Category: Alumni Spotlight

Rob and I met at camp in the summer of 1997. With a little help from a few campers, Sabrina Malden and company, and evenings at Chet’s, a summer of fun began! It was a whole lot of fun, but we never thought it would last a lifetime! At the end of that summer, Rob and I thought that it was goodbye. Although Rob lived in Virginia at the time, we lived near each other in England and that Christmas we saw each other again.

We dated across the Atlantic for years and finally, we got married in 2003. We now have two children, Jacob (11) and Amelia (8), and live in Dubai. Our life is fantastic and one great big adventure. CAW is an extremely special place in our hearts and we will always be thankful for all of the friends that we have made and for being part of the Chenny family.

I started at CAW in the summer of 2002 as a Basketball Specialist for the Super Boys and again in 2003. In 2004, I was their Group Leader watching them finish their CITs/Waiter summer. Joy came to camp in the summer of 2003, also as a Basketball Specialist, and her girls were Supers (only a year younger than the boys I had). We stayed at camp until the summer of 2010. At the time, I was going to college in Kentucky and going back to Australia before camp started, and Joy was going to college in Iowa. So we had some long distance relationship to deal with during that time.

My first encounter with Joy was on the second day of camp. We were playing get to know each other games on the lower hockey rink during staff orientation. The game was where your partner was in one circle and you were on the outer circle, both circles would go in different directions and when the music stopped, you would get on one knee and your partner would run over to you and sit on your knee. At the end of Summer ’05, in the pouring rain, I had a friend help get her to the lower hockey rink, in the same spot where we first met and I proposed.

In September of 2006, we got married and continued to come to camp and held various positions during that time. Finally finishing up in the summer of 2010 as Athletic Director/Maitre D and Girls Head Counselor. Currently, we live in Iowa and have two wonderful little girls Taylor (8) and Reagan (5) who both will be dominating hardwoods very soon.

We love and miss camp a lot, it was a very big part of our lives and we’re very thankful for the friends that we met and still talk to and for the family it has given us both.

It was the summer of 1999 when Jordan Dank, a Collegiate, and Elyse Forman, an Inter, met at Camp Chen-A-Wanda. Sparks flew immediately and they quickly began an on-off relationship that lasted five summers. Even when not romantically involved, Jordan and Elyse always made their friendship a priority and continued to keep in touch as the years went by. Fast-forward to the Summer of 2008, Jordan asked Elyse to meet for a sushi dinner on Long Island. As they sat down, they immediately felt transported back to Fiddle Lake. While the exact date of this “first sushi date” is unclear, they decided to link their anniversary date to the place that first brought them together…Camp Chen-A-Wanda. As the years went by, their bond only grew stronger and Jordan decided it was time to take their relationship to the next level, and planned to ask Elyse to marry him. He popped the question in the Spring of 2015 and they sealed the deal in the Fall of 2016! They are happily married and currently living on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Thank you to CAW for bringing us together!

Hi, my name is Rani Fink Houlis and my first summer at Chen-A-Wanda was in 1987, I was just 8 years old in Bunk B. From the very first moment I got off the camp bus, on the dirt road, near the Apple Tree, I knew this place would forever change my life in so many ways.

I didn’t know how then, but I just knew it would be a 2nd home. Within a couple weeks, I remember having friendships that were nothing like I really had before; they felt more like sisters. We did everything together…but most of all, we bonded! Summer after summer, we would explore new things and experience new firsts together. Our first shaving sessions were on our bunk deck playing jacks and our first kisses were in the hockey ring. After spending 6 summers at Chenny, I decided to do a teen tour (although this was nothing like CAW and I often regret leaving). I had an itch to get back to CAW, I couldn’t move on yet. The summer I graduated college, I decided there was no place I would rather be than my summer home before I started working in the real world!

 

I came back to camp to be a Group Leader for the oldest girls in camp. I was always, and still am the biggest kid at heart so of course I even got in trouble that summer! I am sure some of you remember…I am the infamous or famous Group Leader to be the very first and very last to ever play in a Wayne County Tournament! You should know it was all in good fun because my girls prefer to sit on the sidelines polishing their nails and as the good counselor, I tried to rally them up! Well, it clearly worked because we won! My main crew from my early days weren’t there anymore, but there were still familiar faces of campers and counselors that were now in management positions. This always warmed my heart because they, too, knew the real meaning and feeling of Chen-A-Wanda. It’s almost indescribable how this place makes you feel. Years went by, life got in the way, and some of these friendships fell apart. A few years ago, I reconnected with a few of my camp friends and we picked up right where we left off. Instantly, best friends! They are a huge part of my life now and I couldn’t imagine them not being a part of my life. I truly can’t wait for my children to be a little older so they, too, can experience all the wonderful and exciting memories of Chen-A-Wanda.

While it may seem that the point of this post is for you to send your kids to Chen-A-Wanda, it’s actually just to express how lucky, thankful and proud I am of the long-lasting forever friendships with former Chenny Alumni. Nothing makes me happier than knowing I could pick up the phone to one of my friends or counselors from 30 years ago and we would pick up right where we left off as if no time has passed. Thank you Camp Chen-A-Wanda for these memories and offering so much more than a summer home.