Dear campers, families, alumni, volunteers, and supporters,

It is my privilege to assume the role of Executive Director of Gales Creek Camp Foundation. In my first two months, I have begun to get to know the inner workings of camp, and I’ve gotten a chance to spend some time with our dedicated Board of Directors. Now more than ever, I am excited about the future of our camp!

My first visit to Gales Creek Camp was in 2013, when our family attended Family Camp. Our daughter was diagnosed with type 1 when she was 2 years old, in 2010, and we had been looking forward to giving her the camp experience since the day we heard about Gales Creek Camp (and, let’s be honest, my wife and I were looking forward to some respite, too). We still had to wait another three years before she went to her first week of overnight camp, but from that first visit, we felt like family.

We just celebrated our seventh anniversary as a type 1 family, so diabetes is a big (BIG) part of my life. The other part, the professional part of my life, has always been in creative not-for-profits. Just so you know a bit more about me: I left my position as Executive Director of the Chehalem Cultural Center in Newberg to take the position at Gales Creek Camp. Before that I was Deputy Director of the Santa Fe Children’s Museum, and prior to that I had been in operations and development for two performing arts not-for-profits. At one time I was even a summer theatre camp teacher! All of the organizations I have worked with have summer camp programs, and I was involved in all of them. Summer camps are a chance to expose kids to a world beyond their everyday lives. Camps can take kids on adventures into ideas and the outside world—and camps can take kids on a journey within themselves. Summers are not to be wasted.

Gales Creek Camp has a long, venerable history. Since 1953 this camp has been giving kids with type 1 a chance to get out into the Oregon outdoors, get away from their typical support systems, and be around other kids with type 1 diabetes. That is a powerful formula, and it has changed the lives of thousands and thousands of people, from those living with the everyday challenges that type 1 demands of their own bodies, to those who live with, love and support them. It’s more than one week in the summer—it’s a network of families who, through the shared experience of type 1, together become a kind of extended family. Gales Creek Camp is the nexus of a system of parents and caregivers who, merely by being connected, by sharing their stories, their tips, tricks, and their hope, support and fortify each other. Our summer camp is more than a summer camp.

So that’s why I’m so excited to be a part of it. In spite of the recent surprises that haven’t been great for the administrative side of GCC, right now we’re looking up at the limitless, starry sky of opportunity. We have an incredible history, a fantastic base of supporters, and an amazing summer camp program.

I look forward to meeting you, every one of you. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to call or email me. I may not know all the answers yet, but I’ll be happy to find them together.

Thank you for taking the time to read this message—there’s even more to it if you’re interested. Just click HERE—and thank you for being a part of Gales Creek Camp!

Sincerely,

Rob Dailey