For the first time in the history of Camp Bratton-Green, over 800 campers attended one of the various camp sessions offered either on site or off the premises.
John Dreyfus, Camp Coordinator for Bratton-Green, said that the preparation for the successful 2011 summer began a year ago.
“At the end of the 2010 summer, Bill [Horne], asked me to create some goals for the upcoming summer. We knew that we had been hovering around 750 campers on average over the last several summers, so we decided to increase the bar and aim for 800 campers. By the end of the summer, we had 808 campers go through one of our various camping sessions.”
Dreyfus added that while the number of campers who came through was exciting, it was equally exciting to know that there so many camp age children, 144 total, on the wait list for camp sessions, signifying that people were eager to get come or come back for a second session.
Bill Horne, the Executive Director at Gray Center, echoed Dreyfus’ thoughts.
“It would be difficult to say too much good about a CBG summer camp season like the Summer of '11? It was by all estimates one of the most successful most folks can remember. From the Executive Director's office it was exceptional - no serious physical injuries or epidemics, no serious liability threats, the campers had a tremendous time and, once again, lives were dramatically changed.”
During the spring members of the 2011 Permanent Staff and Dreyfus toured the state, speaking to various adult and children Sunday School classes and then speaking about Camp during the church service announcements.
With only one regular session under 100 campers, the work put in by the Camp Coordinator and members of the Permanent Staff paid off. The groups visited five parishes in the diocese: St. Paul's Corinth, St. John's Laurel, All Saints Grenada, Calvary Cleveland, Mediator Meridian, and St. Tim's Southaven.
“The congregations were very welcoming and receptive, and I have no doubt that as we continue to make our tours, we will continue to round up more and more children and expose them to this beautiful place,” Dreyfus said.
The Rev. Patrick Sanders, rector at St. Timothy’s Southaven, noted that “not only did the parish visit add to the number of St. Timothy kids who go to camp, it also allowed parents and their children an opportunity to meet some of the Permanent Staff. I can't say enough about how comfortable that made them about their first trip to CBG."
Any congregation that is interested in having representatives from Camp Bratton-Green come and speak to them should contact Gray Center to schedule an appointment.
Duncan Gray IV is a part of the Bratton-Green camping program and a communicant at St. Peter’s, Oxford. John Dreyfus is the Camp Coordinator for Bratton Green.
