June 2009 Alumni News
In this June issue…
For the latest news and updates, please visit www.bebercamp.com! |
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Meet us in Mukwonago: August 14-16
The 2009 Beber Alumni Reunion and Family Camp should be another memorable Beber Camp event. It’s only two months away from August 14-16th. Click to learn more and register. Spaces are limited so act today!
New Health Center to Open on Lower Camp
Oh, that first day of camp. Most of us were probably so excited that we did not sleep the night before and counted down the minutes until we boarded that plane, bus or car and headed to Mukwonago. The excitement built as you passed Elegant Farmer and saw Lake Beulah for the first time of the summer. Upon arriving on lower camp, you were greeted by your counselor, ran to find your friends and figured out what cabin you would be living in for the session. It was after all of this that your cabin had its first activity - the walk up the 72 steps to wait in the Health Center line. This year, however, this routine has been tweaked - in a good way.
A brand new, 4,000 square foot Health Center has been built on lower camp near the old memorial site, giving it a more central location and making it easier for the staff and campers to reach.
Jason Kendall, Maintenance Director, describes the new building as having a more rustic look, exposed wood rafters, high ceilings and lots of windows to let in plenty of natural light. Also, each room has its own individual temperature control device for those hot, humid summer days. The building will include housing for medical staff nurses, camper rooms for when they are sick, a large reception area, staff kitchen and lounge overlooking a large patio, exam rooms and doctors office/meeting rooms. The design was modeled after a nature preserve building that Stefan and some of the other Beber staff liked and felt would not only be practical but also be visually appealing on lower camp.
Next time you visit camp, make sure to go check out the new building - hopefully as just a visitor and not as a patient!
Attention Alumni! The Red, Blue, Green and Yellow Teams all need you! Maccabiah 2009 is quickly approaching and Beber Camp wants to bring in Alumni to help judge this year’s festivities!
With a $150 Donation to Beber Camp Scholarship Funds, you and your friends will have the opportunity to not only attend camp’s greatest day of the summer, but also attend the 2009 Beber Alumni Reunion at camp on August 14-16.
Got that Alumni?
$150 donation to the Beber Camp Scholarship Fund (helping send kids to camp) = Judge at Maccabiah 2009 (dream job) + Admittance to the Beber Alumni Reunion (Nights at BV’s/Double D’s)
Please contact Ben Shamis or Michael Wax for further information including the dates for Maccabiah 2009. (Yes, campers may be reading this!)
Beber Rocked Chicago - May 9th Scholarship Fundraiser Rocked
On Sat., May 9th, at the Grand Central in Chicago, more than 125 alumni and friends rocked the house with Beber’s Own - Stefan Teodosic, Aaron "H" Hadley and Russell Wiener on guitar - and we raised nearly $3000 for kids in need to experience the summer of a lifetime at Beber.
Funds raised will benefit the Beber Scholarship Fund.
We were really pleased to see the turn-out and could barely keep up with the crowds signing in. Of course we were busy greeting old friends and meeting news ones. So many of those attended are now Facebook friends and reaching out more than ever. It was a great way to be in touch and help a great cause. Check out pictures from the event on facebook and on our website directly.
Alumni Children Pack up for Beber Camp
It seems like only yesterday (or for some of us maybe last year) that we were hanging out on the blue swing during G.A., sunbathing on the ping pong tables and begging our counselors to get us waterskiing for a hobby. Those days have sadly come and gone for most of us; however, a new generation of Beber campers has recently embarked on their camp experience - they are the children of Beber Alumni. This summer it is exciting to report that there are 42 children of Alumni attending camp - the most of any summer and a number that we should expect to increase in the upcoming years.
Bennett Gewurz describes the joy and excitement of sending his kids to camp by saying, "Who amongst us did not talk of one day sending our children to Beber so that they could experience what we had experienced and continue our friendships through our children’s friendships? Well, after 2 summers, I am happy to report that my three children have drunk the Beber ‘kool aid’ and my children’s experience has exceeded my most hopeful expectations. If your children are approaching camping age, fasten your seat belt for a fantastic ride."
Cheryl Davis Wittenstein also describes the experience as, “People ask me what it’s like to send my 8-year daughter away for 4 weeks at such a young age. I explain that camp is in our blood, and I’m comforted and excited knowing exactly what she’ll do each day. From flagpole to lights out, she’s going to have an amazing and memorable experience."
Gay Nortman Gordon recounts how fortunate she is that her two sons have followed in her footsteps at Beber. She writes, “I delight in their love for camp and enjoy sharing
the experience with them. Adam spent 10 years at Beber and was the first staff member who was a second generation ‘Beberite’. This will be Jesse’s 7th summer. Camp has given them good values, a wonderful community, a connection to their religion, strong, meaningful friendships, and countless memories, just as it did for me 25 years ago! It is wonderful to share the gift of camp with my children! I’m looking forward to driving them up to camp the first day, stepping out of the car and walking back into that magical place.”
These Alumni are just a few of a much larger group that still feel a strong connection to camp and now have the great opportunity to share a part of their childhood with their children. We wish all of our Alumni parents happy packing and for their children to have a great summer on Lake Beulah!
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