Thunderbird

YMCA Camp Cory

Alumni E-News


Winter 2014	YMCA of Greater Rochester - Camp Cory

Message from the District Executive:

Welcome to Spring!

After a long, hard winter, beautiful Camp Cory is coming to life with buds on the trees, docks in the water, and archery targets in place.

I want to take this opportunity to thank you, our dedicated and passionate alumni, for keeping the Camp Cory spirit alive year after year. I can't tell you how many times I am stopped around town, at Wegmans, or at a Rochester event, wearing some sort of Camp Cory apparel, in which a stranger tells me they have a relationship to the camp. No matter if they are 70, 45, or 22 years old, there is one constant throughout every conversation - the passion in their voice, the twinkle in their eye, and the utmost fondness of their time spent on magical Keuka Lake. As mentioned in earlier Thunderbird Newsletters, our enrollment is healthy; we expect to fill again this summer. I want to thank you personally for sharing your stories, recommending our camp to your neighbors, and sending your very own children and grandchildren. Camp Coy Alumni are a strong driving force in the continued success of Camp Cory. What a wonderful attribute to our 93 year old camp!

With this being said, please consider joining us at Camp Cory for Alumni Weekend, June 20 -22! This is the perfect opportunity for us to say Thank You for all you do. If you haven't attended a recent reunion, you are missing out on great fun, great stories, and a special kinship that exists between each alumnus. The weekend has been planned by our Alumni Committee, and features special campfires, traditional camp activities, a NEW Alumni Challenge, and so much more. Each alumnus, family or group will be housed in their own cabin, making the weekend comfortable for all.

I certainly hope to see as many of you as I can this June. Mother Nature has predicted a beautiful weekend and I can't think of a better place to be right before summer begins!

Sincerely,

Michele Rowcliffe

District Executive - Overnight Camp Experiences

YMCA of Greater Rochester

Register Today

Please come join us for a wondeful weekend full of Cory cheer. 2014 Alumni Weekend is being organized by Camp Cory's Alumni Committee.

YMCA of Greater Rochester - Camp Cory Staff

Michele Rowcliffe

District Executive - Overnight Camp Experiences

Pat Foster

Associate Executive Director/Camp Director

Sara Seeloff

Director of Adminstration

Kelly Balconi

Coordinator of Annual Giving/Alumni Development

Shawn Rowcliffe

Camp Ranger

Mark Davis

Camp Assistant Ranger

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Quick Links

Message from the Camp Director

Have Old Camp Apparel? Send it to camp!

Are your old camp shirts, sweatshirts, and other camp apparel gathering dust in a box in your basement? Gift them to a current counselor this summer at Camp Cory. Every week Michele and I give out staff appreciation awards to outstanding counselors. Counselors flip when they see old camp stuff. Help us collect new and exciting items to show staff our appreciation of their awesome work!

Bring your items Alumni Weekend or send them to:

The Best Camp Counselors in the World

YMCA Camp Cory

140 East Lake Road

Route 54

Penn Yan, NY 14527

Thank you,

Pat Foster

SHARE!

PROJECT 241 - Cory's initiative to send 241 kids to camp!

Camp Cory's Annual Campaign, Project 241, is an effort to ensure all individuals, regardless of their financial means, the ability to experience what you all know so well and love about camp.

Please consider joining the movement. Camp Cory has already raised 30% of goal, enough to send 75 campers. If you would like to join us and share Camp Cory with another child and/or family please click here.

Camp wouldn't be the same without every camper!

If you have already made a gift to 2014 Annual Campaign, THANK YOU! We truly appreciate your support.

Together we can do so much more!

Alumni Spotlight

Alex Baum

Camper 95-01, CIT 02, Staff 03-06

Alex at Camp Cory

What is your hometown? West Irondequoit, a suburb of Rochester, NY

Where do you live now? New York, NY (Yorkville)

Pop or Soda? Soda

What years (& ages) did you attend Camp Cory? 1995-2006

What cabin(s) were you in? J5, J7, S4, M5, M4

What was your favorite cabin and why? They were all great, but M4 probably beats them all because of the great roof for roofball and its proximity to the splashing waves at night - that always helped me get to sleep.

Favorite camp song? Charlie on the MTA (or MTA)

Favorite camp memory? Standing on the Y-dock, looking up at the bowl of stars, listening to the quiet of the water, thinking of my favorite memory of that week or summer and squeezing it into a pebble to be preserved with the millions of other best memories on the bottom of Keuka Lake at Camp forever (the pebble ceremony in Maijgren). Then linking arms with all my new best friends and singing taps. Still gives me chills.

Favorite camp activities? I always loved big games of ultimate Frisbee on the senior upper athletic field unless it was 90,000 degrees, and then sailing could not be beat.

What are you doing now (family, work, accomplishments, etc)?

Alex w/Tim Reynolds (musician)

As much traveling as my schedule and budget can handle. I am the Program Director at Hudson River Community Sailing where we focus on teaching under served youth math and science using sailing and boat building. Also love exploring the greater NYC area on my 70s Schwinn Suburban and criss-crossing the US on trains - the best way to see the world.

What about your camp experience influenced you the most? Camp taught me to truly appreciate the simple, good things in life: beautiful sunsets, campfires, the sound of water lapping on the shore, wonderful people. I remember every summer after camp ended I would get home and just miss it all so much - it is such an overpowering experience that cannot be duplicated in daily life - that I would become so sad. To this day, my greatest memories were at Camp Cory.

Are you still involved with Cory? Yes, I am on the Alumni Committee and recently joined the Board.

Is there anyone from camp to which you'd like to say hello? The CITs of 2002

Win Alumni Apparel!!!

Do you enjoy reading what other alumni are up to these days? If so, answer the above Alumni Spotlight questions and be entered to win alumni apparel of your choice. Email us your answers today!

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