Author: Elissa

Dear Chen-A-Wanda Families, 

It has been a true privilege to spend this summer with your children. Tonight, as part of our Memory Night tradition, Jon and I spoke to everyone in Shields Hall to wrap up our summer. Over the past seven weeks, we’ve been updating you on the daily joys and moments here at camp. We sincerely hope our blogs have captured the joy and magic we’ve all shared together and that you at home were able to feel what was happening here at camp. Tonight, our letter was written to your kids and as everyone was together for one last time in Shields Hall, we read it to them.

Thank you for entrusting us and our team with your children this summer. It truly takes a village, and we are immensely proud of ours. Our goal was to give your kids an incredible summer that would inspire them and help them grow. We hope they return home feeling taller, tanner, more confident, and proud of their accomplishments, with new friends and cherished memories. Even the bumps in the road are there to help your children grow. Everything we did was designed to provide teachable moments and enriching experiences. Soon, you’ll be holding them close, eager to hear about their amazing time at Chenny. After a good home-cooked meal, a long shower (they might need a bit of help removing the color war spray), and some good restful sleep, we hope they tell you it was the best summer of their entire lives. We apologize in advance if your kids end up dancing on the kitchen table! And a heads-up: avoid playing Jai Ho, Fireball, or Crazy Frog at home unless you’re prepared for an impromptu dance party in your kitchen.

Thank you once again for sharing your wonderful, kind, funny, and smart kids with us all summer. Our hearts are full, and after some much-needed rest, we’ll start planning for Summer 2025. Enjoy your kids tomorrow and know that their summer family will miss them dearly. 

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It was exactly 49 days ago, Jon and I stood in this very spot and welcomed you to Summer 2024. We looked out at all of you and saw so much excitement, some nerves, a lot of joy and wonder for what this summer would bring. Our hope was that this summer would enrich your lives, allow for new friendships to be made, strengthen relationships you already have and provide you all with the most amazing summer ever imagined. And here we are at the end and from our vantage point seeing you all arm in arm, holding onto one another not wanting to let go, it looks as if we accomplished our goals. We truly believe that relationships made here are so meaningful because they are built out time invested in each other without the complications of phones or social media getting in the way. We worked through conflicts together, we empathized with one another, we apologized when we were wrong and we built a community based on trust, love and a willingness to share our hearts. We are a beautiful mosaic work of art and each one of you in this hall is perfect just the way you are.  Don’t ever try to fit in, just be yourself and standout.

To be able to make this summer happen, we brought together the most inspiring, engaging, uplifting staff that are sitting in and amongst you all. We brought them in from all over the globe, and we owe a huge thank you to this incredibly talented group of people, who gave their everything to you and to this place.  To all our Staff: Jon and I agree that without a doubt and no question at all that there is no harder job on this planet than the one you all just completed. Our hope is that when you go back to school, head back to work or look for a job that you can reflect on the summer you just experienced and feel a deep sense of confidence in who you are and what you offer the world. We believe in you; we are inspired by you and we hope this summer gave you exactly what you need to create the life you want and deserve.

To our campers:

To our CIT’s in the back of the hall – MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! We need you to know that this camp loves you just as much as you love it.  It has been joyful being a huge part of your childhood and we thank you for bringing the spirit and positivity this summer. Your time here as a camper has officially come to a beautiful end and we thank you for honoring the Hill and leaving your mark. To our GC’s who traveled the country together and truly became a united division, it is our pleasure to say, The Hill is Now Yours! We can’t wait to see you shine as CIT’s next summer.

And to all our campers, you are the heart and soul of this camp, and we are here because of you and hope you had the most incredible summer.  On those cold winter nights, we hope you remember the amazing things you did and accomplished during summer 2024. We can’t wait to see you back here in 10 months and do it all over again.

Some of you may know that just before the campers arrived this summer, we lost our dog Dude. He was lucky enough to spend his summers with amazing people and he gave a lot of love and licks to so many of you. Our sadness quickly turned to joy as we heard from hundreds of staff and campers who shared stories of the impact Dude had on their lives so even a dog can make a huge difference here, and his life definitely had purpose. We honored Dude with hanging his jersey in the back of the hall and even though he is not here with us we know that his legacy lives on and on and on – so like Dude, live with purpose and share your love and it will certainly make a difference to everyone around you.

As our last night is upon us, we hope you all leave here tomorrow and bring a little Chenny with you everywhere you go. We hope when you hear Jai Ho or Crazy Frog you start dancing no matter where you are. We hope you spread kindness and see the value of making those around you feel good and we hope we inspired you as much as you all have inspired us. Thank you, Camp Chen-A-Wanda, for bringing us all together and proving that opening our hearts to one another makes the world a better place. Our incredible media team put together a video starring YOU and reminding us how Life is truly Great at Camp Chen-A-Wanda. We love you and we will miss you and we can’t wait to see you right back here for summer 2025!

