We had to say goodbye to a lot of good friends today. There were many tears shed in the parking lot as the bus was loading up. It’s so bittersweet for our 15 year olds, because for many of them it’s their last year as a camper. Next year we will pick four 16 year olds to lead the four camp teams. It is always a hard decision…this year seems impossible.  I stressed to them this morning at breakfast that no matter what the future holds for them, there will always be a place for them at Deerhorn. We hope many of them will want to come back to be AC’s or counselors. They make Deerhorn a better place by being here, and looking at this class of guys, the future for Deerhorn is bright. And the friendships they have made here will last forever.  Friendships strong enough to last months of being apart, and once reunited, continue as if no time has passed.  We have a lot of 19 year old staff members this year, guys who have been campers & AC’s together, and finally are full-fledged counselors. Camp Deerhorn is a place where boys grow up together, become best friends…and sometimes feel the need to just hold hands and skip. 🙂

This morning’s awards breakfast was full of meaningful speeches & great awards. Our riflery guys passed out Sharpshooter awards to Adler Wright, Trevor Mower, & Patrick Drake. We had beautiful songs by Taylor, Kiana, and Brooksy, and Jeff Linforth gave a great speech about how the leaders inspire him.  The Dr. Don Memorial Horseback Riding Award went to Diego Banos.

We also had lots of tournaments going on this session. In the tennis tournament, Cooper Pearce won for 11 and under, and Ian Armstrong won for 12 and older.  In the ping pong tournament, Jason Rickett won the juniors and Michael Thistlethwaite won the seniors. Charlie Stelnicki organized a chess tournament this session, and over 60 kids participated. Wesley Gizel won top prize.  Spirit awards went to Leo Daly for juniors, Conner Tacket for intermediates, and Satchin Mehta for seniors. Outstanding Camper trophies went to Trent Ernst for juniors, Patricio Paquentin for intermediates, and Jack Pierre for seniors. We are so very proud of all of our campers. Speeches from the awards from today’s breakfast will be posted by tomorrow on our Vimeo site.

The Iroquois held on to their first place lead, edging out the Chippewa by less than 2,000 points. You never know how things might change. Navajo are in third, and Apache are fourth. Team totals are posted on our website.

We have 25 kids who are staying over for next session, and they are in for a treat this afternoon.  First they are headed to a lumberjack show in Woodruff, WI, followed by a fun afternoon of putt putt golf.  After pizza for dinner, they are going to see the Min-Aqua Bats waterski show, which is always a delight.  This might be the best changeover day yet! And the beautiful sunshine promises a great afternoon of weather.

Thank you to all of you who shared your sons with us this session. We know they will arrive home today full of stories & sand, and with a smile upon their face. We hope they will tell you all about the fun they had with us, and thank you for giving them this amazing gift.