Hello,

My Name is Jim Sitzler; I am the new Camp Director at Camp Chanco. I want to give everyone a little information about me as well as comment on the current state of camp and the forward movement we are making for the 2008 summer season.
      I have been to at least one session of camp 18 of the last 19 years. I was a camper from 1989 to1998. I was the proud rector of Happening #37 and an active member of EYC. I started working for camp as a counselor in 1999 and continued through 2004. During this time I attended Old Dominion University, was a Volunteer Youth Minister at Christ and St. Luke’s in Norfolk and then Staff Youth Director at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church Norfolk. In 2004 I moved from Norfolk to Richmond and began a new job with the YMCA of Greater Richmond. In order to attend camp I would use vacation time to staff Out-Trips even after all my friends had “moved on”.  For the past three years I have worked for the YMCA of Greater Richmond in Adventure Programs, Youth and Family Program Development, and more recently in After-school Child Care. 2006 was the first summer I didn’t attend camp in any way and I spent the summer helping to run the YMCA Day-Camp, which only made me miss Chanco even more.
    Last summer Boomer invited me to be his Program Director and help at camp during the off season. I jumped at the chance. He and I worked very hard to bring a fresh perspective and management model to camp. All of us, staff as well as the campers, had one of the most genuinely fun summers in recent memory, and I am proud to have been a part of it. Many of the ideas for camp that Boomer and I started last year will be expanded and refined in 2008.
   In the last few weeks we have hired about half of the staff required for this summer. Most of whom are returning from last year. We are still looking for a few more Counselors male and female; one or two more certified Life-Guards, and an Archery Instructor.
  During second, third, and forth sessions we will be expanding our programs. One of the things Boomer and I developed last year to allow for greater personal choice in the camping experience is to offer secondary programs. These secondary programs such as Movie Production, Dance, Golf, and Music, just to name a few, are things our campers may sign up for during the second week of camp instead of the normal programming offered. Once again, this will provide more choices for our campers and will allow them to control their own experience.
   Some of you may know that we will be evaluated by the American Camping Association this summer. This happens every three years to assure we are providing a safe and healthy environment for our campers. We are looking forward to a high score. 
   This year Chanco needs your support. When I say “Chanco,” I do not mean myself or the physical place. I do not mean the conference center or camp or even the Chanco Board. When I say “Chanco needs your support.” what I mean is the youth of this diocese need your support. We have all had the privilege of attending camp when we were young. We all have experiences that make us who we are today. My life and its direction have been shaped by attending camp and the people I have met, as I am sure it is the same with all of us. This was all due to the adults before us who had the forethought to secure a place where we were allowed to grow, a place where we felt safe to succeed and fail and to realize who we are. But more importantly they gave us a place where we could find and develop our relationship with God.
     I know that the work that has been done and the work being done at camp is not the work of a director or any other person. It is God who is the “Spirit of Chanco”. It is God’s voice we hear in the calling to support our youth. It is because of this that my faith in Chanco is unbreakable.
   To those of you who are angry at the recent decisions of the board; I say continue to make your dissatisfaction known, and do it respectfully. Do not pull your support from camp, but rather use this time to involve yourself with camp to such a degree that your voice is heard. Ask yourself if you are fighting for personal gain or for the future of our youth and then follow the direction you feel is right. If you choose to pull your support from Chanco then that is your choice. Camp Chanco will continue to stand for our youth inside as well as outside of the Diocese of Southern Virginia.
    It was the adults that went before us who provided a place we are now so passionate about. It is now our duty to provide the same opportunity for the next generation.
This summer will be one of the best for our staff and for our campers. Support this year’s staff and campers the way you were once supported. Provide for them the same opportunities you were given and watch as God’s presence is made clear once again.

Jim Sitzler
Camp Director:
Camp Chanco