The Synod Camp Board is very excited to announce the hiring of Rebecca (Palais) Jess as the new Co-Director of Cairn Presbyterian Camping.

Rebecca has been selected because of her many attributes and skills, not the least of which include her love of Christian Camping Ministry (learned at Cairn), her positive energy, her vision of where she sees Cairn being able to go in the future, her clear direct communication style; her experience in teaching, her ability to work with the public…to name a few…

The Synod Camp Board is very excited to stand behind and support this new Co-Director team of Chantal “Match” Jackson and Rebecca “Palais” Jess as they start their working relationship together. We are very excited as we know these two people have such a passion for ensuring Christian Camping Ministry as we know it at Cairn; and we have great faith that they will continue to evolve it from the treasured entity that it is now, to a place where even more children and families will be able to experience Gods love.

Chantal and Rebecca will officially commence their working relationship together on January 4, 2010.

Blessings to all our campers and families and friends over this past Christmas season, and wishing everyone a wonderful 2010.

Ruth MacLeod
Convenor
Synod Camp Board

No matter where he may be, Cairn will always be a place Taps can call home.

As we gear up for Cairn’s 80th Anniversary, it’s important to recognize the circumstances that have allowed us to be successful for so long.  There have been many essential ingredients, but over the last 15 years the torch has been carried by Beth “Topaz” Allison.  Together with Zoic, her husband, Beth has made camp into a place that many of us consider a second home.  Yes, she has raised camper numbers and introduced new programmes and carefully shepherded Cairn into existence – but those are only the most visible of her successes.  I want to tell you about a few more.  I’ll present my list: Camp According to Topaz; or: Camp Done Right.

1. People come before programmes.  The emotional, physical and spiritual needs of individuals and the community are more important that goals of any single programme.  Are the campers too tired?  Cancel your wonderful evening programme and send them to bed!
2. Everyone is welcome (and welcomed).  We say, “welcome to camp” – but it doesn’t stop there.  When our staff members arrive, there are welcome signs on the doors of their rooms.  When campers arrive, they are ALWAYS “on the list” (even if we somehow missed them in our pre-camp counting).  When guests or alumni arrive, there is always time to say hello and to make them feel welcome.
3. The 4 S’s.  Nothing has shaped camp more than this simple set of questions, written by Beth in her early summers at Glen Mhor.  The best part?  It’s a tool we give away freely!  We encourage our campers to use the 4S’s to make decisions, we encourage other camp directors to borrow the 4S’s and use them to make their own camps better.  The 4S’s define the way we do things at camp – they are our operating principles.
4. Camp work is done by professionals.  For the staff, camp is not just a fun place to spend the summer.  Camp is a place where hard, hard work is done by people who are devoted 100% to the cause of Christian community and youth ministry.  There is no wavering from this ideal – not even when it’s raining for the 14th straight day or when the last child leaves site…camp is always run by professionals (and I think it shows).
5. Faith is a journey, questions are good, Jesus loves you.  Beth’s faith is remarkable, as is her ability to encourage growth in others.

2009 was Beth’s last year at camp, at least as our full-time Director   We say goodbye to a friend, a leader and someone who knew how to make camp run perfectly, even when it was hard, hard, thankless work.

Thank you, Topaz.  For everything.

When we passed our 75th year of camping at Cairn in the Glen Mhor programme we became more and more interested in recapturing some of the history that we are missing. To this end we are asking for the help of all associated with camp since it’s beginning in 1930. We would like to make up a timeline of all of the Camp Directors that we have had. Please leave us a comment with any more information you may have.

Our Directors Timeline

2010: Chantal “Match Jackson & Rebecca “Palais” Jess, Co-Directors

2007 to 2009: Beth “Topaz” (Rayner) Allison, Executive Director; Adam “Taps” Brown & Chantal “Match” Jackson, Co-Directors

1996 to 2007: Travis “Zoic” & Beth “Topaz” (Rayner) Allison

1995: Travis Allison, Beth (Rayner) Allison & Diane “Sneezy” Reid (Leadership Team)

1994: Travis Allison, Diane Reid, & Judy McKay (Leadership Team)

1993: Sara “Ace” Friar, Diane Reid, & Becky Barrie (Leadership Team)

1988 to 1992: Robin “Knobbie” Doornink

1986 to 1987: Heather “Caps” Thompson

1985: Gwen “Snoozy” Brown

1984: Shaun Seaman

1983: Dick Moore

1982: Chris O’Reilly

1981: Gwen Brown

1980: John “Jav” Vissers

1979: Bill “Half Pint” Lamont, Gwen Brown

1976 to 1978: John Vissers

1973 to 1975: Doug “Flush” Johns

1970 to 1972: Art “Noah” Pattison*

1967 to 1969: Billie Forrest

1963: Tom Rayner

1952: Rev. Norman McMillan *
* Need some confirmation

Leave us a comment, please, if you know of any others.

