “courage, confidence and character who make the world a better place.”
The beauty of a camp staff is that you have such a wide variety of personalities and experience — many staff are former Girl Scouts, friends of camp staff, education majors we find at college fairs and much more. Regardless of Girl Scout experience, if there is a candidate who is passionate about making a positive impact in a child’s life, the vision of Juilette Gordon Low is exciting and easy to support.
If you know of anyone who might find a summer at one of our camps rewarding and who would contribute greatly to our staff, have them e-mail lpower@gs-top.org for more information.
I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season full of friends and family, and I look forward to seeing your campers this summer!
Yours in camping,
Lindsay “Phoenix” Power
Are you missing your camp days? Longing for those long summer days out at Camp Timberlake? Do you want to share your memories? Send and e-mail to therunner@gs-top.org and see your memories shared in our monthly publication, The Runner!
Also, if you haven’t found us on Twitter and Facebook, check us out here:
Twitter: twitter.com/CampTimberlake
Facebook: Camp Timberlake
Promote Your Page Too
Yours in camping,
Lindsay “Phoenix” Power
The first annual Camp-tastic! Film Festival will take place at Stevens Ranch November 6-8. This event for Cadette, Senior and Ambassador Girl Scouts is a weekend workshop that will teach girls how to plan and create a short film. Girls will learn about aspects of the film process such as storyboarding, camera operation, how to edit, and more as they work on a short film in groups. Sunday the films will be screened and girls will have the chance to reflect on the process.
Registration space is limited and closes soon, so go to www.gs-top.org for more information and to register.
If you have any questions please feel free to contact Lindsay Power at lpower@gs-top.org.
Hope to see you there!
One of the most amazing things about working in the camp community is meeting others who are as passionate about the outdoors as you are. There is camaraderie in loving the outdoors and “roughing” it, even when among strangers.
The joy of sharing knowledge and learning from one another is amplified when you share a passion with those you are learning from. Most often we remember one or two gems from each lesson or class — if that — but it is the journey of learning that gives the greatest lesson. Sometimes it is the lessons that challenge us — things that push us beyond our “norm,” that stick with us the most. Trying something new and stepping outside of your comfort zone is what camping is all about.
I recently returned from an Outdoor Skills and Certification Conference in New York. Along with outdoor cooking, knots and other classes offered, there was an instructor’s course for Basic Water Rescue and Small Craft Safety (aka Canoeing). Whatever I was expecting going into the class, I had no idea I would get anything more than some useful skills and a certification card. Keep in mind I’m a Texan — born and raised — and for me, cold is anything below 70. I find myself, then, on a cool September afternoon in upstate New York staring down a fearsome and frigid (65 degrees Farenheit!) lake from my seat in the stern of a canoe. Now I certainly could have stayed in the nice, warm, dry canoe and avoided the icy water. But, as with most things in life, if you never take that leap of faith, you’ll be stuck in the back of your canoe hoping your partner doesn’t tip you in when they take their plunge. So putting on my best brave face I plugged my nose and gracefully leapt out of our canoe.
I have never been more cold in my life.
In hindsight, it probably wasn’t as cold as it felt. I probably could have done the skills in any water, cold or otherwise. But it wasn’t about any of that. It was about that jump. If I had never taken that leap of faith, I wouldn’t be able to say “hey, I can do these skills, whatever the conditions!” If you go with what is known you will have predictable results, but if you push your limits and take that leap of faith, who knows what you’ll be able to accomplish?
Pushing those limits doesn’t have to be something extreme, either. It could be something like “can I live without my cell phone for a week?” “Can I foster a friendship with someone who has nothing apparent in common with me?” “Can I let myself climb another foot higher on this rock wall?” “Can I be happy with who I am?”
Camping and being in the outdoors fosters so many opportunities for personal challenge and growth. Ten of our girls did the challenge course this past weekend, and even though it was dreary outside they pushed themselves and took that leap (literally!) to get down the zip line.
I cannot wait to hear over the next few weeks, months, and even next summer at resident camp what these girls have learned from this experience that was four hours out of their weekend on a September afternoon. The lessons that stick with us are often the ones that pushed us to do something we didn’t want to do, or thought that we couldn’t do. But the things we take away from those lessons are more than mere nuggets of knowledge — we gain perspective and appreciate the people and places we have in our lives.
