Nadler and Brooks Families
Name(s): Alex and Genevieve (Genny) Brooks and her parents, Evelyn and Bob Nadler
Relationship to Camp:
Genevieve (Genny): I first came to CDL as a retreat participant, then I was a summer camper, an LIT, a weekend retreat staff, a summer staffer, a member of the year-round program staff, and now a family camper. I also bring my youth group to camp for weekend retreats.
Alex: I was a summer camper, a weekend retreat staff, and a summer staffer.
Evelyn and Bob: We sent our kids to summer camp and then have been family campers since 2006.
What did you learn while serving in a leadership role?
Genevieve: Leading is harder than it looks. It takes intentionality, flexibility, heart, vulnerability and trust. If the people you’re leading don’t trust you, it’s going to be a hard journey. The group also needs to trust each other, which takes a lot of grace and accountability.
Alex: You can’t make everyone happy. And I think there is a mindset change from what is good for me to what is good for the group. It also really shifted my perspective, getting a clearer picture of everything it takes to make camp run.
Favorite Don Lee Tradition?
Genevieve: I loved singing songs in the dining hall after meals. OOOO An Austrian went Yodeling!
Alex: Singing ‘Sail on Sailor’ and throwing staff in the pool on their birthdays
Bob and Evelyn Nadler: Sitting family style at meals around tables with different families at family camp. We also loved it when campers would lead the blessings.
Why should college students work at camp?
Genevieve: I learned so much about how to be a teammate, how to hold people accountable, how to advocate for myself, and how to be creative and flexible. Some of my friends got office jobs during their college summers, and I could tell I had way more fun. I also feel like I got way more practice at soft skills- how to diffuse a situation, how to mend a fractured relationship, how to rebuild trust when you accidentally made a mistake. I think the structure of camp- getting a new team every week, getting to start over and try again- it is such a great opportunity for college students to grow and gain work experience. And, it’s really, really fun.
Alex: Responsibility over children gives college kids perspective. It helps college kids think about planning and being strategic rather than just doing the first thing that comes into their minds. Working at camp gives college kids great leadership opportunities.
Evelyn and Bob Nadler: It’s just a fabulous experience. When employers look to see what you’ve done, I think it is very impressive that you’ve spent your summers working at a camp for children.
Why should parents send their children to camp?
Alex: Camp helps children build independence in an environment that is safe and nurturing, while also having a lot of fun during the summer.
Evelyn Nadler: For us, it was about building incredible memories and giving our kids opportunities to be who they really were without so many “mirrors” around or people telling them who they were supposed to be. Camp was a place where they could be themselves and be celebrated for it.
What’s your favorite camp memory?
Genevieve: One of my favorite memories was when I was a counselor for one-week campers and we were doing our evening devotion on the fruit of the spirit, love. My co-counselor, Braxton, asked our group of 10 and 11 year olds if they could tell us what love was. One boy from Beulaville immediately piped up and said, “My dad says the recipe for love is candlelight, Barry White, and a bucket of fried chicken!”
Another favorite memory is one year during a holiday week we celebrated Valentine’s Day, which was the Director John Farmer’s birthday, so a huge group of staff gathered around him, hoisted him up and the whole dining hall marched to the pool to watch him get thrown in. Once he made a splash he turned it into a lifeguarding drill and started thrashing around so the staff dove in and had a little impromptu lifeguarding in-service/ drowning rescue moment. It was hilarious!
Alex: In the summer of 2010 there were characters that the staff made up for each theme week, and one particular week there was Johnny Jazzercise who was a villain trying to turn Don Lee into a Jazzercize camp and the Don Lee Kid, who was the hero.
What did you learn at camp?
Alex: I learned how to sail. I learned how to be a camp counselor. I learned how to lead groups of children and make things fun.
Genevieve: I learned the importance of a positive attitude, of creativity, and of silliness. I learned that you should always have a rain plan. I learned how to teach sailing and how to be a lifeguard. I learned how to position box fans in an un-airconditioned cabin to get maximum air flow. I learned how to make chicken ranch burritos on camping trips. I learned that good storytelling takes practice. And I learned to always use a microphone, if one is available.
How has camp shaped the life of your family?
Alex & Genevieve: In some ways it feels like a foundational place for our family, since we met there working during our college summers. We sing camp blessings around the dinner table, we attend family camp weekends with our kids, and we sang Sail on Sailor as a lullaby when our kids were babies. When Genevieve takes her youth group to camp, we try to bring the whole family when we can. It’s been a very special place for our family.