Chantal “Match” Jackson

Chantal Jackson has been involved in camping since 1999 and has been working at Cairn for the past eight years. Prior to taking the role of Co-Director at Cairn, Chantal filled many roles on the Cairn staff, such as a Counselor, Adventure Programmer, Dance Director, Head Counsellor, and finally the Outdoor Centre Director.

Chantal graduated from the University of Waterloo with an Honours Bachelor of Arts Degree in Recreation and Leisure. She spent five years at the University and in that time, pursued many interests. One of her main interests was dancing and she got the opportunity to be on the university dance team for 5 years, being Captain for two. She also was highly involved in residence life during her time at Waterloo. Her responsibilities stemmed from being a faculty frosh leader for two years, the Recreation and Leisure Mentorship Programme director for two years and finally a Residence Life Don for her final two years at school. Being a Don at the university was an incredible leadership opportunity for Chantal as it allowed her to bring camp-like programming to the university. Her training from camp, and her understanding of community allowed her to create an inclusive and a welcoming residence “home-life” for first year students.

Chantal has experience in leadership training, group facilitation and adventure programming. She currently sits on the OCLW (Ontario Camping Leadership Workshop) Executive and is in the process of aiding to develop a new type of conference, run out of the OCLW for Camp Directors entitled THINK CAMP. She is excited about all of her new responsibilities and another great summer at Cairn!

Rebecca “Palais” Jess

Rebecca Jess started coming to Glen Mhor Camp as a camper in 1992. For 13 summers in a row, Rebecca attended Glen Mhor, first as a camper, then, Leader in Training, Counsellor, Arts and Crafts Director and Programme Director. Even when no longer on staff, Rebecca continued to visit camp each summer to volunteer and fill in where help was needed. She says “It is one of my greatest joys to have been a part of camp’s amazing growth and evolution over the past 18 years”.

Rebecca holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree from Queen’s University in Drama and English. She also holds a Bachelor of Education from Queen’s within their Artist-in-the-Community Education program, where she focused not only on providing education in the classroom, but on creating and bringing arts-related education to non-traditional school settings in a variety of communities. While at Queen’s, Rebecca spent most of her time performing in musicals and sewing costumes in wardrobe.

Acting is one of Rebecca’s favourite things: she has performed in touring children’s theatre shows, university performances and community theatre, and has taught drama classes and workshops with the Lorraine Kimsa Theatre for Young People in Toronto. Rebecca also loves to sing and has sung in a wide range of choirs over the years; most recently, she joined the Canadian Stage Company’s choir in Toronto.

Rebecca owns her own small clothing design business, called Palais Designs. The business name is derived from her camp name because the first t-shirt design she ever did was for the Glen Mhor staff uniforms back in 2002. Rebecca’s focus is on silk screening, applique and machine and hand embroidery done on t-shirts and tops. You can find her clothing line in Kensington Market in Toronto in a shop called, Fresh Baked Goods.

Rebecca is extremely excited to be working as Co-Director of Cairn! Camp is one of her greatest passions and she can’t wait to jump in with both feet!

CAIRN’s Administrator

Bridget Tilly

Bridget spent her childhood summers in Muskoka but her family moved to the UK when she was 7. She grew up in Scotland and worked in London, England in continuing education and training prior to moving back to Canada 10 years ago. She now lives in Baysville (a short drive to work!) with her husband and young son who is fortunate to accompany her to work every day in the summer and he loves it.

Bridget is a graduate of the University of Glasgow and is also qualified in Personnel Management and Psychometric testing. Her interests include traveling, entertaining and drawing portraits. She is also involved locally in the Lake of Bays Skating Club, Bayville’s Fire Station 40 and the Horticulture Society.