So take a moment to ask yourself — what challenge have YOU chosen lately?
Summer time at Camp Timberlake has come to a close for the 2009 season and as we fondly look back at a successful summer we are already looking forward to an even better 2010.
Campers and staff alike shared the experience of learning about the out of doors, of friendship, and of learning about themselves. Thank you staff for giving 100% of yourselves no matter how hot, how late or how “buggy” it was. You truly made this summer fantastic!
Campers, thank YOU for giving Camp Timberlake a try this summer, whether it was your first time or your tenth. I hope each of your took home something new — a new skill, new memory, new accomplishment, or a new friend. I sincerely hope to see each and every one of you walking into the Dining Hall on a Sunday evening next summer.
Last but not least, thank you parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, friends and families of our campers. You trusted us with one of the most precious things in the world — your camper — and I hope earnestly that she had a memorable experience. I encourage you throughout the year to talk to your camper about her time at camp and carry on the lessons she learned in her time at Camp Timberlake.
Although many of our girls have not yet attained the honor of being called ‘Trailblazer,’ we still feel the call to ‘…carry the Trailblazer spirit all winter long,’ and look fondly at our camping gear, anticipating another magical summer of friendship and the simpler things in life.
Thank you to everyone who lent their time, hands, ears and hearts to making this summer successful — Camp Timberlake is what it is because of wonderful people who pour themselves into the mission of Girl Scouts and the mission of camp.
Thank you again, and have a wonderful winter!
We’re nearing the end of our three day sessions as well as our first week of day campers, and it has been a busy time indeed!
These are some of the hottest days of the summer so far, but our girls have been real troopers! Everyone is staying very hydrated — even when not at camp it’s important to drink plenty of water and especially gatorade if you’re feeling thirsty and a little over-heated. Our Health Supervisor, Peaches, is fantastic with the girls and helps our counselors keep up with keeping the girls healthy and happy!
After the 4th of July holiday we are all very excited about Treasure Island — fondly known as “pirate week!!!” to our staff — and we have many great things planned for the girls coming for the week as well as day campers.
Also, we are on the lookout for another lifeguard or two, as well as anyone that might want to volunteer to help with the remaining four weeks of day camp this summer. If you’re interested, please e-mail the director at lpower@gs-top.org.
Everyone have a wonderful week!
Lindsay “Phoenix” Power
Camp Timberlake Director
We have had a wonderful first week of campers and our staff is taking a very much deserved weekend off. This week we had Glitz and Glam as well as Paddle Paddle, and I think that all of our campers had a great time. On Wednesday night the girls got to cook out and I have to say that the pizzas that Lakewood made were quite yummy Hi this is Special K. I am the Assistant Camp Director (ACD) at Camp Timberlake. I am also the one taking the pics and posting them on Bunk 1.
I posted over 100 pics this morning and I am uploading a few more tonight from the Counselor Fashion Show.
Sunday night we had a limo drive the girls from their unit to the dining hall. ALLLLL of the girls including the counselors were super excited. I took tonssss of pictures. At the end of the night my memory card crashed and I have been unable to access the pictures. This was a huge disappointing surprise for me that I could not have planned for. I will be making some calls to some camera shops to see if they can get the pictures off the card for me. If they cannot I will then talk to the manufacturer of the memory card. I am doing everything I can to get those pictures for everyone, however they are probably going to be delayed a bit. We did have a few counselors and the director that took pics that night, so I will also try to get those posted. I apologize for the delay but I promise I am staying on top of it and will keep everyone posted.
Tomorrow I will try to get by all of the activities including: archery, ropes course and crafts. I haven’t forgot the Paddle Paddle girls either, I will have them up in their canoes hopefully Thursday afternoon.
Thank you for your patience and I hope everyone is enjoying the pictures!
-K-
We apologize for the delay — as you can imagine it takes a great deal of preparation to get a resident camp ready for its wonderful campers. Our staff is trained and our first session begins in a mere hour. We’re jumping into summer feet-first and are very excited to be back out at Timberlake.
On Sunday girls come to be a “Diva” at camp and experience Glitz and Glam week. There will also be a beginning canoe session called Paddle Paddle, so our canoe staff will be busy very soon as well.
We’ve gathered our camp gear, dusted it off, put on our happy faces and are excited to see YOU very soon
Have a wonderful summer!