Bob and Evelyn Nadler: it definitely shaped our family’s life. Camp was a very positive place for all of our kids as campers. And all of our kids worked on summer staff. We have loved coming to family camp and supporting Don Lee. It has become a sacred space for our whole family.
How has the Don Lee experience impacted your life?
Genevieve: For me, it has profoundly impacted my life. It was a wonderful place to grow in my faith, in community, in leadership, and in facilitation. A lot of what I do as a church worker can be traced back to my days working at Camp Don Lee.
Alex: I met my wife, I met some of my best life-long friends, I learned how to sail and how to teach sailing, and I learned a lot about how to work closely with people that are really different from me. I’m really grateful.
How has the camp experience formed your Christian faith?
Genevieve: Camp has been a place where my faith was really nurtured. There were so many moments as a camper where we are asking the question, where did I see or feel God today? As a staff, we were constantly facilitating these questions, answering them for ourselves, and figuring out how to articulate our faith in Jesus Christ to younger campers. Those efforts and practice at articulating my own faith helped me grow a lot. Camp has really been an anchor for my faith in both the challenging times and in times of celebration.
Cummins and Wheeler Families
Relationship to camp: Barry and Sue Cummins, son, Bradley, former camper, summer staff, former chair, NC United Methodist Camp and Retreat Ministries; wife, Kristen, and daughters, Ada and Harper, both campers; daughter, Kim, husband Marshall Wheeler, and Case, LIT 2024, and Lucy, camper.
What are the benefits of the camp experience?
Kim: Camp for my kids has been such an anchor and highlight each year - I can’t imagine a summer without Camp Don Lee in our lives! Unplugging from technology, being outdoors, building friendships and growing closer to God are just a few of the many things to cherish about summers for my kids at Don Lee! The smiles from staff that greet you at drop off and the tearful goodbyes from the kids at pickup say it all - it’s an experience that means the world to all of us!
Why should college students work at camp?
Bradley: Working at camp is a wonderful environment. There are challenges. There are also many rewards. Each day on staff provides opportunities to develop skills in leadership, empathy and teamwork.
Why should parents send their children to camp?
Sue and Barry:It is so important for kids to experience the outdoors in a safe Christian environment. Camp Don Lee has been and is that place for our family. Campers grow in their faith, develop social skills, stretch their independence and make new friends. The friends they make can last a lifetime. We are so blessed to have CDL! The camp experience helps to develop their social abilities while providing a fun time on the water learning new skills.
What did you gain through the sailing program at camp?
Case: Don Lee’s sailing program taught me so much over the years from sailing a sunfish in the beginning to docking a Flying Scot in LITs. Sailing has always been my favorite part of camp, and I have so many good memories over the years. I made many friends and gained so much knowledge on the water over the last 10 years. Sunfish will always be my favorite boat to sail
What’s your favorite camp memory?
Lucy: When our counselors wake us up in the morning with music and sailing!
What did you learn at camp?
Harper: I learned to trust my fellow campers on the challenge course.
How has camp shaped the life of your family?
Kim: It’s created this special tradition that means so much to all of us - coming to Camp Don Lee each year feels like our home away from home. Camp has been a place that has helped my kids build their confidence and explore their faith. These memories and experiences will last a lifetime!
Favorite Don Lee Tradition?
Bradley: After a long, hot, sun-soaked week on the water huddling close with your group on those pine benches by the shore for a Cooper Harris campfire sing-a-long…Sail on Sailor, my friends.
Favorite Camp Food?
Lucy: Pasta we have on the first night and chicken sandwiches.
Case: From day one, my favorite food has been the Don Lee fried chicken.
Harper: Fried chicken
Favorite Camp Moment?
Lucy: Meeting new people in my group and the scavenger hunts.
Harper: Pool time & the camp store.
How has the Don Lee experience impacted your life?
Bradley: Don Lee has provided personal and spiritual growth, life long friendships, a sense of community and a passion for the water.
How has the camp experience formed your Christian faith?
Case: Camp has had such a big impact on my faith journey and walk with Christ. Spending a week or two weeks or even up to a month with a group of kids my age and talking about God made my relationship with Christ so much stronger. Sharing with fellow campers helped me to deepen and understand my faith. I truly would not be where I am today without Camp Don Lee and its God-centered atmosphere.
Why do you support the annual fund?
Sue and Barry: It is important that Camp Don Lee’s ministry be available for future generations. Lives are changed every day at camp. Our contribution to the annual campaign is our way of returning the blessings our family has received since the 1980s. It is important that Don Lee be available in the future for other families.