Jon & Elissa

 

 

 

 

 

Today marked cleaning day at camp, a clear sign that the end of our summer is approaching. With packing day scheduled for tomorrow, we spent the morning organizing and tidying up our bunks. We eagerly anticipated our banquet, and the weather couldn’t have been more perfect—neither too hot nor too cold, just right for a beautiful end to our summer at Chenny.

As the sun set over Fiddle Lake, we dressed in our finest and headed to the beach for photos with friends and counselors. Everyone looked stunning, and the atmosphere was filled with joy. Kids gathered on the dock, arms around each other, smiling for a group picture that will surely be cherished long after they return home. It was a night full of happiness and radiance, with each person at camp reflecting the beauty and excitement of the evening.

The night continued with our banquet dinner in the Lodge, where we enjoyed delicious food, sang loudly, and danced together. The energy was so vibrant, it felt like we could have moved mountains. Our camp family was in full celebration mode, basking in the love and joy of the evening ahead of us.

After the banquet, we moved to Shields Hall for our End of The Year Awards. For those who are new, this is a big deal—actually, a huge deal. Every summer, we find many ways to highlight and honor our campers, and being recognized at camp is a source of great pride. Tonight, we celebrated our Campers of the Year, an accolade that truly signifies their exceptional contributions, achievements and great character. We are immensely proud of these remarkable kids—they’ve earned and truly deserve these awards. Congratulations to our standout campers!!!

CAMPERS OF THE YEAR AWARDS 2024 – GIRLS
	HONOR		ATHLETE		ALL AROUND
FRESHMEN	Dylan Lieberman		Alexa Hammer		Sienna Fass
JUNIORS	Skylar Rosenberg | Ryan Schweiger		Emerson Bodner | Savi Yecies		Avery Worth | Amalya Bernstein
MIDDIES	Annabelle Zigler		Hallie Sambursky		Samara Klein
INTERS	Kelsey Karmitz | Sammy Capon		Miranda Siegel | Brooke Konner		Lilah Sarrell | Allie Poplock
COLLEGIATE	Brier Schwebel		Blake Schissler		Dani Donoghue
SENIORS	Abby Sugarman		Brooke Kaplan		Kylie Park
SUPERS	Ava Mallin		Roxie Bishop		Noa Dagan
GC’s	Lexi Greenblatt		Alexa Dombe		Marissa Holtzman
CIT’s of the Year	Ashley Schwartz & Sammy Simson

 

CAMPERS OF THE YEAR AWARDS 2024 – BOYS
	HONOR		ATHLETE		ALL AROUND
FRESHMEN	Ari Locker		Matthew Strauss		Spencer Cabat
JUNIORS	Bennett Galante | Archer Parkes		Aiden Spitz | Jacob Cohen		Jake Kornblau | Jake Hochstadt
MIDDIES	Jax Schrager		Dylan Bahiri		Harrison Zender
INTERS	Sid Havens | Nathaniel Menkin		Ryder Picinich | Aiden Wexler		Mason Kohen | Ryder Diamond
COLLEGIATE	Harrison Pilkington		Hunter Housenbold		Cade Modica
SENIORS	Trevor Weinstein		Tucker Friedman		Brody Adler
SUPERS	Alex Michaels		Jack Zaben		Jordan Morris
GC’s	Jake Marin		Gavin Ryback		Brady Bornstein
CIT’s of the Year	Jacob Santiago & Max Roth

It was carnival day at Chenny and we were all ready to play and have fun. There were dunk tanks, carnival games, water slides, marriage booth,  inflatable obstacle courses,  cotton candy, popcorn and so much more.  The camp favorite today was the foam pits. Campers were loving diving into foam and being covered head to toe. They looked like snowmen coming out of the pit and it was hilarious. It was such a fun day and a great way to celebrate the last few days of camp. Our new logo was a huge hit and everyone looked amazing in their new Chenny shirts. A perfect day to launch our new logo and everyone looked amazing in their new fly Chenny Swag!!

Our last Campers of the Week and Kind Campers of Summer 2024 were announced today. We celebrate them today and everyday for their incredible contribution and joy they spread around camp. Congratulations to our incredible campers & staff. They Rock!!!

