April 8, 2005 - CAMP Matters

LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth

CAMP Matters

Sundance Preview Not long ago, Steve and I, along with my sister Mary Beth Ramsey, her husband Bob, and our friend Sondra Arkin, took our oldest nephew, Drew, to NYC to celebrate his 16th birthday and to take him to his first Broadway show. As fate (and two gay uncles and their friends Rob White and Dennis Chupella) would have it, the six of us ended up with third row center seats at La Cage aux Folles, where we missed not one drop of sweat rolling down the superbly toned bodies of what have to be the most enthusiastic chorus line currently playing on the Great White Way.

After the curtain call, several of the stars quieted the crowd and asked the audience to support the work of Broadway Cares, which raises funds for AIDS. As a part of their appeal, they auctioned off the enormous pink boa worn by actor Gary Beach in the lead role as Albin. As fate (and two gay uncles and their very generous friend Sondra) would have it, we all ended up in the star's dressing room, the proud owners of a $1,000 pink boa. Upon explaining that we've all been involved in AIDS fundraising for years and that we were planning on re-auctioning the boa at Sundance, Gary made sure that we had an autographed photo to go along with it. It was a good night for all involvedBroadway Cares, Sundance, the birthday boy, the two gay uncles and their friends and family.

Since our return to Rehoboth, we've already received a commitment from Sundance Sponsors and Team Captains Ward Ellinger and Allen Jarmon to put together a special New York/Broadway package for this summer's big auction on Labor Day Weekend. Anyone wishing to make a contribution to that package or who has other fabulous items or ideas for the Sundance Auction should contact the CAMP Rehoboth office. And anyone in need of a giant pink boa...well, you'll just have to wait until Labor Day.

Volunteer Training I think that those of you who read this column in the previous issue of Letters, got the strong message that with all the changes taking place here at CAMP Rehoboth I was feeling a little overwhelmed. That column, which I called "thinking out loud" turned out to be just that, and helped us to develop a new approach for the CAMP Rehoboth Community Center and our use of volunteers.

Recently, Peter Rosenstein and I were talking about the CAMP Rehoboth Strategic Plan and specifically about the three strategies that emerged from all of the participating groups. One of them was "building adequate infrastructure and space..." and Peter asked me what we meant by infrastructure. My answer was "everything," not just the buildings and property, but the human resources as well, and that includes volunteers.

Over the next year we will identify the areas where specific CAMP Rehoboth Community Center responsibilities can be taken over by trained volunteers, and we will conduct the training and develop the programs to staff them.

The first such group is already getting started. Under the direction of Steve Hoult (currently serving as the Secretary of the CAMP Rehoboth Board of Directors) a property and grounds upkeep team is being developed. The team will continue to work on projects as needed (like repainting the courtyard tables), but it will also train a team of volunteers who will each sign up for a regularly scheduled time to sweep the CAMP courtyard and water the plants once every week or two during the summer season.

Other teams will include data management, reception, box office, special events and evening Community Center attendants (we're thinking of calling them "Aides de CAMP), and more.

CAMPshots One of the best known features of this magazine is CAMPshots, our photo pages, which covers everything from birthday parties to political events. This summer we're going to, from time to time, feature an additional section with a specific theme. In the coming months we will be publishing Canine/Kitty CAMPshots (send us your glamorous pet photos), and Retro CAMPshots (send us Rehoboth Beach photos from the 60s, 70s, and 80s).

Photographs should be sent to CAMP Rehoboth (SASE if you want them returned) and marked Canine/ Kitty or Retro CAMPshots. Digital shots must be in a high enough resolution for us to print, and should be sent to editor@camprehoboth.com with Canine/Kitty or Retro CAMPshots in the subject line. All photos must include the names of all the individuals in the photograph and the names of both the pet and its owners. Though we will try to use all photos that may not always be possible.

LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth, Vol. 15, No. 3 April 8, 2005