Welcome to the Camp Chanco Alumni Association Smoke Signal, our online newsletter. This is our first virtual publication. Look for it from time to time for the latest news on all of the goings-on in the Alumni Association and Camp Chanco.

This edition has big news! Not only are we an official, legal organization, but there is a lot going on with us and at Camp Chanco. Come join us, pay your dues and check out the full text of our news letter. Here is the link to the full Smoke Signal:

http://chancoonce.com/files/Chanco-Smoke-Signal-0807.pdf

And while you're at it why not download and signup for the alumni reunion. Please fill out this form and email or mail it to Jenny Alfano at the address listed on the form.  The $50 deposit may be paid online.  We want to see you again this fall!

http://chancoonce.com/files/2008-alumni-registration-form.pdf

Our fondest regards,

The CCAA Board of Directors

Ann Krannitz, President
Jenny Alfano , Vice President
Tater Roberson, Treasurer
Chuck Alley, Secratary
Helen Somers, Director
Dave Belote, Director
Sarah Cargill, Director
Greg Willis, Director of Wizardry

p.s. A special THANK YOU to Helen, who literally spent many sleepless nights working on this!!! Without her, we'd probably still be wondering who was going to put together the Smoke Signal. Without us, she'd probably still be sane.  continue reading »

Hello all!

It was a brutal task. Driven like galley slaves by CCAA President Ann Krannitz to work long into the night, and a couple of time she quite literally flayed the clothes off our backs, but we have completed the second CCAA Board of Directors meeting. We have made excellent progress and I feel like we are ahead of the best-case time line I expected for founding our organization!

There is a lot going on at camp this year. It has never been more critical that we get involved physically, financially, and spiritually at the camp this year. Check in on www.chancoonce frequently. Sign-in when you do it so we can tell members from surfers.

--Mr. Secretary

Highlights of the meeting:

1. We are organizing a work weekend at the camp to get it ready for the summer. Dates June 9th -15. If you are like me you have the "camp jones" this time of year. Come on out that week and pitch-in. More to be posted on the CCAA page soon: Jobs, tools necessary, materials, expertise and etc..

2. Alumni Reunion! Oct 10th - 12th. Camp has been there for 40 years. (Yes, you are THAT old) Be there or be square. And I do mean you too Linda Ryder.

3. Two newly formed committees you might join:

First is the finance committee. Get involved with our fund raising policy, planning, and execution. Help serve your fellow alums by raising money for our favorite camp. There is a lot to do and we need help. Chairman of the committee is Chuck Alley. To join just click to join the CCAA-finance mailing list (follow the mailing list link in the left column) or send me an email.

Second is the Alumni - Current Staff Liaison committee. AKA Chanco Chums committee. This is chaired by Phillip Bond. His idea is to have alums adopt current staff members as Chanco Chums. Support them, send them stuff to get them singing at lunch and etc. Interested? We should have a mailing list for you to join up sometime today. As above keep and eye on the mailing list page for CCAA-chums. Join and made a real difference for a current staff member this summer!

Continue on for the full meeting minutes.  continue reading »

Hello Chanco Alums and Friends of Chanco! Read on for a summary of our first Board Meeting.  continue reading »

Hey Fellow Alumni! On behalf of the Board, I wanted to check in and let you all know that the CCAA is alive and kickin'! As Tater mentioned, we had our first CCAA Board meeting on Feb. 1-2 at Chanco. Chuck will be posting the minutes, so I won't go into too more than a quick recap as to what we did. We had a great weekend, and the board really connected as a group. This is a great asset when you have to work together! We have lots of wonderful people involved and they all have terrific ideas and a heap of motivation. I am confident that we will accomplish our goals.

Our main issue was simply the organization of our association. As any of you who have had experience with setting up a non-profit know, the initial job of obtaining this status is quite laborious. Fortunately, we were able to come up with a plan to help us move forward and it seems as though we are on the right track. We hope to have this finished in the next few months. Once this is done we should be able to start collecting dues and building on our membership. The advantage of having non-profit status will be that all of YOUR donations are tax-deductible.

A big chunk of the meeting was devoted to our bylaws. Yes, we voted on them once, without the aid of personal contact and group discussion. Since the initial vote we have had some great input from alumni and have, as a board, voted on and made simple revisions. These bylaws will once again be voted on by the members of CCAA as a whole sometime in the near future.

A few of the less pressing issues we addressed were the Alumni Sleepover this fall, the committees we need to establish (we'll be asking for volunteers later!), and the maintenance of our website. We were also able to brainstorm some fundraising ideas, which Chuck will explain later in further detail.

As Boomer mentioned, our meeting ended with a visit to Annual Council. We were more than happy to show our support for Chanco, and we were even able to make a few contacts with people willing to support our group.

I am so thankful that I once again have the chance to be a part of Chanco, and am really looking forward to working with the CCAA Board. We are all looking forward to our next meeting in April. Until then, check your emails and the website for information regarding the bylaws and fundraising, and continue to keep Chanco in your prayers.

Love and peace,

Ann