Campers of the Week:

Freshman: Ava Steinman & James Ackerman

Juniors: Cali Ratner, Savannah Zeitel & Spencer Weinstein, Travis Karmitz

Middies: Sammy Mesh, Mia Pillersdorf & Remy Harris

Inters: Maya Park, Hannah Hochfelder & Spencer Braverman, Jackson Chaput

Collegiate: Mattea Seigel & Emmet Rosenberg

Senior: Brigette Rooney & Ryan Katz

Super : Jordana Poplock & Nick Einzig

GC: Amalya Berman & Jett Morgan

CIT: Callie Nadel & Owen Isaacson

Girls Side Kind Campers: Liv Heiferman, Dylan Lieberman, Iyla Pall, Amalya Bernstein, April Polirstock, Pauline Blash, Lila Korn, Sloane Lewis, Emma Shey, Zoe Ratner, Rachel Sklar, Brier Schwebel, Simone Singer, Dylan Lefokowitz, Brooke Kaplan, Maddie Klatsky, Kylie Park, Noa Dagan, Lyla Goldstein, Maddy Rosen, Roxie Bishop, Morgan Bassuk, Dylan Bloom, Lela Schlanger, Sammy Simson

Girls Side Kind Counselors: Bayley Brock (Bunk A), Hannah Brook (Bunk B), Daisy Barnwell (Bunk F), Lexi Galan (Bunk M), Jolie Krieger, Shaya Roth, Anna Clark, Jessie Locker, Madison Grabow

Boys Side Kind Campers: Davin Holzman, Spencer Cabat, Joey Goldman, Cameron Michaels, Gabe Barasch, Max Cohen, Henry Bellows, Cooper Merrill, Brandon Litinger, Everett Buscaglia, Austin Acree, Harrison Pilkington, Tyler Roth, Jake Marin

Boys Side Kind Counselors: Mo Patel (Bunk A),  Nathan Murphy (Bunk  A), Caleb Roberts (Bunk B), James Guy (Bunk H), Tighearnan Haughey (Bunk H), Fergus White (Bunk I), Louis Rogerson (Bunk K),  Blake Hanby (Bunk O)

The most anticipated evening activity of summer is Late Night with Leahy and tonights show was undeniably great. So entertaining , there is no other way to describe it other than beyond belief funny and fabulously entertaining. Brian Leahy creates the most entertaining videos and produces a show that is funny beyond belief and wraps up our summer with the most perfect late night talk show twist.  There are incredibly funny videos, dances, TikToks and Beats Headphones giveaways.  Campers and staff absolutely went crazy for the hilarity of what they witnessed tonight. It was a perfect way to end a perfect day and the ideal warp up to summer 2024. Ask your camper how Late Night was and we know they’d say, “best show ever.”

Two more days and a wakeup to go.

 

With the last day of Color War upon us, everyone was working hard, having fun and giving it every ounce of effort they had. It meant that much to all of us. Win or loose, each team put their heart on the line and played hard. Each field and court was full of Red and Gold spirit, chants and cheers. Everyone was giving it their all. To see groups of kids rally around one another in the true sprit of competition and do it in a way that is uplifting and encouraging is awe-inspiring. It’s the way it should always be and it exists here at camp.

After our morning games, it was one last push with an afternoon with Apache Relay. Everyone matters in Apache and every camper plays a key role. No matter if you are being wrapped in toilet paper, running around the quad track, painting an entire oak tag board or are heading into the School of Rock for the infamous “unknown”, you count. It is a race that includes EVERYONE. It is fun, it is intense and it is Apache. When you think of the true meaning of this camp wide relay, you understand how connected we all are and how each part makes up the whole. The intensity, the focus, the anticipation, it’s all there and it’s why we love Apache. It was and incredible day and we literally didn’t stop. We played hard today and everyone knows that the finish line is getting closer.

Tonight was a silent meal and never was The Lodge so quiet. It was oddly silent as this is the place where we dance and sing but tonight in Color War tradition, we ate silently.  The campers wanted more than anything to talk but knew that every word spoken would loose points for their team. Try and visualize The Lodge full of campers and counselors that just don’t speak. It was a sight to see and nothing to hear.

As both teams entered into Shields Hall, everyone know what was on the line. This is the last event from Color War 2024 and both teams wanted the win badly. This was it, and everyone knew it. The scores were so close it was all coming down to SING. Each team presented their plaque and banner and they were truly works of art. True art master pieces that took our breath away. It was time for Sing and both were ready to perform the songs they worked so hard on and had so much meaning in every verse. There were tears when both teams sang their Alma Mater as this signifies that the end of camp is close. So much emotion, so many feelings and tonight we all felt it.

In a Chenny tradition of musical chairs, the last Judge to grab his/her seat was Red and that relayed the winner of Color War 2024 was Red Pop. There was only 12 points between the teams and in our history there has never been this close of a Color War. Congratulations Red Pop, you earned it but Gold Country, you got pretty darn close.  There was joyous elation throughout the Red team but just for a moment as we hugged our friends and then busted out in a giant dance party. Joys of winning Color War and tears from defeat were replaced by intense and over the top energy that literally was explosive and electric. We could have moved a mountain with all that energy and then the realization that camp is nearing its end – the tears started to flow. So many feelings flooded us all and now with Color War behind us, summer 2024 is just about done.

We walked into Shields Hall tonight as two very separate teams but came out as One! The love we all feel and the connection we have formed is transformative and experiencing Color War 2024 was icing on the cake. What better way to celebrate the end of camp than with a Carnival and that is exactly what we are going to do tomorrow. When you think it just can’t get better, it does.