LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth |
The Way I See It |
by Steve Elkins, Editor |
The month of September, as I've said so many times over the years that I've been writing this column, is my favorite time of the year. The weather is still warm; the restaurants and shops are still open; most of our major events are over for the year; and starting with this issue, Letters from CAMP Rehoboth returns to its off-season, monthly publication schedule. For our advertisers, I like to think that translates into a "bigger bang for the buck" as the saying goes, because each issue is on the street for a longer period of time. Revenue from Lettersas it has done from the starthas helped to finance much of the work of CAMP Rehoboth over the years. Even today, with all the many projects and programs that are a part of CAMP Rehoboth and the CAMP Rehoboth Community Center, Letters remains one of the most recognized and important symbols of our organization. My thanks to all the advertisers, writers, artists, and contributors who worked to make the 2006 summer season another success for Letters from CAMP Rehoboth.
Speaking of successSundance 2006, I am delighted to say, certainly was. Despite the huge storm that threatened the early part of the holiday weekend and kept many residents in the dark for hours, the two nights of Sundance passed without a hitch. Thanks to the many Sponsors, Supporters, Hosts, Production Team Captains, volunteers, auction donors and participants, Sundance 2006 will clearclear, let me say again$180,000 for Sussex County AIDS Council and CAMP Rehoboth. I must say, I find it comforting that in these troublesome times, we live in a place that is so ready and willing to support the needs of its community. Plus, when all is said and done, Sundance is simply an amazing and beautiful thing to witness, and it has become a very important part of our lives. And by the way, next year will be the 20th Anniversary SundanceI feel safe in predicting that it will be spectacular. The last item auctioned in this year's Sundance live auction was simply titled Heartstone, and is of special significance to all those who have been working to build the CAMP Rehoboth Community Center. The house and heart logo for the Community Center is just thata house with a heart in the middle. The Heartstone is the actual heart shaped stone from the logo that will be created in the pavers for the new Community Center courtyard and built during the next phase of construction scheduled for the fall of 2007. Founders' Circle members, Sundance Sponsors and Team Captains, and longtime friends and supporters of CAMP Rehoboth, Allen Jarmon and Ward Ellinger, placed the winning, $15,000 bid on the Heartstone. Their generosity, like that of all the Founders' Circle members, will be remembered long after we're gone. Also of interest to Founders' Circle membersthe Founders' Circle Workshop has been scheduled for Saturday, October 21 at 10 a.m. at Epworth United Methodist Church on Baltimore Avenue. All Founders' Circle members are invited to come and help us make some decisions about how we proceed with our plans for the futureespecially in the areas of donor recognition and the timeline for construction. By the time this issue hits the streets of Rehoboth, the 5th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon will have come and gone and, of course, much press time will have been devoted to its remembrance and to an examination of what has changed in our world. All of us feel it, I think. No matter our individual beliefs or politics, the repercussions from that day have shaken us allhave touched us all. As a way of remembering the lives lost on that day five years ago, perhaps we can all try a little harder to live together, to honor our differences, and to really live up to the meaning of the word Rehobothroom for all. Wouldn't it be great if a little town like ours could find a way to share that message with the world? |
LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth, Vol. 16, No. 13 September 15, 2006 |